USACE seeks comments on Pool 4 river sand transport

The USACE St. Paul District is seeking comments on a draft environmental assessment for the transportation of dredged material, or river sand, near Lock and Dam 4, east of Kellogg, Minnesota.

This project is a continuation of the actions laid out in the 2022 Lower Pool 4 Dredged Material Management Plan. It focuses on the transportation of river sand from sites in lower Pool 4 and the build out of three permanent river sand placement sites near Kellogg.

River sand will be offloaded from the sites in Pool 4 using a combination of mechanical (barge transport) and hydraulic (pipeline) transport, USACE said.

Mechanically transported material will be transferred from barge to a pipeline on the Lock and Dam 4 embankment. From there, it would be pumped to one of three permanent placement sites.

Hydraulically transported material will be pumped through a pipeline directly at the transfer site to the permanent placement site.

The three permanent placement sites will require some modification prior to placement, including minor tree clearing and top-soil removal, which will be saved and replaced once the site is deemed at capacity.

The plan is to begin modification of the sites in 2026 with the first offload expected to occur during the summer of 2027.

According to USACE, offloading would continue to occur intermittently through time as it is needed when the transfer sites reach capacity or as dredging in the Pool 4 occurs.