Why does the Corps need to update the maintenance plan?

The need for the federal action is to provide continued reliable, safe, and efficient transportation of waterborne commerce and uninterrupted transit for fully loaded vessels in the Federal Navigation Channel (FNC). Existing placement sites, as well as in-water locations, are reaching capacity. Therefore, there is a need to update the Lower Columbia River Channel Maintenance Plan (LCR CMP) Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) to identify additional placement sites to continue to maintain the authorized Federal navigation channel (FNC).

Who is involved in making decisions about the DMMP?

The Corps selects the Recommended Plan through an interdisciplinary team that includes technical disciplines in river hydraulics, environmental and cultural resources, planning, economics, and operational requirements. We also receive input from the Sponsor Ports, Cooperating Agencies, tribes, other agencies, and the public.

Are there maps that show channel depth measurements?

USACE Hydrographic Surveys are available from the following link: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/
4b8f2ba307684cf597617bf1b6d2f85d.

What are you doing to keep sand from entering the navigation channel?

It is important to maintain a sediment balance in the Columbia River. Placement sites are selected with this in mind. Structures, such as pile dikes, may be required to keep the material contained in some placement sites.

What are the characteristics of the material dredged from the river? How often is it tested for contaminants of concern?

The material in the main channel is medium to coarse-grained sand, tested based on a combined Federal and State agency framework. The testing frequency is every 10 years because the clean sand in the Columbia River has been determined to be suitable for in-water unconfined placement.

I know of a site that could be used for dredged material placement. Can I have it considered?

If you have a site to be considered, please send an email to LCR-CMP-DMMP@usace.army.mil and include a map, contact information, and any pertinent site details you have to share.

How are the placement site decisions made? Do private landowners have a say in the selection process?

The Corps will be the decision maker for the recommended plan. The public will have the ability to comment during the public comment period prior to the final decision.

Several factors influence the selection of a site, including but not limited to: technical feasibility (can a dredge get there?) and environmental considerations (is your land a wetland?). Private landowners can have their site considered in the process.

How will I know if my property has been chosen to receive dredge material?

We will have more information on this at the Draft DMMP/EIS stage later this year. Our intent is to reach out to all potentially impacted landowners.

If my site is selected, will I be compensated?

The process in which properties are acquired or accessed must comply with federal and state acquisition regulations, which include a process for valuation.

What if I want sand and my land is not identified as a placement site?

The Draft DMMP/EIS will describe how landowners can potentially receive sand if their property is not included in the Corps’ recommended plan.

If dredged material is placed on my property, who owns the sand?

The state owns the material removed from the Columbia River. If the material is removed from a placement site for private use, royalties would be paid to the respective state. Examples would be if the material is used for road work, commercial purposes, or as a material borrow source.

Will surveys and/or permits be required for dredged material placement on private property?

The Corps will obtain environmental and cultural resources clearances as required by applicable federal statues, Executive Orders and guidance for the DMMP Recommended Plan. While the federal government is not required to obtain local permits for federal actions, all selected sites will have the proper coordination with local agencies to ensure environmental and cultural resource compliance is met. This will include site surveys prior to implementation and coordination with landowners. These steps are necessary for the Sponsor Ports to acquire the necessary real estate for the 20-year plan.

Has dredge material been placed on private property sites in the past?

Yes, private property used as part of the Federal plan, and has required the Sponsor Ports to obtain an easement from landowners in the past. Oher private property has also received material in the past, when the private landowners obtain the proper regulatory permits, and the Corps determines the suitability of the site. As noted above, in some cases incremental costs could be required.

What is being done to address shoreline erosion?

Channel maintenance activities are not causing active erosion. However, the channel maintenance plan could show benefit to shorelines in the project area with repair of existing structures or placement of sand on beaches.

What about the side channels?

Although the side channels are connected to the navigable waterways, they are not included in this plan.

