Posted on August 18, 2020
1. Project Proponent. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, 180 Fifth Street East, Suite 700, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1678.
2. Project Authority. The proposed actions were authorized under the authority of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1930 (Public Law 71-520) originally authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps, USACE) to establish the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project (Project). Later authorizations modified the Project by extending the navigation system to its present extent above St. Anthony Falls, Minnesota to the mouth of the Missouri River. The Flood Control Act of 1944 (Public Law 78-534) authorized the Corps to construct, maintain, and operate public parks and recreational facilities at water resource development projects.
3. Project Location. The Upper Mississippi River Master Plan for Resource Management (Master Plan) is limited to the Corps, St. Paul District Boundary. The portion of the Mississippi River that the project encompasses begins in Minneapolis, Minnesota just below Upper St. Anthony Falls (river mile 854.0) and ends near Guttenberg, Iowa, downstream of Lock and Dam 10 (river mile 614.0), see Figure 1.
4. Summary of the Proposed Project. The Upper Mississippi River Project Master Plan is a strategic land-use document that will serve as a vital tool for the responsible stewardship of resources to benefit present and future generations. This plan provides guidance and facilitates appropriate management, use, development, enhancement, protection, and conservation of the natural, cultural, and man-made resources located Corp’s lands. This document will guide and articulate the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ responsibilities pursuant to applicable federal laws, policies, and regulations. The Master Plan is a dynamic, operational document projecting what could and should happen over the life of the project and is flexible based upon changing conditions. The Master Plan deals with concepts, rather than details of design or administration. Detailed management and administrative functions are addressed in each section’s operational management plan, which implements the concepts of the Master Plan into operational actions. The Master Plan also serves as an update to the Land Use Allocation Plan (LUAP), which was last updated in 2011.
The Master Plan is being developed by an interdisciplinary Corps’ team and considers coordination with local, state, federal agencies and tribal governments. By definition, Master Plans for Corps reservoirs are land and recreational use management plans that do not address the technical aspects of water level management, water quality, shoreline management, or operation and maintenance of project operations facilities. To ensure consideration of natural and cultural resources, the Corps also prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) to identify and evaluate potential impacts. The previous Upper Mississippi River Project Master Plan was approved in 1988 and the LUAP was updated in 2011.
5. Coordination.
a. General. By way of this public review process, the proposed action is being coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and other state and local agencies. Coordination occurred with the Tribal Historic Preservation Officers of 20 tribes and tribal environmental directors or program managers of 8 tribes.
b. Federal. A Draft Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact has been prepared and is being coordinated in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. Section 7 Coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will occur by way of this review process.
6. Summary of Environmental Impacts. Use of the revised Master Plan would help define the approval process for future actions affecting project lands. For specific actions that are identified in the Master Plan, the approval process would still require adequate NEPA consideration prior to initiating construction.
The implementation of the Master Plan would not result in any irreversible environmental conditions. The Master Plan is a land-use planning document intended to benefit productivity of land and resources along the Upper Mississippi River in the long-term. While any future maintenance and construction activities may temporarily disrupt wildlife and human use in project areas, negative long-term impacts are expected to be minimal or non-existent on all ecosystems associated with the Master Plan.
7. Report. The draft report and environmental assessment that describes the project and the environmental impacts in detail is available to the public and can be viewed at: https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Home/Public-Notices/.
Review full public notice and associated documents below:
Appendix A: Draft Environmental Assessment
Appendix C: Plates for St. Anthony Falls-Pool 2
Appendix C: Plates for Pools 3-4
Appendix C: Plates for Pools 5-6
Appendix C: Plates for Pools 7-8
Source: mvp.usace.army.mil
