[Excerpts from Apr. 8 USACE St. Paul District News Release]
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Devils Lake, N.D., final Integrated Planning Report and Environmental Impact Statement for public comment on April 8.

The report identifies constructing a 300 cubic feet per second outlet from Pelican Lake to the Sheyenne River as the preferred alternative to alleviate flood damage at Devils Lake, if the lake continues to rise. This plan consists of installing pumping facilities, an open channel and a buried pipeline as well as mitigation features to avoid or minimize effects on the environment.

These environmental mitigation features include acquiring and managing 6,000 acres of riparian habitat, protecting the project from erosion, maintaining high-flow bypass channels to provide for critical aquatic habitat and building a sand filter to minimize the risk of biota transfer from the lake into the Sheyenne River. The project is estimated to cost $186.5 million in today's dollars.

The public may submit comments on the EIS for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The Corps expects that the Federal Register notice will appear on April 18.

Full Release
FAQ Sheet
Final Report, Vol. 1 Download
Final Report, Full FTP Download

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