ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking public comments on a draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, for its proposed Lock and Dam 10 mooring cell project.
The purpose of the project is to construct a mooring cell for navigation vessels to tie off while awaiting passage through the lock on the Upper Mississippi River, upstream of Lock and Dam 10, near Guttenberg, Iowa.
A final determination on the draft EA will be made following the public review period. A copy of the EA can be viewed and downloaded from the St. Paul District website at: https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Home/PublicNotices.aspx. The Corps of Engineers is conducting a review of the environmental effects in accordance with the National Environment Policy Act.
Comments should be submitted no later than Jan. 24, 2025. Questions and comments concerning the project should be directed to Lewis Wiechmann, Corps forester, Lewis.J.Wiechmann@usace.army.mil. Please address all correspondence on this project to the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attention: Regional Planning and Environment Division North, 332 Minnesota Street, Suite E1500, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55101-1678.
This project is authorized under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program, which is a dual-purpose integrated program to enhance and improve the Upper Mississippi River system. The program seeks to provide a safe, reliable, cost effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne navigation system.
The St. Paul District maintains the 9-foot-deep navigation channel on the Upper Mississippi River and operates 12 locks and dams to support navigation from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy to reduce the stress on our roads and bridges. A 15-barge tow can move as much bulk commodities as 1,050 semis or more than 200 rail cars.