What is the plan for repairing or enhancing the hydraulic controls/pile dike system?

Some pile dike systems are expected to be repaired as part of the base condition, and others could be included in the recommended plan.

Why don’t you slow down the speed of ships on the river? Can you study hydrodynamics related to whether reduced ship transit speeds would reduce dredging?

Safely navigating ships in the Columbia River is a U.S. Coast Guard responsibility, and the Corps has no ability to dictate vessel speed.

Additionally, the Corps currently dredges 6 to 8 million cubic yards of material annually, ships are not affecting this quantity of material.

How is cost balanced with effects on resources in decision-making?

Cost and environmental impacts are being considered for all sites included in the alternatives. Avoidance and minimization of impacts to resources is a priority.

Beneficial Use

If environmental features will be covered under separate authorities, when will those be identified? Will criteria for those future beneficial uses/features be included in this document?

Will future environmental features require a separate NEPA process?

The beneficial use of dredged material could occur under the Continuing Authorities Program (CAP) process. The CAP process requires a non-Federal cost-share partner and a NEPA Environmental Assessment (EA). The sites identified for beneficial use in the DMMP will be broadly analyzed in the programmatic EIS for the purposes of site selection for placement activities only. Any additional beneficial use activities will be further analyzed in detail during a subsequent, tiered CAP/EA process.

Information on the CAP 204 process may be found at: https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/Portals/76/EP_1105-2-58.pdf?ver=2019-04-30-105428-920.

A recent example of a CAP 204 project is Woodland Islands. More information on that project is found at: https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Media/Public-Notices/Article/2226298/woodland-islands-integrated-feasibility-study-final-environmental-assessment-fo/.

NEPA and SEPA Processes

Where can I get a copy of the EIS to review?

When it is available, you will be able to access the DMMP and EIS document through the website: http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/lcrchannelmaintenance/

What is a programmatic EIS?

A programmatic EIS provides the interested public the opportunity to participate during the planning phase where effects of the whole program are the main focus of the decision. Programmatic NEPA also provides additional opportunities to participate on site-specific issues analyses during subsequent NEPA and SEPA evaluations when more information is available to inform subsequent analysis, such as field surveys and timely collection of information (as it relates to the implementation timeframe

The LCR CMP DMMP, a programmatic NEPA and SEPA EIS, will have a combined programmatic analysis of the 20-year plan at a broad level, and a site-specific analysis of the first phase of the DMMP Recommended Plan (approximately occurring during the first five years of implementation). Additional site-specific implementation evaluations selected in the Recommended Plan of the DMMP will have subsequent tiered environmental documents prepared in accordance with NEPA and SEPA requirements.

When will there be a site-by-site analysis, and who will conduct that analysis?

A site-by-site analysis is being conducted by the Corps and Sponsor Ports with best available information during this planning phase. Prior to implementation, ground truthing of this analysis will occur.

Are you coordinating with the tribes?

Yes, tribal coordination is ongoing.

Will there be mitigation associated with the DMMP?

We are currently working with resource agencies to identify resource effects and the means to avoid and minimize resource effects using best management practices (BMPs). The Corps has not determined the adverse effects of the DMMP that would require mitigation at this time. Should adverse effects need mitigation, the Corps would describe proposed mitigation consistent with federal statutory requirements and Corps policies within the Draft DMMP/EIS.

Biological Resources

Will the project create more habitat for avian predators that eat salmon?

Impacts associated with salmon and other species will be addressed in the EIS, including BMPs to address avian predation. The Corps is also in consultation with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to further evaluate the impacts and will receive a Biological Opinion from NMFS.

Cultural and Tribal Resources

What is the tribal consultation process?

This project is following the consultation process under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and a Programmatic Agreement is anticipated.

Will the proposed project impact cultural resources?

This will be considered in the EIS analysis. In addition to NEPA the Corps will analyze impacts to historic properties of religious and cultural significance to Indian tribes under NHPA Section 106.

