CONNELL, Washington – The Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) invites public comments on its draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Esquatzel Coulee Flood Risk Reduction Project Section 408 Permission.
The EA describes the Corps’ plan to grant Section 408 permission to the City of Connell, Washington, pursuant to 33 United States Code Section 408 (Section 408) for potential alteration to a Corps-constructed river improvement (public work).
The Corps proposes to grant Section 408 permission for a water line replacement project that has the potential to alter the Esquatzel Coulee Flood Risk Reduction Project on the Esquatzel Coulee, a seasonally dry streambed, in the City of Connell, Washington.
The city proposes to remove and replace a water line that crosses the Esquatzel Coulee Flood Risk Reduction Project, a Corps constructed project. The water line runs roughly parallel to Franklin Street between 3rd Avenue North and Columbia Avenue. The current water line has deteriorated and replacement is necessary for the continued operation of water services.
The new water line would be approximately 930 feet long and would be installed by excavating up to 300 square feet of the Esquatzel Coulee, placing a new 8-inch-diameter line, and backfilling the trench with excavated soils. A temporary diversion would be installed in the coulee, using up to 7 cubic yards of sandbags to divert flow into a 48-inch-by-30-foot culvert. Up to 15 cubic yards of riprap, covering up to 320 square feet of area, would be placed along the coulee to stabilize the bank at each pipe end.
The Corps constructed the levees on both sides of the coulee to reduce the risk of flooding to the city, and subsequently turned over operation and maintenance of the levees to the city. Because the excavation and waterline placement would take place in structures constructed by the Corps, these actions require Section 408 permission from the Corps. The Corps’ draft FONSI, EA and related documents are available in the Corps’ Public Notice, available for viewing or downloading on the Walla Walla District’s website at www.nww.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental-Compliance/.
Public input/comments may be submitted Aug. 16-31, 2017. Comments must be emailed or postmarked no later than Aug. 31, 2017, to be considered in the final FONSI and EA. All information and comments submitted will be included in the permanent public record. Electronic comments may be submitted directly to the Corps using the online comment form link on the Corps’ website. Comments may also be emailed to NEPANWW@usace.army.mil, inserting “Connell Water Line Replacement” in the subject line. To submit written comments via the U.S. Postal Service, mail them to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ATTN: CENWW-PD-EC – Connell Water Line Replacement
201 North 3rd Ave.
Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876
For additional information or questions about the Section 408 permission action, please contact the Corps’ environmental coordinator at 509-527-7239. For more information about the City of Connell’s water line replacement project, please contact their Public Works Department at 509-234-2701.
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