WABASHA, Minn.— The Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains navigation channels on the Mississippi River, has laid out a 20-year plan to pile river-bottom muck between inflows from the Chippewa and Buffalo rivers. This is in a 19-mile stretch that is a continuing problem for the Corps to keep dredged to the nine-foot depth needed for river barges and tugs. The Corps has invited public comment online: Army Corps. Also, a public meeting s is scheduled for 7 p.m., April 13, at the Wabasha-Kellogg High School. The river muck issue has been problematic among Wabasha people who objected a couple years ao to truck traffic through ritzy riverside neighborhoods to haul tons of dredged material. This time, the Corps has engaged community leaders in developing a new plan. Colonel. Karl Jansen, district commander, publicly thanked Wabasha Mayor Emily Durand for recent “leadership and vision.”

Earlier: Pipeline planned to move Mississippi muck

Verbatim

Jansen: “The working relationship between the city and the Corps has unlocked an innovative approach for keeping vital commercial navigation traffic flowing on the Mississippi and empowers the city to help manage river sand in ways that benefit the community. I’m proud of our Corps team for listening to community concerns and committing to identifying alternate approaches that are locally acceptable. Our proposed plan symbolizes the power of partnership.”

Troublesome river section. Sediment from Wisconsin’s Chippewa and Buffalo river tributaries  builds up in the Mississippi.

< Black line: Navigation channel from Alma to Reads Landing.

< Yellow boxes: Dredge sites, a.k.a. dredge cuts.

< Red boxes: Disposal mounds, a.k.a. as transfer sites.