USACE Jacksonville District will conduct a virtual public National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping presentation today to solicit public comments for consideration in its planned maintenance dredging of sections of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW).
The envisioned maintenance dredging will address seven discrete sections (cuts) of the 160-mile-long waterway, which extends from the mouth of the Anclote River in the north to the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River in the south.
Construction of the federal navigation channel was authorized in 1945 and completed in 1967.
The NEPA document is a re-scoping of a draft NEPA written and released for public comment in 2018. That document was not finalized at the time due of loss of funding.
USACE is consolidating the sections (cuts) under consideration so as not to analyze each one separately for future action.
Also, they will host two publicly accessible online sessions, one from 10 a.m. to noon, and the second from 6-8 p.m.
Each session will comprise two presentations beginning at the top of the hour.