Public invited to provide input on Souris (Mouse) River study
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, and the Souris River Joint Water Resource Board, or SRJB, will host a series of public meetings this month to solicit public input on the scope of its U.S. Souris (Mouse) River Basin Feasibility Study.
The meetings will run from 7:30-9 p.m. with an open house from 6:30-7:30 p.m. They will be held:
Oct. 24 - Mowell Lansford Sherwood School (Old Gym), 101 3rd Street NW, Mohall Oct. 25 - Verendrye Electric, 615 Highway 52 W, Velva Oct. 26 - Minot Municipal Auditorium, Room 201, 420 3rd Avenue SW, Minot
The feasibility study is intended to identify and evaluate flood risk management alternatives for the Souris River Basin in North Dakota. It is meant to provide an opportunity to holistically examine potential modifications to existing reservoirs, channels and levees and look at the potential for building structural or nonstructural measures. This study is a separate yet parallel effort from that of the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project (Mouse River Plan) currently being pursued by the SRJB. The Corps' feasibility study will determine federal participation in flood risk reduction activities for the basin.
Public input provided at these meetings will be used to define the scope of the feasibility study in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. The Corps will develop an Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, as part of the feasibility study that is separate from the EIS being developed for the Mouse River Plan. Input will be used to formulate and evaluate proposed alternatives and determine potential impacts of the proposed alternatives.
Comments concerning the study may also be submitted to David Potter, Corps biologist, by calling (651) 290-5713, via email at david.f.potter@usace.army.mil, or by mail at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: Regional Planning and Environment Division North, 180 Fifth St. E., Suite 700, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1678. Written comments will become part of the study's public record and be used in the development of the study's environmental review document. Commenters should exercise care before submitting personal information with their comments.
The nearly 650 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the St. Paul District Fiscal Year 2014 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
