New Search
Item 2: Develop emergency response plan <br /> We have developed and adopted the Emergency Response Plan for the Amazon Creek Flood <br /> Control Works (City of Eugene, September, 2008). A copy of this plan is enclosed. <br /> Item 3: Repair ditch excavation along levee landward side toe <br /> We submitted our Joint Permit Application (JPA) to the Oregon Department of State Lands and the <br /> U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on September 25, 2008 to complete this work. Pending permit <br /> approval, we will complete this work in July or August, 2009. <br /> Item 4: Evaluate necessity and permitting to remove temporary coffer dam <br /> This temporary coffer dam was designed and installed in 1999 by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers <br /> staff as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), Section 1135, Lower Amazon <br /> Creek Floodplain Restoration Project. At the end of the project construction, Army Corps staff <br /> evaluated the coffer dam and they found no reason to remove it. Therefore, the Army Corps staff <br /> decided to leave the coffer dam in place. After receiving the Army Corps inspection report from the <br /> 2007 inspection, a team of natural resources professional from the City of Eugene evaluated the <br /> coffer dam and found no reason to conclude differently than Army Corps staff. Therefore, the City <br /> intends to leave the coffer dam in place. <br /> Item 5: Develop plan for unacceptable vegetation on landward levee slope <br /> This item from the Corps inspection report is very complicated, and because of this, I have copied <br /> the full text from the report related to this item below. <br /> From Royal Avenue to Fern Ridge Reservoir there is a significant amount of vegetation on the <br /> landward levee slope and near the levee toe. Current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers guidance <br /> for the landward side of levees prohibits trees and brush on the levee slope or within 15 feet of <br /> the toe. If the project easements do not extend to 15 feet beyond the landward toe, the tree free <br /> zone extends to the limits of the easement. The vegetation makes it difficult to determine the <br /> levee section and height of the levee compared to adjacent ground. Vegetation in this section is <br /> rated as Unacceptable. Land protected by this levee is predominately wetland and agriculture. <br /> The city should identify if there are lives or property placed at risk by this levee and /or future <br /> development plans for this protected area. The levee should then either be maintained to Corps <br /> standards or exempted under a vegetation variance. If neither is achieved then the project will <br /> be made inactive in the RIP program. Implementation of the sponsor's desired course of action <br /> should be made prior to the 2008 inspection. <br /> To date, the City has done extensive research and communication with other jurisdictions on this <br /> issue. Our research and communication revealed that there are inconsistencies in the Corps <br /> approach to this issue and that there is substantial disagreement among scientists and engineers <br /> about the positive versus negative affects of trees (and their root systems) on the structural integrity <br /> of levees. Indeed, many scientists and engineers believe that trees and their root systems have a <br /> very positive influence on maintaining levee structural integrity. We also received information <br /> from Corps staff that indicates that the City should not even pursue certain options (e.g., a <br /> vegetation variance) that could result in retaining trees on the landward levee slope. <br /> Below I describe some of the specific research and communication actions we have taken on this <br /> issue. <br /> Page 2 <br />