Project summary
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) is proposing a project to restore degraded backwater habitat and floodplain forest. The project includes dredging accumulated sediments from an approximately 5-acre area of a backwater in Upper Pool 9 of the Mississippi River to create deep lentic aquatic habitat for fishes. Dredged material will be used to increase land elevation in ~5 acres of floodplain to facilitate the re-establishment of forest killed by flooding and changing hydrology to restore floodplain forest and promote natural regeneration.
Environmental Assessment Worksheet
MN DNR, as the Responsible Governmental Unit (RGU) for environmental review of the project, is accepting comments on the EAW.
EAW documents:
Public comment period:
Public notice of the availability of the EAW for public comment is in the October 7, 2025, edition of the EQB Monitor. A 30-day public review and comment period will be open from October 7, 2025, until 4:30 p.m. November 6, 2025.
A hard copy of the EAW is available for public review at the following libraries:
- Houston County Public Library, 202 East Cedar, Houston, MN 55943
- DNR Library, 500 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, MN 55155
- Hennepin County – Minneapolis Central Library, Government Documents, Second Floor, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401
- Rochester Public Library, 101 Second Street SE, Rochester, MN 55904
A hard copy may be requested by calling 651-259-5100.
Comments must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. Thursday, November 6, 2025.
- Email comments should be sent to [email protected] with “Reno Bottoms ” in the subject line.
- Mailed comments should be sent to the attention of Kathy Metzker, EAW project manager, Ecological and Water Resources Division, Minnesota DNR, 500 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, MN 55155.
Anyone providing a mailing address or submitting comments via email will receive a copy of the subsequent decision document, which will include responses to comments. Because all comments and related information are part of the public record for this environmental review, commenters’ names and email or postal addresses will be published and publicly available as they appear in the materials commenters submit.