Saturday, February 19, 2011

MRAPs Draft Scoping Summary and Public Feedback Meetings

(blogmaster's note: Last year the Corps of Engineers held public comment and scoping meetings throughout the Missouri and Lower Mississippi River basin as the first stage in a five-year study revisiting the 8 authorized purposes of the management of the Missouri River. This March, the draft summary of this stage of the study will be released online, followed by more public comment meetings. To check out the public comments submitted last year, click here. One more note - a lot of politicians have stated that this study is a repeat of the Master Manual study completed in 2006. Here's a link to a brochure the Corps published highlighting the differences between the two studies: http://mraps.org/sites/default/files/documents/study_scope_mm_vs_mraps.pdf )
Here's the press release from the Corps of Engineers about upcoming MRAPs activities:
(original link: http://mraps.org/mraps-draft-scoping-summary-report-be-available-online-feedback-meetings-scheduled )

Kansas City, MO - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold seven public meetings to collect feedback on the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS) Draft Scoping Summary Report. Throughout the summer of 2010, the Corps received scoping comments to help define the study scope of the MRAPS. Those comments received by Sept. 20, 2010, have been taken into account, analyzed and addressed by the Corps in the Draft Scoping Summary Report. The draft report will be made available for online viewing in March 2011 on www.mraps.org .



The public feedback meetings will take place at the following locations:
Mar 28     Billings, MT     Crowne Plaza, 27 N. 27th St.
Mar 29     Bismarck, ND     Best Western Doublewood Inn, 1400 E. Interchange Ave.
Mar 30     Pierre, SD     Kings Inn Hotel & Conference Center, 110 E. Sioux Ave.
Mar 31     Sioux City, IA     Stoney Creek Inn, 300 3rd St.
Apr 4     Nebraska City, NE     Lied Lodge Conference Center, 2700 Sylvan Rd.
Apr 5     Kansas City, KS     Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Minnesota Ave.
Apr 6     St. Louis, MO     Doubletree Hotel St. Louis at Westport, 1973 Craigshire Rd.

The public meetings will run from 5 to 7 p.m. with a Corps presentation from 5 to 6 p.m. The second hour (6 to 7 p.m.) will be a public speaker feedback period regarding the Draft Scoping Summary Report.

“The purpose of these meetings is to give interested parties the opportunity to provide the Corps with face-to-face feedback on whether the draft scoping summary report accurately captures their comments received during last summer’s scoping period and their thoughts on the Corps’ initial response to those comments,” said Mark Harberg, study co-manager. “The Scoping Summary Report and public feedback meetings are not required by regulation; however, the Corps believes these efforts facilitate effective communication on this important study.”

BACKGROUND: Congress directed the Corps to conduct a study of the Missouri River projects within the basin to review the original project purposes based on the 1944 Flood Control Act to determine if changes to these purposes are warranted. The eight originally authorized purposes are flood control, hydropower, water supply, irrigation, navigation, recreation, water quality and fish and wildlife. Infrastructure operated by both the Corps and Bureau of Reclamation is included in the study. Feedback may be submitted at the public meetings or through this website through April 30, 2011. Feedback can also be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District; CENWO-PM-AA; ATTN: Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study; 1616 Capitol Avenue, Suite 9000; Omaha, NE 68102-4901; must be postmarked by April 30, 2011.

Contact:
Jennifer Salak - (402)-995-2680
Trisha Dorsey - (816)-389-3075

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