Public Notices

Seeking Public Comments: Maintenance Dredging Lower Columbia River

Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Published Sept. 29, 2022

Interested parties are hereby notified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Corps) proposes to perform advance maintenance dredging at the mouth of the Cowlitz River near Longview, Washington.   

Project Description
The Corps is proposing to perform advance maintenance dredging to establish a sediment trap at the mouth of the Cowlitz River. The work would occur over two construction seasons, November 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023 and November 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024. The purpose of the advance maintenance dredging is to facilitate navigation and reduce risk to river users and provide reliable passage of commercial and recreational traffic by removing shoals that restrict the movement of vessels. The need for the advance maintenance dredging is to address increased dredging/re-dredging frequency following increased Mt. St. Helens volcanic sediment flows down the Cowlitz River. The shoaling in-fill rate from Cowlitz River sediment has reached an unmanageable frequency in the Lower Columbia River Federal Navigation Channel at river mile 68 and additional dredging is needed to maintain the authorized channel depth between dredging events.

The Corps has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment for the proposed action in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations found at 40 CFR §1501.5(e) and the Corps NEPA Implementation Regulations found at 33 CFR §230.10.

The Corps has made a preliminary determination that the effects of the proposed action would not be significant and that the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not warranted. Following public review, the Corps will make a final determination on whether to make a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or prepare an EIS.

Environmental Document:  The draft EA is available at the USACE Digital Library here: Library Link 

Public Comment Period: The draft EA will be available for public comment for 15 days after the date of this public notice. The public comment period is intended to provide those interested in or affected by this action an opportunity to make their concerns or comments known.

Comment Submittal: Please submit written comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District by October 14, 2022. Written comments may be sent via email to Elizabeth.A.Santana@usace.army.mil, or to the mailing address below: 

District Engineer
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District
Attn: CENWP-PME-E / Elizabeth Santana
P.O. Box 2946
Portland, Oregon 97208-2946

Mailed comments on this notice must be postmarked by the above expiration date. In your response, please refer to the above public notice title and date. Should no response be received by the above expiration date, a “no comment” response will be assumed.

Questions or comments regarding the draft EA should be directed to Elizabeth Santana, Environmental Resources Branch, at (541) 525-4417.