Recreation

Will tree planting on dredge placement sites impact recreational activities such as kiting, fishing, and camping?

Tree planting will not be part of this project. The DMMP is a maintenance action that focuses solely on identification of dredged material placement sites and channel training features.

Will mitigation be provided to offset any loss of recreational areas?

Mitigation for loss of recreation areas is not required under federal law. If material is placed on the shoreline, it is expected this would be a benefit to many recreators.

Other Potential Environmental Effects

How will this affect resources (salmon) in the Columbia River?

This will be considered in the EIS analysis. We will share our analysis of effects with interested parties during the public commenting period on the draft EIS. The Corps is also evaluating impacts to ESA-listed salmonids during formal consultation with NMFS.

How are you addressing climate change?

The ongoing maintenance of the FNC provides the region with transport of cargo with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions though more fuel efficient transportation modes. This more efficient transportation of cargo results in reduced transportation emissions of GHG that would otherwise contribute to climate change.

Because the DMMP occurs in tidally influenced regions below Bonneville Dam, potential sea level rise will be evaluated in the DMMP/EIS Report (Report) to determine the FNC’s climate resiliency over the next 20 years. The Corps will also analyze the effects of GHG emissions and sinks associated with implementation of the proposed action and its alternatives within the Report.

Will more ships or larger ships be coming up the Columbia River? Will it mean more trucks or trains coming to the Ports? Will there be more air pollution?

The DMMP is a maintenance project; we are not deepening the channel, so there will be no change to shipping or truck/train traffic capacity as a result of the project. The EIS will analyze the effects reasonably foreseeable trends for shipping transportation and climate change through cumulative effects analysis.

I live near the dredging/near a placement site and I’m worried about the noise, vibration, and lights.

Dredging and placement activities are temporary actions required to maintain the federally authorized channel, impacts will be disclosed in the Draft EIS, and circulated for public review and comments.

Upriver Considerations

Is there a possibility that contaminated sediments from the Portland Harbor Superfund site could be naturally transported downstream into the Lower Columbia River?

This DMMP will support maintaining the Columbia River portion of the Columbia and Lower Willamette River navigation project. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is overseeing a cleanup of the Portland Harbor Superfund Site (Site), which includes a 10-mile long stretch of the lower Willamette River from approximately the Broadway Bridge to near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. EPA selected a remedy and issued a record of decision (ROD) for the Site in 2017. Responsible parties are currently carrying out remedial design to implement the remedy. The Corps is not aware of the extent to which contamination from the Site is being transported into the lower Columbia River federal navigation channel. However, the Corps understands that EPA’s remedy will be sufficiently protective of human health and the environment. And, in the interim, EPA, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Corps coordinate on activities occurring in the Site that have the potential to disturb contamination (e.g., dredging). EPA also requires sampling and analysis of dredged material and the post-dredge surface above what is required by the regional sediment evaluation framework and Clean Water Act requirements.

If upriver dams are removed, how would Lower Columbia River channel maintenance be affected?

This is out of scope for this maintenance project, the DMMP assumes the upriver dams remain in place. The analysis of impacts is beyond the DMMP study and NEPA analysis.

Agency and Public Involvement Opportunities

How can I contact the project lead?

General project information can be found on the website: https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/lcrchannelmaintenance/.

The Project email address will reach the Project Manager and several other team members: LCR-CMP-DMMP@usace.army.mil.

How can I get a copy of the Open House presentation?

View open house slide presentation: https://go.usa.gov/xun5T.

View open house recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCoEA-S5PdM.

What other opportunities are there for the public and agencies to engage with the Corps and Sponsor Ports?

The National Historic Preservation Act and Endangered Species Act consultation processes are ongoing with agencies. The Cooperating Agency process is ongoing through NEPA.

Upcoming document review, commenting, and public hearing opportunities will also be provided for the public and other agencies.