Posted on October 28, 2026
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, and the city of Wabasha, Minnesota, reached a major milestone last week in the management of Mississippi River sand removed from the navigation channel.
The city and Wabasha Port Authority removed the first loads of sand from temporary storage islands on the river near Wabasha. A process nearly a decade in the making, the milestone demonstrates what can happen when government at every level works together to find shared solutions that work for everyone.
“This day has been 10 years in the making, and I want to thank everyone involved from [City of Wabasha] Mayor Emily Durand and Port staff working on this project, our Army Corps partners, and our private sector partners; the Kohners; LS Marine; Chuck Dillerud, and the Port Authority,” said John Friedmeyer, Wabasha Port Authority president. “It’s a great day for Wabasha!”
The agreement was years in the making and the first of its kind for inland waters within the United States. Following the release of the Corps’ draft dredged material management plan in 2017, Corps staff and city leadership worked together to find a solution to where to place nearly 250,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from the Mississippi River near Wabasha annually. The solution, known as a Section 217 agreement, allows the Corps of Engineers to pay the city a tipping fee to manage the sand removed from the river during Corps dredging operations.
Bob Edstrom, St. Paul District project manager in charge of the river sand management planning efforts, emphasized the importance of the win-win-win solution. “The plan allows the city of Wabasha to focus on where to best use the sand, and it allows the Corps of Engineers to focus more of our energy on long-term planning efforts that ensure the navigation channel continues operating safely for the shipment of America’s crops grown right here in the Upper Midwest.”
