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Department of Ecology News Release - December 2, 2002
02-214
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is seeking public comments on two permits sought by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the navigation channel in the Columbia River from Vancouver down to the mouth of the river.
The Corps proposes to improve navigation access and boost waterborne commerce by deepening the shipping channel to 43 feet between river miles 3 and 106.5. Hard-basalt rock, cemented sand, gravel, boulders and sediment would be removed from the channel and placed at a variety of water and land sites.
The Corps must receive a water-quality permit and coastal-zone permit from Ecology before beginning the project. The permit applications are available for public review at the department's headquarters in Lacey (phone 360-407-6960). They also are available on the Corps' Web site at http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/issues/crcip/pubs.htm.
Joint public hearings on the permit applications will be held by Ecology, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 6, 2003, at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, Kern Rm., 1792 Marine View Dr. in Astoria, Ore., and at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at State Office Building, Rm. 140, 800 N.E. Oregon St., in Portland, Ore.
Each meeting will begin with a 30-minute question-and-answer session before formal public comments are taken.
Ecology requests that all interested parties make their comments on the permit applications at the hearings or in writing. Written comments from Washington residents should be sent to Loree' Randall, Washington Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, Wash., 98504-7600, or e-mailed lora461@ecy.wa.gov.
Written comments from Oregon residents should be sent to Russell Harding at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division, 811 SW Sixth Ave., Portland, Ore., 97204 , or e-mailed to harding.russel@deq.state.or.us.
All written comments must be received by both agencies by 5 p.m. on Jan. 15.
Contacts: Sandy Howard, Washington Department of Ecology, 360-407-6239
Mike Wiltsey, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,503-229-5047
Christine Valentine, Oregon Land Conservation and Development Department,
503-373-0050, ext. 250
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Web site: https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/issues/crcip/
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality: http://www.deq.state.or.us/
Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development: http://www.lcd.state.or.us/
(Note: Links removed 06/16/04.)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
