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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY st. Paul District Corps of Engineers 190 Fifth Street East St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1683 APR 2 1 20U5 REPLY TO ATTENTION OF Operations Regulatory (MVP-2004-3779-JJY) Mr. David M. Osberg City Administrator City of Hastings 101 4th Street East Hastings, Minnesota 55033-1955 Dear Mr. Osberg: As you have discussed with Mr. Joseph Yanta of the Regulatory Branch, we will need to conduct an individual permit review for the public dock that the City of Hastings proposes to construct just upstream of the Highway 61 bridge, in the river bend. The proposed public dock is a structure within a navigable water (the Mississippi River) regulated by the Corps of Engineers under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. Our review will include a public notice inviting comments. As part of our permit review, we must determine that the project is not contrary to the public interest and that it does not have an adverse effect on navigation. Docks such as this can often be authorized under a general permit (such as GP-01-MN that covers work also authorized by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources), ifthere are no substantive objections to the project. However, preliminary coordination with other agencies and navigation interests indicated that a general permit is not appropriate for this dock because of the controversy and concerns regarding safety. Because our attempts to resolve the differences of opinion informally have been unsuccessful, we need to use the formal individual permit review process so that we make can make an informed permit decision. The proposed location is in a relatively narrow reach of the river that is difficult to maneuver because ofthe sharp bend and the Highway 61 bridge. It is close to downtown Hastings. Alternative locations closer to downtown do not appear to be feasible because the river is so narrow. City representatives have indicated that apparently safer locations farther away may be too distant from the downtown. Both Corps of Engineers staff and navigation industry representatives expressed concern that the dock and boaters using it may be endangered by barge traffic. In particular, the River Industry Action Committee (RIAC), an organization that represents the commercial navigation industry, expressed serious concerns about this location based on the experience of their members. ... ..". ?"~ 'l)!J Printed on (i) Recyded Paper