Posted on September 11, 2024
PORTLAND, Ore. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Columbia River ports are asking for public comment on the draft plan to place millions of cubic yards of clean, Columbia River sediment in multiple Oregon and Washington locations.
This “sand plan” is a combined draft Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that ensures sufficient capacity to place sediment dredged from the Lower Columbia River Federal Navigation Channel (LCRFNC) for at least the next 20 years.
Commercial shippers rely on the 43-foot-deep, 600-foot-wide LCRFNC to transport goods nationally and internationally, and the Columbia River is ranked number one in the U.S. for wheat exports and is the third largest exporter of grain in the world.
“This federal navigation channel is incredibly important to the region,” said Dan Robledo, project manager. “Each year, it moves over 50 million tons of international cargo worth $31.2 billion.”
USACE and the sponsor ports (Port of Longview, Washington; Port of Kalama, Washington; Port of Woodland, Washington; Port of Vancouver USA, Washington; and the Port of Portland, Oregon) began the public comment period for the DMMP-EIS in 2017 and are ready for the public to comment on the draft plan.
“The Port of Kalama, along with the other Columbia River ports, depends on maintenance dredging to support our trade gateway,” said Mark Wilson, Port of Kalama executive director. “Maintaining the river channel at its authorized depth and width is essential to sustaining the billions of dollars of commerce that flow through the Columbia River.” The public can view the Draft DMMP-EIS on the USACE Digital Library
The document is also viewable at these locations:
Longview Public Library 1600 Louisiana St, Longview, Wash.
Multnomah County Library 7905 SE Holgate Blvd, Portland, Ore.
St. Helens Public Library 375 S 18th Street, St Helens, Ore.
Cathlamet Public Library 115 Columbia Street, Cathlamet, Wash.
Port of Vancouver (online viewing available) 3103 NW Lower River Road, Vancouver, Wash.
Port of Longview 10 International Way, Longview, Wash.
Port of Kalama (providing thumb drive for viewing) 110 West Marine Drive, Kalama, Wash.
Port of Woodland 1608 Guild Road, Woodland, Wash.
Public comment process and final DMMP-EIS preparation:
USACE and the sponsor ports will consider all Draft DMMP-EIS comments during the comment period (Sept. 4 – Oct. 3) and will respond to comments in the Final DMMP-EIS. If applicable, the Final DMMP-EIS will reflect changes from the Draft DMMP-EIS based on public comments and/or information made available since publication of the Draft DMMP-EIS. All public comments will be included in the DMMP-EIS record.
Public comments must be submitted in writing via email correspondence, postal service mail, or in writing at a public meeting.
Submit comments via email to:
LCR-CMP-DMMP@usace.army.mil (Please add “Draft DMMP-EIS” in the subject line of your email.)
Submit your comment through the Postal Service to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Attn: CENWP-PME-E / DMMP-EIS
P.O. Box 2946
Portland, OR 97208-2946
(Please add “Draft DMMP-EIS” in the subject line of submitted letters.)
USACE and sponsor ports will host in-person meetings:
September 16 • 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Cowlitz County Event Center
1900 7th Avenue, Longview, Wash.
September 17 • 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Norse Hall
444 WA-409 Cathlamet, Wash.
September 18 • 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
St. John’s Community Center
8427 N Central Street, Portland, Ore.
September 20 • 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Astoria Senior Center
1111 Exchange Street, Astoria, Ore.
USACE and the sponsor ports will host a virtual meeting:
September 24 • 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Meeting login information will be posted on this webpage: www.nwp.usace.army.mil/lcrchannelmaintenance/
Background: The Lower Columbia River Federal Navigation Channel project includes a main channel that is 43-feet-deep and generally 600 feet wide and extends upstream from the Mouth of Columbia River to Vancouver, WA. The channel also extends into lower Oregon Slough and includes vessel turning basins in Astoria, Oregon; and in Washington at Longview, Kalama, and Vancouver. USACE maintains the channel with a combination of dredging and pile dikes. The scoping documents, Federal Register Notice of Intent, and background information are available on the project website: www.nwp.usace.army.mil/lcrchannelmaintenance/.
Corps places dredged material at Cape Horn, Wash.
Port of Portland’s pipeline Dredge Oregon works the Mouth of the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon, August 9, 2017.
Corps places dredged material at Cape Horn, Wash.
