Public invited to provide input on draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Mouse River

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, and the Souris River Joint Water Resource Board, or SRJB, are holding a public meeting to accept comments on the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project (Mouse River Plan) draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. The meeting will be held Dec. 15 in room 201 at the Minot Auditorium, 420 3rd Ave. Southwest, Minot. There will be an open house starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by a formal presentation and public comments/input from 7-9 p.m. The SRJB is proposing to construct the first segments of a flood damage reduction project in the corridor that would include building approximately 18.9 miles of levees and 2.7 miles of floodwall. The project would also include, among other things, the building of 21 transportation closure structures, 23 storm water pump stations and associated ponding areas and the reconstruction or modification of six bridges. The project is designed to pass flows up to 27,400 cubic feet per second. The SRJB submitted a request to the Corps of Engineers to make alterations to the federal flood damage reduction project in Minot in order to begin construction on the first three segments of the Mouse River Plan. As a requirement of this request, a draft programmatic EIS has been developed to assess impacts that may be caused by the project. Public input provided at these meetings will be used to assist in preparing the final programmatic EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. The Mouse River Plan is a separate, yet parallel, effort from that of the Corps' Souris River Basin feasibility study. The Mouse River Plan is primarily a state and local funded plan, while the Corps' study will determine federal participation in flood risk reduction activities for the basin. 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 Corps' 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.