"Comments" lay out arguments against Corps plan

The cities of Augusta and North Augusta appear to be laying the groundwork for a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over a proposed plan to remove New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam in favor of a rock weir fish passage, according to the joint comments filed by those cities.

The public comment period ended Tuesday afternoon on the Corps' recommended plan for the lock and dam and the cities submitted a 32-page "Legal Comments" that lays out a number of arguments against the plan and how they believe the Corps violated federal law and its own policies and procedures in formulating that recommendation. Chief among them is that the recommended plan does not adhere to the relevant section of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016 that the Corps is proceeding under.

The cities claim that law spells out two options for the Corps: to repair the unstable lock wall and modify the existing structure "to maintain the pool for navigation, water supply, and recreational activities, as in existence on the date of enactment of this Act" and allow for fish passage to historic spawning grounds in the Augusta shoals; or build a structure in the Savannah River that can "maintain the pool for water supply and recreational activities, as in existence on the date of enactment of" the law and allow the lock and dam to be removed. 

The cities argue that if the Corps wants to remove the lock and dam, the language on the law "is clear that Congress did not intend that fish be passed. Accordingly, if the Corps still wishes to implement fish passage as mitigation for its other project, the Savannah Harbor Expansion, then it must keep the NSBLD in place, repair it, and construct a fish passage over it."

In fact, the cities argue, "as none of the Corps’ alternatives maintains existing surface water pool elevations – dropping the pool by as much as 6 feet depending upon the alternative and location – no alternative proposed by the Corps satisfies the requirements" of that law.

The cities argue that the WIIN Act, which also de-authorized the lock and dam, and the Savannah project should be treated as separate projects 180 miles apart requiring their own impact assessments and should not be lumped together as the Corps has done. The cities also argue the Corps has already issued a report that its recommended plan had no significant impact before the effects of a February draw-down meant to simulate conditions under that project could be studied and before the public had a chance to comment on it. In fact, the cities argued, just the opposite is likely to happen.

"(That) the Corps’ proposal will result in severe damage to the Augusta Region’s economic future, impacts to millions in government investment, its water supply, its water‐dependent quality of life, lifestyle and character, to mitigate for a single effect – fishery impact – from a $ 706 million Corps deepening project is unconscionable," the cities said.

Hurting the Augusta area to help a Savannah project is not right, the cities said.

"It is inappropriate, illegal and patently unfair to place such a significant impact on the Augusta region simply to permit benefits to another region," they said.

Whether that amount of work and impact on Augusta is even justified is also questionable. The cities point to a fisheries report that estimated that the deepening would result in the deaths of four endangered sturgeon and the catch and release out of the work area of 20 others. Nor is a rock dam and weir fish passage likely to work, the cities argue, pointing to a lack of evidence that sturgeon fish passage were able to get through a similar structure on the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, a project now being re-evaluated.

The cities argue it is "unlawful" to then place disproportionate impact to the Augusta area to achieve scientifically questionable and arguably experimental ecosystem and species benefits as mitigation for impacts from a separate harbor deepening project 180 miles away, and improper to do so prior to assessing alternatives more beneficial to the sturgeon and less impactful to the region and the ecosystem and resources in the Augusta and North Augusta region."

Russell Wicke, a spokesman for the Corps' Savannah District, said the agency was not in a position to respond specifically to those allegations.

"We've got more than 300 comments," he said. "We're going to address every single one of these comments. We just haven't had a chance to look at them."

Mayor Pro Tem Sean Frantom alluded to a potential need to file a lawsuit during an address Wednesday to the CSRA Home Connections Networking Breakfast, adding "I think we have some legal standing. As a region we are very concerned about it."

He alluded to support for the cities' position offered last week by Gov. Brian Kemp, and the city and Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis are working on setting up a further meeting with Kemp. But the city is also hopeful that the public comments and the arguments the cities put forward will convince the Corps to be more open to negotiation.

"I'm hoping that it will give us some momentum so they do have to come to the table," Frantom said. "Hopefully, we can come up with a solution that works for all."

Corps' leader visits

The man overseeing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers came down himself Tuesday to take a look at New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam.

R.D. James, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, flew into Augusta on Tuesday and was briefed by Corps' Savannah District Commander Col. Daniel Hibner on the history and various factors that play into the project, which include fish passage and federal funding and time constraints, said districts spokesman Russell Wicke. James toured the lock and dam and also got a helicopter tour of the Savannah River from the lock and dam through downtown Augusta to Thurmond Dam, courtesy of the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade out of Savannah, Wicke said.

The visit came a week after a sharply worded letter went to James from South Carolina's Republican U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, and Republican Georgia Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, as well as U.S. Reps. Rick Allen (R-Ga.) and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.). The lettercriticized the Corps' recommended plan for the lock and dam and potential drop in the pool of water in the Savannah as apparently not in keeping with the legislation they passed, the Water infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016.

Timeline

Now that the public comment period is closed on a draft recommended plan for New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District, the district has to start reading them. The Corps is required to read and respond to every comment and may adjust its plan accordingly, spokesman Russell Wicke said. Those comments and changes would be incorporated into a final draft sent to the Corps' South Atlantic Division office in Atlanta, probably sometime in June. A final decision from that office could come in August or early September and then the Corps plans to have another public meeting to discuss the findings and answer questions from the public, Savannah District spokesman Russell Wicke said.

Timeline