KANSAS CITY, Mo.— In a much anticipated decision, the Missouri Clean Water Commission provided the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) with a favorable ruling on the proposed Jameson Island Unit Shallow Water Habitat Restoration Project.
The Commission unanimously rescinded the commission’s orders as issued Sept. 12, 2007 and modified March 12, 2008 and directed Missouri Department of Natural Resources staff to move forward with drafting of the 401 water quality certification for this project.
Issuance of the certification is needed by the Corps to complete their National Environmental Policy Act review of the proposed project. With over 543 miles of the river located in Missouri, the Commission’s favorable decision will allow the Corps to resume its efforts in Missouri to meet the shallow water habitat metrics for the Federally listed endangered pallid sturgeon included in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2003 amended Biological Opinion and to mitigate for the losses to fish and wildlife habitat which resulted from the Corps’ Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project.
Upon learning of the decision, Maj. Rachel Honderd, District Commander of the Kansas City District said, “We greatly appreciate the efforts of the Missouri Clean Water Commission and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to work with us on this important Missouri River habitat restoration project. We now look forward to working with MDNR to obtain the permit that will allow us to restore a small portion of habitat lost from previous Corps projects and provide long term benefits to native fish and wildlife species of the Missouri River.”
There has been substantial public interest in the project. More than400 public comment letters were received and hours of public testimony were heard at a public hearing and an information meeting. While the majority of Missouri River stakeholders supported the habitat restoration effort, there was substantial discussion about whether the alluvial sediment excavated to construct the habitat would be reintroduced to the active Missouri River bedload by hydraulic dredging. The Corps’ Project Implementation Report identified sediment as an important physical and biological component of the Missouri River and that sediment had greatly been reduced from historic levels by Corps dams and river structures. The PIR also provided an analysis of potential water quality impacts and clearly demonstrated that the project was in compliance with the Clean Water Act.
Opponents of the Corps’ position contended that sediment was a pollutant and must be prevented from entering the Missouri River. The Corps determined that the plan to mechanically excavate and permanently stabilize the material would not be in compliance with the Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) guidelines, would not be the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative, would have the highest project cost, and provide the least benefit to the water quality of the Missouri River.
A key turning point for the project was an independent and unbiased evaluation which was released by the National Academies of Science in 2011. The study, titled “Missouri River Planning: Recognizing and Incorporating Sediment Management,” evaluated and reported on the role of sediment management in the Missouri River. In response to that study, four Federal agencies (Corps, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service) signed a position statement related to creation of SWH downstream of Gavins Point Dam. In that position statement, the agencies stated their support for moving forward with creation of shallow water habitat in accordance with their respective statutory responsibilities. The Federal agencies also recognized the importance of receiving-water characteristics (i.e., the natural, chemical and physical condition of each specific waterbody and the associated water quality requirements of its resident aquatic life) in relation to the Clean Water Act.
The Jameson Island Unit Shallow Water Habitat Restoration Project is a small part of the Corps’ overall Missouri River Recovery Program. The project is located on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge - Jameson Island Unit, on the right descending bank of the Missouri River, near river miles 210.5 to 211.7, near the town of Arrow Rock, Saline County, Mo..
Thomas Bell, refuge manager for the unit said, “Today’s decision is an important step to increase a type of aquatic habitat that is very rare on the Missouri River. We look forward to the enhancement this project will bring to the refuge and the fish and wildlife population which it sustains.”
The project will restore 30 acres of shallow water habitat (27-acre chute and 3-acre backwater) and the dynamic river processes which maintain it for the benefit of native fish and wildlife species, including the endangered pallid sturgeon.
For more information, please contact the public affairs office at (816) 389-3486.
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