ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Army Corps of Engineers has almost doubled the budget to dredge river-bottom sediment at the Mississippi River inlet to Lake Pepin. The goal: To move the sediment to improve backwater habitat near Bay City on the Wisconsin side. The $13 million contract with LS Marine of Inver Grove Heights is now $21 million. The project begins this spring. Added to the contract: Additional islands and berms to restore habitat diversity and quality that has been diminished due to sediment build-up in backwater lakes and isolated wetlands.
