Dredged Material Placement, Mississippi River 9-foot Navigation Channel, Pool 11, River Miles 603–611

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District (District), requests your review of the Environmental Assessment titled, Dredged Material Placement, Mississippi River 9-Foot Navigation Channel, Pool 11, River Miles 603-611, dated March 2025. The Rock Island District is interested in your review and comments regarding the alternative analysis and project outcomes. The District is also informing the public of its plan to meet environmental compliance requirements. The plan can be found at the following link: https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16021coll7/id/27552

The public is invited to submit comments regarding the alternative analysis and Proposed Alternative for this project through April 18, 2025.

Comments can be submitted via email to: CEMVR_Planning@usace.army.mil, or by writing to the address below with the title of the project.

To request a paper copy or CD, contact the District’s Environmental Compliance Branch at 309-794-6104, email CEMVR_Planning@usace.army.mil, or write to:

Department of the Army
US Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
Clock Tower Building
P. O. Box 2004 Rock Island, IL 61204-2004

PROJECT INFORMATION
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Rock Island District (District), is responsible for operating and maintaining a portion of the congressionally authorized 9-foot Navigation Channel Project in the District’s area of operation on the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) from river mile (RM) 300 to 614. Dredging of the navigation channel bottom is a routine maintenance practice and new placement areas are periodically needed.

Sand shoals developed in the Federal Navigation Channel (FNC) downstream of the Village of Cassville, Wisconsin, near RM 604 to 605, in Pool 11 of the UMR. If the sand shoals become too large, they pose safety concerns and could block the FNC from passage altogether. Due to the current size, these sand shoals are proposed for dredging. The area evaluated for identification of additional placement sites is approximately RM 603 to 611.

This Environmental Assessment (EA) reviews the potential environmental impacts of dredged material placement; therefore, the public is entitled to take part in the review. Before the District commits Federal funds for a Federal action, it must inform public officials and citizens.

If you have comments or concerns about the environmental impact of this Proposed Alternative, the District encourages your input in this decision-making process. This EA also documents the District’s coordination efforts and compliance with relevant policy and regulations and shows the decision making effort ultimately resulting in identification of a proposed plan.

Throughout the scoping process for addressing new shoaling issues, opportunities for beneficial uses of dredged material were discovered. Beneficial Use Decision Document Integration (BUDDI) was authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 under Section 125(c). A BUDDI augments but does not replace long-term management plans. The BUDDI and beneficial use are incorporated into this EA.

A total of 69 measures were identified through the scoping process. These measures were evaluated and screened. This resulted in an array of measures evaluated in greater detail and eventually grouped into alternatives for further evaluation. This report identifies Alternative 2 as the Proposed Alternative.

ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
Alternative 1. No Action
Alternative 2. Placement at Sites 10 & 25, 54, 56, and 61

PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE
The Proposed Alternative is comprised of the remaining sites after completing all measure and site screening. The District identified a total of 69 sites during the scoping process. A round of screening was performed to narrow the array based on flood height considerations, mussel surveys, current interest in beneficial uses, lack of cost share sponsors for measures with costs above the Federal standard, avoidance, minimization to reduce footprints, and further consideration of potential environmental impacts of implementing these measures. The Proposed Alternative is comprised of the following sites:

Click the link below to access the project documents.