This
Project is funded in part by the Oregon State
Lottery and administered by the State of Oregon,
Economic and Community Development Department.
Over
the last several years, the marine
transportation industry has shown increasing
interest in Coos Bay for the development of an
intermodal container terminal. With container
ships increasing in size, the Oregon
International Port of Coos Bay (the Port) sought
authorization from the Assistant Secretary of
Army (ASA) to pursue the required analysis of
channel modifications for lower Coos Bay in
order to serve the newest class of container
ships coming into service. On June 11, 2007,
the Port received authorization from the ASA-Civil
Works to pursue the studies necessary to
determine whether such a project should be
recommended to the U.S. Congress for
authorization. Under Section 203 of the Water
Resources Development Act of 1986 the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers will be the lead agency
overseeing the process for a combined
Feasibility Study/Environmental Impact Statement
(FS/EIS) of the proposed channel modifications.
The Port has hired David Evans and Associates as
its Project Manager for the Section 203
process.
Elements of the proposed federal project
include:
* Deepening
the federal navigation channel from the ocean
entrance to the railroad bridge from its current
authorized depth of -37 MLLW (Mean Lower Low
Water) to -51 MLLW;
* Widening
from 300’ to 600’;
* Dredge
material disposal;
* Potential
ocean entrance jetty modifications;
*
Ecosystem
restoration, and;
* Maintenance
dredging.
The
Port believes that the project is needed to:
* Increase
capacity for large container ships at US West
Coast ports;
* Benefit
the national economy;
*
Improve security for the international movement
of goods, and;
*
Improve safety and
efficiency in the Coos Bay Navigation Channel.
A
map of the proposed project area is shown
below. More information regarding the channel
modification project can be found at
www.CoosBayChannelEIS.com |
