THE PURPOSE OF THIS PUBLIC NOTICE IS TO SOLICIT COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE WORK DESCRIBED BELOW. A DECISION HAS NOT BEEN MADE REGARDING ISSUANCE OF PERMISSION AT THIS TIME.
PROJECT TITLE: Mosquito Creek MEC Monitoring Wells Installation (Section 408 Reference Number: 408-NWO-2024-0022).
REQUESTER: In compliance with USC Title 33, Chapter 9, Subchapter 1, Section 408, the Mid American Energy Company (Requester) has requested permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for an alteration at the L-624 MoRiv LB & Indian LB & Mosquito Creek RB and L-624-627- Mosquito Creek LB - City of CB Segment (Federal Project).
AUTHORITY: The authority to grant permission for temporary or permanent use, occupation, or alteration of any USACE civil works project is contained in Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended, codified at 33 USC 408 (“Section 408”). Section 408 authorizes the Secretary of the Army, on the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers, to grant permission for the alteration or occupation or use of a USACE project if the Secretary determines that the activity will not be injurious to the public interest and will not impair the usefulness of the project. The Secretary of the Army’s authority under Section 408 has been delegated to USACE, Chief of Engineers. USACE, Chief of Engineers has further delegated the authority to USACE, Directorate of Civil Works and Division and District Engineers, depending upon the nature of the activity. An alteration is defined as any action that builds upon, alters, improves, moves, occupies or otherwise affects the usefulness, or the structural or ecological integrity of a Corps federally authorized project.
EVALUATION: USACE Omaha District has determined that the Mosquito Creek MEC Monitoring Wells Installation would entail an alteration to the Federal Project, and therefore requires permission under Section 408.
LOCATION: The proposed Mosquito Creek MEC Monitoring Wells Installation project is located within the Mosquito Creek Levee right-of-way, SE ¼ of NW 1/4 Section 30, Township 74 North, Range 44 West, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Levee Station: Mosquito Creek Levee Station C168+
REQUESTER’S PROPOSED ACTON: The Requester’s proposed project is comprised of the following elements: The proposed project consists of the installation of three temporary wells and five permanent wells for the purpose of delineating and monitoring groundwater contaminants near the closed Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) impoundment located west of Mosquito Creek and for determining any further corrective measures that may be required in accordance with federal regulations. These wells are to be located west (the typical direction of groundwater flow) of the existing well MW-29 where concentrations of molybdenum lead have been recorded in excess of federal CCR standards. The new monitoring wells will be installed by a 4.25-inch inner-diameter Hollow Stem Auger (HSA) forming a nominal six-inch diameter borehole with no drilling fluids used. The wells, consisting of a 15-ft-long, two-inch inner-diameter PVC screen and PVC riser will be installed within the HSA and extend to a depth approximately 40 feet below existing grade. A 20-40 mesh silica sand filter pack and a bentonite seal will be gravity placed as the HSA is pulled from the bore hole. Three permanent wells will be located on the right bank levee and two permanent wells will be located on the left bank levee. For these wells, new fill will be imported and placed against existing levee landside slope to form a 10-ft-wide well pad at the current levee crest elevation. By this method, the top-of-riser elevation will be equal to the levee crest without obstructing vehicular traffic along the levee crest road. The three temporary wells are to be installed riverward of the left bank levee on the upper bench of the Mosquito Creek channel and are proposed to be abandoned and plugged within about three months after installation. Sample data, collected with portable pneumatic pumps, from these wells will be used to inform future corrective measures per the federal CCR regulations.
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT: USACE has determined a Categorical Exclusion is appropriate to inform the anticipated effects to the quality of the human and natural environment from implementation of the proposed Section 408 project.
A Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) & Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), for Categorically Permitted Alterations in the state of Iowa and signed USACE Omaha District Commander Colonel John W. Henderson, P.E. in March 2017. The proposed alteration(s) are included on the list of Categorically Permitted Alterations contained within the PEA identified above. Reevaluation of the potential environmental effects associated with the proposed alteration(s) will be documented in a Record of Environmental Consideration for this Section 408 review. Link to PEA & FONSI Iowa with Missouri.
LIMITS OF SECTION 408 AUTHORITY: The Requester has the responsibility to acquire all other permissions or authorizations required by Federal, state, and local laws or regulations, including any required permits from the USACE Regulatory Program under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 USC 403), Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC Section 1344). In addition, an approval under Section 408 does not grant any property rights or exclusive privileges, nor does it authorize any injury to the property or rights of others.
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: USACE will accept comments on this Public Notice and make them part of the evaluation record, and they will be considered in USACE’s determination whether the proposed alteration would be injurious to the public interest and would impair the usefulness of the Federal Project, as well as assessing the impacts of the proposal on the quality of the human environment. Interested parties may submit in writing any comments concerning this notice. USACE will consider all submissions received before the expiration date of this notice. USACE will post this Public Notice to the following website:
https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Media/Public-Notices/
SUBMITTING COMMENTS: Comments pertaining to this public notice must be submitted via email or conventional mail on or before the 18 Jun 2025 and must include the 408 Reference Number above. All comments received will become part of the administrative record and are subject to public release under the Freedom of Information Act, including personally identifiable information such as names, phone numbers, and addresses.
All email comments should be sent to: section408nwo@usace.army.mil.
Conventional mail comments should be sent to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Omaha District
Planning Branch, CENWO-PMA-A
ATTN: Section 408 Coordinator
1616 Capitol Avenue
Omaha, NE 68102