OMAHA, Neb. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Missouri River Recovery Management Plan (MRRMP) is now available to the public.
USACE, or the Corps, worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC), basin Tribal governments, states, and stakeholders to identify an alternative that avoids a finding of jeopardy for the continued existence of the least tern, piping plover, and pallid sturgeon and also minimizes impacts to other river resources and uses.
The preferred alternative in the EIS is the proposed action in the USACE Final Biological Assessment which received a no jeopardy Biological Opinion from the USFWS in April 2018. The Preferred Alternative allows USACE to continue to operate for all authorized purposes while complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and treaty and trust responsibilities.
The Draft EIS was released in December of 2016 and included a 122-day public comment period that ended on April 24, 2017. During that time USACE held six public meetings to solicit comments on the Draft EIS. The USACE received approximately 450 comments on the Draft EIS through the public meetings, mail, and online comment forms. Comments were received from members of the public, businesses, non-governmental and civic organizations, Federal, state and local governments, and Tribal governments. USACE analyzed these comments and considered them in preparation of the Final EIS.
The Final EIS can be viewed online at: http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/mrrp/mgmt-plan or at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/MRRMP.
The Final EIS has also been filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA Notice of Availability will be posted in the Federal Register on Sept. 7. The review period will end Oct. 9.
Comments can be submitted via the following methods until October 9, 2018:
· Input comments online at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/MRRMP (preferred method)
· Comment letters can be attached via email at:
cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil
· Hard-copy written comments can be submitted to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Omaha District
ATTN: CENWO-PM-AC – Management Plan Comments
1616 Capitol Avenue
Omaha, NE 68102