Dear Neighbors,

As you are likely aware, the Army Corps of Engineers has outlined a dredging plan that would have several negative consequences for Wabasha residents. The plan calls for dredged material – sand and silt – to be removed from part of the Mississippi River and dumped into an area of Wabasha. During the 40 year life of the plan, roughly 10 million cubic yards of dredged material will be dumped there.

The city rightfully has a number of concerns, which were outlined in a recent letter to the plan’s project manager. You can read that letter here.

Since the plan was announced I’ve received a high volume of feedback from concerned residents of Wabasha and city leaders. Rest assured: I agree with those concerns, and I stand in opposition to the plan. I have been working – and will continue working – with Rep. Haley, Rep. Drazkowski, and city leaders to make our concerns known and seek alternative solutions.

So what can you do? Let the Corps know how you feel.

The Corps recently extended a public comment period in which you can provide feedback about the proposal. We are also working to extend the public comment period until December 29, 2017, so the Corps can continue gathering citizen input. I would encourage you to add this request in your correspondence.

You can send your ideas and solutions, along with your request to extend the public comment deadline to December 29, 2017 to Bob Edstrom, Corps project manager, at Robert.K.Edstrom@usace.army.mil, or by mail to:

St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Attention: Project Management
180 5^th St. E., Suite 700
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1678.

Comments are due July 28, so please don’t wait to send in your feedback.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Sen. Mike Goggin