A draft supplemental environmental assessment to evaluate the impacts of restoring the ecological function of the Tyson Bend shallow water habitat backwater site in Harrison County, Iowa is currently available for public review.
The EA specifically evaluates construction activities required to operate and maintain the backwater and associated features without adversely impacting the Missouri River authorized purposes including flood risk management.
According to the Corps, the project is needed because excess sedimentation has negatively impacted the river-backwater connection and ecological function of the backwater.
In 2012, the Corps completed a project to remove some of the accreted sediment at the backwater entrance to restore the river–backwater connection.
Since the 2012 construction, the entrance has continued to experience sedimentation and connection issues and needs to be dredged in order to restore its ecological function.
Deadline for sending comments on the draft environmental assessment is August 25, 2017.