Bunge North America, Inc., seeks authorization, under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, to continue maintenance dredging operations at its’ Grand Tower facility in Jackson County, Illinois. This proposal is for the re-authorization of the same permit issued to the applicant in July of 2006 (P-2506 Public Notice Issued March 21, 2006). Yearly low water flows and increased sedimentation/siltation, fleeting operations have caused dredging operations to become increasingly more difficult. The applicant has elected to utilize the services of Luhr Bros, Inc., who would conduct the dredging of approximately 3,500 cubic yards of sandy material with a back hoe perched atop a spud barge. The backhoe will fill awaiting barges for transfer to a disposal site. The disposal site is an existing quarry owned by Luhr Bros., Inc., located in their Tower Rock Stone Company quarry, Missouri, at approximate Mississippi River mile 46. Once at the site, the material will be unloaded from the vessels with a backhoe, and transported by truck to the quarry. The proposed project does not involve a Section 404 Clean Water Act permit, and therefore does not trigger the need for a Section 401 water quality certification from the State of Missouri or Illinois. The project is located on the left descending bank of Mississippi River mile 82.5, Jackson County, Illinois. Specifically, the project is located on the Altenburg USGS quadrangle map, latitude 37:39:52.1481, longitude -89:30:49.4181.
The Public Notice comment period opens on December 01, 2016, and closes on December 22, 2016.