Army Corps Of Engineers Public Meeting: Toutle River Dam Spillway Raised?

[fireweed]

PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS MOUNT ST. HELENS SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is hosting a public information meeting Aug.23, 2011 regarding the long-term sediment management plan for the Mount St.Helens area.  Doors will open at the Toutle Lake High School multi-purpose room at 6 p.m.At 6:30 p.m. Corps representatives will present the results of their most recent sediment studies and discuss the agency's preliminary long-term plan to manage the sediment in the North Fork Toutle River. Following the presentation, Corps representatives will be available until 8 p.m. to answer questions. Toutle Lake High School is located at 5050 Spirit Lake Hwy., Toutle, Wash.  For more information about the Corps' history at Mount St. Helens go to http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/locations/mountsthelens.asp.

[fireweed]

Here's the scoop on the meeting.  Word is the Corps proposes to raise the Dam's spillway to trap more sediment behind the existing dam.  This will back the River up further into the state St. Helens wildlife area (Loowit Unit), toward the Mt. St. Helens National Monument.  The corps has been looking at lower cost ways to keep sediment out of the Cowlitz and Columbia which arrives from the Toutle.