The department proposes to issue a Section 401 Water Quality Certification to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-Kansas City District, subject to general or special conditions. The department invites the public to review and offer written comments on the proposed certification conditions until Sept. 8, 2023. The public can review the proposed certification conditions below. Other relevant information is available for review and copying upon request. Written comments may be submitted by mail to Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Water Quality Certification, PO Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176 or by email to wpsc401cert@dnr.mo.gov. Please include the certification number in the comment letter.
USACE requested Section 401 Water Quality Certification to accompany Permit No. NWK-2023-004-CW. The project is located along the left descending bank of the Missouri River, between River Miles 174.5 and 173.3, directly upstream of the Missouri Department of Conservation Plowboy Bend Conservation Area, in Boone County, Missouri. The proposed project is constructing the Plowboy Bend Interception and Rearing Complex (IRC) Project. The project will modify hydraulic conditions by adjusting river structures within the Plowboy Bend project site, to increase interception of free-drifting sturgeon embryos from the channel thalweg and move them into suitable nursery habitat along the channel margins. The recommended plan will modify three existing dikes and construct two new dikes. Modification to existing dikes will include strategically adding bank protection features, adding notches, raising heights and lowering the riverward sills. New dike construction will include bank protection features, notches and lower riverward sills.