The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, is extending the public comment period once again for the draft Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) and integrated Environmental Impact Statement.
The original 45-day comment period was scheduled to run from May 3, 2019, through June 17, 2019.
It was then extended to July 2, 2019, based on requests received from project stakeholders and the public during three meetings that the Chicago District hosted in May 2019.
Now, the public comment period is being extended one more time as a result of ongoing coordination with study stakeholders in order to ensure that they are better able to review and comment on the study, reported the Corps.
The public review period will now officially close on Aug. 1, 2019.
The purpose of the study is to identify and evaluate alternatives for dredged material management for the CAWS, which is made up of six federal navigation projects: Calumet Harbor and River; the Calumet-Saganashkee (Cal-Sag) Channel; Chicago Harbor; Chicago River; the South Branch of the Chicago River; and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
USACE also added that they have analyzed alternatives that could safely confine 20 years’ worth of dredged material generated in the operation and maintenance of the federal navigation channels of the CAWS.