Army Corps Confirms Funding for 10‑Foot Raise of Silt Retention Structure; County Seeks Monitoring Funds

A county official who recently met with regional U.S. Army Corps staff reported to the board that the Corps confirmed full funding for a 10‑foot raise of the silt retention structure (SRS). The official said the Corps indicated the raise is funded and that two additional raises remain possible.

“We got full funding for that. They got full funding for a 10 foot raise,” the county official reported. Staff said the SRS currently retains only about 16% of incoming silt and that the raise is intended to increase retention so natural flushing downstream can be more effective.

The official said monitoring is a separate issue: the Army Corps was interested in adding sensors to monitor sediment movement, but county staff do not yet know whether monitoring funding will appear in Corps budgets. The county’s lobby firm has placed a placeholder request for monitoring funds if the Corps budget does not provide them.

The discussion also clarified that the Port of Longview is responsible for dredging the Columbia River channel in front of port berths and must fund that routine maintenance. County staff said that if silt can be moved to the Columbia River by dredging, ships and port operations will be protected.

Staff said they requested expanded authority for the port to address silt and flood issues and that they asked state legislators and federal representatives to support monitoring and other actions. The county will continue coordination with the Corps, the Port of Longview and the county’s lobby firm on budget and monitoring requests.