Posted on March 6, 2023
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, received nearly $1 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters 2023 work plan to continue work on two riverbank restoration projects on the Minnesota River and a shoreline stabilization project on Big Sand Lake in Wisconsin.
The Minnesota River projects include a $246,000 riverbank stabilization project in partnership with the Lower Sioux Indian Community, near Morton, Minnesota, and a $680,000 riverbank stabilization project in partnership with the Upper Sioux Community Pezihutazizi Oyate, near Granite Falls, Minnesota. The money will be used for preconstruction engineering and design work.
The Big Sand Lake Project, near Hertel, Wisconsin, includes $122,000 to continue preconstruction engineering and design work for a shoreline protection project in partnership with the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin.
“The money will significantly help these projects move forward from a concept to a solution that will help the communities,” said Nick Castellane, St. Paul District Tribal Partnership Program manager. “It’s extremely important that these areas be protected to ensure the cultural heritage of the Tribes and protect these areas for generations to come.”
The Army Civil Works program funds the planning, design, construction, and operation and maintenance of water resources projects, with a focus on the highest performing work within the three main Civil Works mission areas: commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction and aquatic ecosystem restoration. It also funds programs that contribute to the protection of the nation’s waters and wetlands, the generation of low-cost renewable hydropower, the restoration of certain sites contaminated as a result of the nation’s early atomic weapons development program, and emergency preparedness and training to respond to natural disasters.
