Monday, February 20, 2012

Corps extends public comment period on Dworshak Nutrient Supplementation Environmental Assessment to March 17

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District is extending the public comment period on an Environmental Assessment (EA) and draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the “Dworshak Reservoir Nutrient Supplementation Pilot Study.” The comment period extension will now end Saturday, March 17. This is a 30-day extension of an initially announced public comment period ending today. The Corps extended the public comment period to accommodate wider public input.

The Environmental Assessment is the next step in Corps’ National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance as it plans to resume this reservoir ecosystem restoration pilot study in 2012. Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to the Corps effective Oct. 15, 2011 after its environmental review and consideration of public comments. The NPDES permit allows application of liquid fertilizer to Dworshak Reservoir as an ecosystem treatment.

With the extension, public comments on the Corps Environmental Assessment must be postmarked, faxed or e-mailed to the Corps by March 17, 2012, to be included as part of the public record.  E-mail comments should be sent to DworshakNutrientSupplProj@usace.army.mil.

Faxed comments should be sent to 509-527-7832. U.S. Mail comments should be mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, Environmental Compliance Section, ATTN: John Leier, 201 North 3rd Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876.

The EA and draft FONSI documents are available for viewing at the Corps’ website at www.nww. usace.army.mil; Orofino City Hall at 217 First Street, Orofino; Clearwater County Courthouse, 150 Michigan Avenue, Orofino: and Recorder’s Office, Room 100, Nez Perce County Courthouse, 1230 Main Street, Lewiston.

To learn more about the Corps of Engineers and its mission in the Walla Walla District, see the District website at http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/.

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