04/29/05 Hearing held on Snake dredging

Washington Ag April 29, 2005 The Army Corps of Engineers held a public hearing earlier this week on a draft environmental impact statement for navigation maintenance dredging of the lower Snake River. Legal challenges by environmental groups have prevented dredging activities the past few years. Jack Sands, project manager of Sediment Management Activity for the Corps, says the preferred alternative proposes to place the dredged material into the river in deeper reservoir areas to create habitat for migrating juvenile fish to rest. Sands says most of the testimony at the hearing supported the preferred alternative but the Corps has received other comments that express concern. Sands: "In terms of water quality aspects and environmental aspects associated with the proposed activity. Water quality is one concern including temperature, turbidity, some of those things that can cause a problem with some of the species in the river." The Corps says it could implement the maintenance activities as early as this coming winter. Because dredging has not been done recently the 14-foot navigation depth authorized by Congress has become critically shallow in some areas, as shallow as 8 ½ feet. I'm Bob Hoff.