Release Date

The meeting is March 14, comment deadline is April 14

JEFFERSON CITY, MO,  MARCH 1, 2023 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, will hold a public meeting from 4-7 p.m., March 14 at the Tuscumbia High School Gymnasium, 526 School Road, to provide information and solicit input from the public on a feasibility study on the lower Osage River. The study will address problems on the river due to excessive stream bank erosion, reduced side channel flows and degradation of Lock and Dam Number 1. The meeting will be an open house format with agency staff available to answer questions regarding the study.

Over time, stream bank erosion and other issues along the Osage River have led to sedimentation of important aquatic habitat, including threatened and endangered mussel beds. Impacts also include loss of stream bank vegetation and valuable farmland, threats to private and commercial infrastructure and lost habitat connectivity, as well as public safety concerns associated with decreased river channel stability.

The Lower Osage River Feasibility Study evaluates an array of potential solutions, along with estimated costs and timelines, for consideration with future implementation. Now in its second year, the study focuses on the Osage River watershed from Bagnell Dam to the mouth of the lower Osage River, approximately 82 miles.

With help and cooperation from other agencies and the public, this effort will produce a feasibility report, which will integrate National Environmental Policy Act compliance requirements for proposed solutions. Ultimately, the report could lead to authorization and funding of prioritized construction projects to begin addressing issues along the river.

Additional information about the feasibility study can be found online at www.nwk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Civil-Works-Programs-And-Projects/Osage-River-Project/.

The deadline to submit comments is April 14, 2023. Comments can be submitted by mail to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, Attention: PMP-R Lower Osage Feasibility Study, 601 E. 12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106, or by email to OsageRiverStudy@usace.army.mil.
 

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