LEWISTON-CLARKSTON – Regulatory officials of the Walla Walla and Seattle Districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invite public comments on two lower Snake River system ports’ applications to dredge port berthing areas and dispose of dredged material. Written comments are due to the Corps no later than Dec. 18, 2013, regarding Port of Lewiston, Idaho, and/or Port of Clarkston, Wash., applications to perform port dredging work in conjunction with the Corps’ proposed “Immediate Need Action” of dredging detailed in its Lower Snake River Programmatic Sediment Management Plan (PSMP) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
Each separate port permit application is for 1) a Department of the Army Permit and 2) a Washington Department of Ecology Water Quality Certification. Corps Regulatory officials are reviewing the proposed dredging and disposal work in accordance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, and other applicable laws and policies. Walla Walla District is responsible for reviewing proposed work in the waters of the United States in the state of Idaho, while Seattle District is responsible for reviewing proposed in-water work in Washington state. The Washington Department of Ecology will also be considering comments submitted directly to Ecology as part of its review for a water quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
A detailed joint public notice and diagrams of proposed work are available at the Walla Walla District’s website at http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/BusinessWithUs/RegulatoryDivision/PublicNotices.aspx. Recently-issued Walla Walla District public notices are listed in chronological order of the date of issuance.
The same public notice and diagrams documents are also available at the Seattle District’s website at http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/ under the heading “Open Public Comment Periods”; select “Regulatory Public Notices.”
Information about the related Corps’ Lower Snake River Programmatic Sediment Management Plan EIS is available at http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Missions/Projects/ProgrammaticSedimentManagementPlan.aspx. Information in the EIS will be utilized in the Corps analysis of the ports’ proposed dredging projects and in-water disposal.
All submitted comments must be in writing and include the Corps’ “reference number” for each port permit application. The Port of Clarkston permit application reference number is NWS-2013-916 and Port of Lewiston permit application reference number is NWW-2013-519.
Public comments to either Corps’ District Office or Washington Department of Ecology may be submitted by e-mail or U.S. Mail. E-mail comments must be received by those agencies no later than Dec. 18. Comments submitted via U.S. Mail must be postmarked by that date.
In order to be accepted, e-mail comments must originate from the author’s e-mail account. It also must include the port permit applicant’s name and Corps’ reference number on the subject line of the e-mail message. U.S. Mail or e-mail comments must include the permit applicant’s name and Corps’ reference number, plus commenter’s name, address, and phone number.
Comments about the Port of Lewiston (NWW-2013-519) permit application must be mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division, ATTN: James Joyner, 900 N. Skyline Drive, Suite A, Idaho Falls, ID 83402 or e-mailed to James.M.Joyner@usace.army.mil by the due date. Joyner is available to answer questions at 208-522-1676.
Comments about the Port of Clarkston (NWS-2013-916) permit application must be mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Division, ATTN: Tim Erkel, PO Box 3755, Seattle, WA 98124-3755 or e-mailed to Tim.R.Erkel@usace.army.mil by the due date. Erkel is available to answer questions at 206-316-3166.
Comments about Washington state Clean Water Act Section 401 certification must be mailed to Washington State Department of Ecology, ATTN: Federal Permit Coordinator, Post Office Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600 or e-mailed to ecyrefedpermits@ecy.wa.gov by the due date. Questions may be directed to 360-407-6068.