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Corps’ look at
mouth has group grinning
Published July
1, 2008
The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers has decided
re-opening the mouth of the San
Bernard River will have a positive
impact on the wildlife, vegetation
and overall quality of the river —
likely clearing the way for the
mouth to be cleared.
Just one step remains before
dredging can begin to return the
river’s flow into the Gulf of
Mexico, a pair of public hearings.
According to an environmental
assessment draft the Corps finished
in June, the habitat of the piping
plover — a threatened species of
bird that nests along the river —
will be affected temporarily while
the mouth is cleared. But once the
project is complete, the bird will
have even more area to nest in, said
Roy Edwards, a member of Friends of
the River San Bernard, which has
spearheaded efforts to re-open the
river’s mouth.
“I think their major concern was the
critical habitat for the piping
plover,” Edwards said. “When they go
in and open the channel, they will
destroy 1.1 acres of critical
habitat for the piping plover,”
Edwards said. “But the way they’re
going to do it, they will make 2.5
acres at a minimum of critical
habitat for the piping plover, so
there will be a net gain of a
minimum of 1.4 acres of piping
plover habitat.”
But piping plovers aren’t the only
ones that will benefit from the
opening of the mouth.
“Also when they put the driftwood
and the vegetation up, that will
help rebuild the sand dunes, which
give cover for various plants and
animals,” Edwards said. “And any
sand that blows over then will
create a wetlands area where the
river channel is now; that’ll be
about 145 acres.”
In addition, the opening of the
mouth won’t be hindered by a
possible shipwreck found along it,
he said. Instead, the proposed path
has merely changed a bit.
More than six “magnetic anomalies”
were found during a remote-sensing
survey conducted by the Corps of
Engineers that could be ship
wreckage, or pieces associated with
a historic hotel that used to be
along the river’s eastern bank,
according to the environmental
assessment.
“In order to minimize the adverse
effects, the channel alignment was
shifted approximately 150 feet to
the west to avoid all anomalies,”
the environmental assessment draft
states.
The assessment was needed as part of
the governmental process, Edwards
said. According to the draft, the
Corps recommends a finding of no
significant impact be prepared and
signed.
But before that can happen, two
public meetings must take place to
include public comments, Edwards
said.
The plan as it stands is to dredge a
channel 100 feet wide and 10 feet
deep to open the blocked river mouth
to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Corps’ interest in opening the
San Bernard mouth was piqued because
it would alleviate the fast flow of
water at the Brazos River
floodgates, Edwards said. Silt has
choked off the San Bernard from the
Gulf, and the river has funneled
through the Intracoastal Waterway
and into the Brazos River, creating
a dangerously violent current at the
narrow floodgates.
“Once they break through the surf
line and the river starts to go into
the Gulf — even though they haven’t
completed their project — it will
start taking the waters that are now
going through the west gate on the
Brazos directly into the Gulf,”
Edwards said. “It should alleviate
the concerns and navigational
problems before the project is
completed.”
After the two public meetings, a
final environmental assessment can
be put together and signed.
Then the real work can begin.
By Sept. 30, the contract for the
dredging should be awarded and work
will begin three weeks later,
Edwards said.
For the complete environmental
assessment draft, go to
sanbernardriver.com.
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PROJECT
TIMELINE
Work to clear the San Bernard River
mouth could be finished by year’s
end.
June
Environmental assessment draft
completed
July/Aug.
Two public hearings to be scheduled
Sept. 30
Contract awarded
Oct. 21
Work scheduled to begin
Dec. 21
Completion expected
Source: Friends of the River San
Bernard
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