Inslee: Mitigation agreements with Greenberry, Oregon Iron Works finalized
The first of two Columbia River Crossing meetings sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard begins at 5 p.m. today.
The Coast Guard is in the process of reviewing the CRC project team’s application for a bridge permit. The height of the proposed bridge has emerged as a key issue, with three metal fabricators at the Columbia Business Center concerned the new span will affect their ability to ship their largest cargoes by barge. The CRC is attempting to negotiate agreements with the firms.
Today’s meeting in Portland takes place 5 to 8 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel on the River, 909 N. Hayden Island Drive. Wednesday’s public meeting will take place 5 to 8 p.m. at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 W. Sixth St.
Speaker registration begins at 4:30 p.m. for both meetings.
Public comment guidelines for both meetings are as follows:
o Comments will follow the order in which speakers registered.
o Each person’s comment is limited to three minutes.
o Public commenters can’t double-dip by speaking at both meetings.
o The views of any group should be presented by just one spokesperson.
In particular, the Coast Guard would like to hear from the public about any impacts the CRC could have to vessels on the Columbia River. Gripes about light-rail transit, construction impacts to local businesses, congestion and safety problems on the current I-5 Bridge, or the project’s price tag are less important to the federal agency than issues of river navigation.
“The Coast Guard is required to ensure that bridges do not unreasonably obstruct the needs of navigation, and that is the primary consideration behind every bridge permitting decision,” Lt. Regina Caffrey, Seattle-based spokeswoman for District 13 of the Coast Guard, said by email. “Each bridge application permit review is unique, and information is considered as comprehensively as possible. … The Coast Guard does consider information such as economic impacts as data points, but is not a determining factor.”
