The new design for the Columbus riverfront incorporates a fish passage channel and a rock arch ramp structure using natural materials, which reduces the amount of grout required in the structure, accommodates boat passage and maintains the river’s water level.
Republic file photo The new design for the Columbus riverfront incorporates a fish passage channel and a rock arch ramp structure using natural materials, which reduces the amount of grout required in the structure, accommodates boat passage and maintains the river’s water level.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is inviting the public to provide feedback on Columbus’s riverfront project.
The comment period is part of a process for considering the city’s request for a permit. Deadline for comments is April 27, according to Redevelopment Director Heather Pope. Comments will be considered on whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for the city’s proposal.
“The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact of the proposed activity on the public interest,” the notice states. “That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments.”
Written statements become part of of the official record and will be considered in the decision on the permit. Any objections will be forwarded to the applicant — in this case, the city of Columbus— for possible resolution prior to the permit decision.
Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing.
“Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application,” according to the notice. “A request for a public hearing must state the specific interest which might be damaged by issuance of the DA Permit.”
Two species that may inhabit the area affected by the project are the Indiana Bat and the Northern Long-eared Bat, according to the notice. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the two species as endangered and threatened, respectively.
Furthermore, the National Register of Historic Places has been consulted, and three structures near the project site have been found eligible for the register.
In addition to its application, the city of Columbus has also sought approval from other agencies on the riverfront project.
The Department of Natural Resources issued the city a conditional permit for the project in December 2020. Officials are also seeking approval from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Mayor Jim Lienhoop said in February that applications to both IDEM and the corps of engineers were pending, and officials expected to receive approval soon.
“The river area between the Third Street and Stewart Bridges currently provides very little,” he said. “Today it presents a dangerous, failing, century-old dam, and erosion on both banks — erosion that threatens to uncover an old landfill. It is also a gap in our People Trail system.”
The riverfront project is intended to address these concerns and “maintain the water level upstream at Mill Race Park,” he said.
