The Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a permit request submitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. According to EPA, the Corps Draft Environmental Impact Statement presents insufficient scientific information to support dredging permits allowing sand and gravel removal from the Missouri River. The applicant's proposal would allow the removal of nearly 12 million tons per year of main channel river bottom material.
EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks says - adequate science is lacking to support issuance of the requested dredging permits. EPA says the proposal could contribute to significant riverbed loss in three segments of the river and result in damage to levees and bridges, increased flood risk and environmental damage.
The removal of sand and gravel from the river channel has been closely associated with the lowering of the riverbed, particularly in segments of the river where dredging is most concentrated. Under a separate federal project, the Army Corps of Engineers is working with local partners to fund and perform a feasibility study on solutions to the riverbed loss problem in the lower river and, particularly, the Kansas City reach of the river.
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