HHD Environmental Report Available for Review

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, has released an environmental report for public review on its proposal for additional embankment repairs on Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD) surround Lake Okeechobee.

The report, known as an environmental assessment and draft finding of no significant impact focuses on a Corps proposal to extend embankment repairs in a six-mile area between Lake Harbor and Belle Glade on the south side of the lake. The document will be available for a 60-day review, with comments accepted until May 10.

“As the Corps has worked through a dam safety modification study regarding the features needed to reduce risk at the dike, we have identified the need for additional embankment repairs west of Belle Glade,” said Tim Willadsen, Herbert Hoover Dike rehabilitation project manager. “The proposed repairs would help realize the full benefits of repairs we completed from 2007 to 2013 between Belle Glade and Port Mayaca when we installed a partial cutoff wall in the dike. 

The proposed repairs would close a remaining gap in what’s known as Common Consequence zone A, which runs the length of the dike between Lake Harbor and Port Mayaca. The Corps proposes starting construction in 2017 and would likely take two years to complete.

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