Title
Willamette Falls Locks Disposition Study Comment
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Approve and sign of public comment letter attached to staff report.
BACKGROUND:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has published a Willamette Falls Locks Preliminary Draft Disposition Study and Integrated Environmental Assessment (CENWP-PM-E-17-01). The Locks are no longer essential to the mission of the USACE and this is study is the formal process to explore the prospect of transferring the facility to a non-USACE owner and operator and, in the event a transfer is not possible, to begin the permanent deauthorization, decommissioning and closure process. The conclusion recommends the alternative “Transfer to Identified Transferee - a Non Operational Lock.”
The attached draft comment identifies that the Locks should be repaired and reopened, allowing the Willamette River to remain one river for navigation purposes from its headwaters south of Eugene to its mouth in Portland. In order for this to occur, the comments request additional time for sufficient due diligence.