COG asks for 60‑day extension on county dredge‑materials study; lab tests suggest rare‑metals market potential

Bill Fasching of the regional Council of Governments told commissioners the consultant on a 2025 rural development grant studying county dredge materials needs 60 more days to finalize testing, rework results and complete quality checks. Fasching said field sampling, lab characterization and quantity estimates are finished and that the lab indicated a fairly high percentage of rare metals in samples, which could change market valuations for the material if confirmed in final analysis.

Fasching listed expected deliverables: a market‑use inventory describing potential end users, per‑mile cost estimates for extraction and transport, identification of future dredge‑spoil sites, a resource and funding matrix that surveys federal programs and other funding options, and a project implementation plan with action steps for the coming years. He said the consultant could complete the work with another 60 days and that the COG had previously asked informally for extra time.

Commissioners asked about likely outcomes and sites targeted for dredge‑material extraction; Fasching said most targets are county‑owned sites with historic dredge spoils dating to the 1980s. Sean Rowley said staff will amend the contract to the July timeframe and return the contract to the board in the next couple of weeks for action.

There was no formal vote on the extension in the transcript; staff indicated they would amend the contract and bring it back.