By Nathan Straus
nstraus@jacksonvilleprogress.com
The U.S. Corps of Engineers has approved the final version of Lake Columbia’s Environmental Impact Statement draft, Angelina and Neches River Authority officials reported Monday afternoon.
The organization received the good news from the Corps about 1 p.m.
Kelley Holcomb, project manager, said the document is finally through being revised and changed.
“This is the best news that could happen right now,” Holcomb said.
The statement has been through about six drafts, he said. It has also been joined to Lake Columbia’s mitigation statement.
Holcomb said he expects to receive a notice of availability, or notice the document has been made public, in between 30 and 45 days.
“I definitely expect it by the end of February,” he said.
Among the list of locations that will have a copy of the statement are the Jacksonville Public Library and Jacksonville City Hall. The EIS will also be made available online. Holcomb said once the documents are sent out and received, a 60-day public comment period will begin.
“Some time in the middle of it we will have to have a public information workshop and a public hearing in Jacksonville,” Holcomb said.
The two are not the same events, he said. While both will be operated by the Corps, the workshop will be an informal come-and-go affair in which interested individuals may ask questions concerning the project. The public hearing will be an official event at which comments are put into public record.
“It’s very exciting. This is the farthest we’ve ever been,” Holcomb said.
After the public comment phase is over, Holcomb said the comments will be incorporated into the final version of the EIS then it’s “off to the races” from there.
