Corps seeking public comments on Council Bluffs Riverfront Project Draft Environmental Assessment

OMAHA, Neb.. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, is seeking public comments on the recently released Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the Council Bluffs Riverfront Project. The purpose of the project is to improve public access to the Missouri River riverfront in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to enhance the riverfront with a variety of active recreational spaces, and to create riverfront recreation that will draw people from western Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

The public can view and leave comments on the plan online from March 12 to April 12, 2021 at councilbluffsriverfront.com.

Many of the proposed improvements in areas north and south of Tom Hanafan Park occur within the federal levee critical zone for the flood risk reduction infrastructure under the jurisdiction of USACE. The PEA has been prepared to analyze the potential environmental impacts of the Council Bluffs Riverfront Project. Subsequent to completion of the PEA, as individual design packages are submitted, supplemental or tiered documentation to the PEA would be completed if necessary.

The public is encouraged to provide comments on the Draft PEA, which is available for viewing at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Planning/Project-Reports/. A hard copy of the report will also be available for viewing at the Council Bluffs Public Library. Comments can be submitted through an online comment form at the end of the online meeting. Comments can also be submitted to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District; CENWO-PMA-C; ATTN: Aaron Quinn; 1616 Capitol Avenue; Omaha, NE 68102-4901. Comments can also be emailed to: cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil. Comments must be postmarked or received no later than April 12.

This Draft PEA is consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Council on Environmental Quality’s regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), USACE’s regulations for implementing NEPA (33 CFR 325 and Engineering Regulation 200-2-2) and other applicable environmental laws and regulations.