The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City and Omaha Districts, announces six public meetings to be held in conjunction with the release of the draft Missouri River Recovery Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (MRRMP-EIS). The Notice of Availability will be published in the Federal Register on Dec. 23, 2016.

The Kansas City and Omaha Districts, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), have developed the draft MRRMP-EIS. It is a programmatic assessment of the Missouri River Recovery Program which includes major federal actions necessary to comply with the Endangered Species Act by avoiding a finding of jeopardy to three federally-listed threatened and endangered species: the pallid sturgeon, interior least tern, and the Northern Great Plains piping plover. The draft MRRMP-EIS can be accessed at the USACE digital library or https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/MRRP/.

Thumb drives containing the draft MRRMP-EIS and supporting documents are available at the following libraries:

Wolf Point, MT
Roosevelt County Library
220 2nd Avenue S.
Wolf Point, MT 59201

Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library
515 N 5th St.
Bismarck, ND 58501

Rawlins Municipal Library
1000 East Church Street
Pierre, SD 57501

Omaha Public Library
215 S 15th St
Omaha, NE 68102

W Clarke Swanson Library
9101 W. Dodge Road
Omaha, NE 68114

Kansas City Public Library
14 West 10th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105

Kansas City Public Library – Plaza Branch
4801 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64112

Kansas City Public Library – Westport Branch
118 Westport Road
Kansas City, MO 64111

St. Louis Public Library
1301 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63133

St. Louis County Library – Samuel C. Sachs Branch
16400 Burkhardt Place
Chesterfield, MO 63017

For more information regarding the Missouri River Recovery Program please visit the website at https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/MRRP/.

Public Meetings

Participants are encouraged to attend one of the following meetings to learn more about the MRRMP-EIS and provide feedback to the USACE. All meetings are scheduled from 5-8:45 p.m.; the format will consist of an open house from 5–5:45 p.m. followed by a brief presentation and public hearing from 5:45– 8 p.m. Following this, the open house will continue to 8:45 p.m.

Fort Peck, MT --Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Fort Peck Interpretive Center
Yellowstone Road
Fort Peck, MT 59223

Bismarck, ND --Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Bismarck State College-National Energy Center of Excellence (Bavendick Ballroom #415)
1500 Edwards Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58506

Pierre, SD – Thursday, February 9, 2017
Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center
Galleria B & C
920 W. Sioux Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501

Omaha, NE - Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Thompson Alumni Center – Bootstrapper Hall
6705 Dodge Street
Omaha, NE 68182

Kansas City, MO - Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Hilton - Kansas City Airport
Shawnee B
8801 NW 112th Street
Kansas City, MO 64153

St. Louis, MO - Thursday, February 16, 2017
Double Tree by Hilton Hotel – Chesterfield, MO
Ballroom A & B
16625 Swingley Ridge Road
Chesterfield, MO 63017

Notice is further given to all individuals with disabilities that this meeting is being held in a physically accessible place. Please notify cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil at least 48 hours prior to the meeting if you have special needs for which this department will need to make arrangements.

Meeting Format and Schedule

5–5:45 p.m.: Open House
The open house will allow the public an opportunity to review information stations and ask questions of USACE staff and subject matter experts concerning the document. A court reporter will be available during the open house portion to accept one-on-one comments. Written comments will also be accepted on comment forms provided during the meetings.

5:45-6 p.m.: Presentation
A USACE project manager will make a brief presentation: Missouri River Recovery Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement.

6-8 p.m.: Public Hearing
The public hearing will allow USACE and USFWS to receive oral or written comments on the draft MRRMP-EIS that will enable them to evaluate the impacts of the management actions on the public interest. Individuals intending to provide oral comments during the formal public hearing session must register at the sign-in/welcome station. The USACE District Commander will convene and moderate the public hearing. Speakers will be called to the podium to comment in the order of registration. Each speaker will be given a period of three minutes to present. The public hearings will be recorded and transcribed. If comments cannot be completed in the three-minute period, speakers will be encouraged to submit them in writing. Efforts will be made to accommodate each individual who has registered to speak; however, given time constraints, there is no guarantee that all who have signed up will be able to speak.

8-8:45 p.m.: Open House continued

How to Submit Comments

Comments regarding the MRRMP-EIS will be accepted through February 24, 2017. All comments received, written and oral, will become part of the administrative record.

• Comment Forms—Complete and drop off a comment form before departing the meeting or mail the form to the address provided below by February 24, 2017.
• Court Reporter—Give comments to the court reporter (one-on-one) during the open house session.
• Public Hearing —Give comments at the podium in order of registration.

• Planning, Environment and Public Comment System (PEPC)—Public comments for each section may be made online by linking to the website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectId=48574. (Click document list to review sections of the MRRMP-EIS comments are collected for each section separately).

• Written Comments—Mail, postmarked by February 24, 2017, to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Omaha District
ATTN: CENWO-PM-AC – Management Plan Comments
1616 Capitol Avenue
Omaha, NE 68102