The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is extending its draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, for the proposed dredged material management plan in Pool 6, near Winona, Minnesota. Comments will now be accepted through April 10.
The previous deadline was March 9.
USACE officials are extending the deadline in recognition of the public’s interest in the draft plan and to allow the community more time to study the plan and provide comments.
The draft plan outlines the transportation and land requirements required to manage dredged material removed from the Mississippi River in Pool 6 for the next 20 years. No decisions will be made with respect to changing the plan until the public comment period has closed, said USACE.
USACE planners have worked in collaboration with city of Winona and other agency partners on this planning effort for more than seven years and are optimistic that the extension will yield additional comments regarding the plan.
Pool 6 is a 14.4-mile stretch of the river from Lock and Dam 5A, in Fountain City, Wisconsin, to Lock and Dam 6 in Trempealeau, Wisconsin.
More than 8.5 million tons of commodities passed through Pool 6 in 2019 and nearly 11.3 million tons in 2018. These commodities include corn, soybeans, fertilizer, distillers grains and salt.