Issue Summary
Because of potential for damage to bottomland hardwoods in the Dave Donaldson Black River Wildlife Management Area, the Army Corps of Engineers will use the original water control plan for Clearwater Lake at Piedmont, Mo., instead of a proposed new plan.

Since the new plan could cause significant changes to the environment of the wildlife management area, the National Environmental Policy Act blocks its implementation unless an Environmental Impact Statement is prepared to ensure adequate environmental safeguards are put in place. Corps and AGFC officials met March 3, 2001 and agreed to return to the original regulating plan until further studies can be funded and better solutions found. Under the old plan, the Corps will regulate releases to a river stage of 11.5 feet at Poplar Bluff from December 1 until March 31. From April 1 through November 30 (the agricultural season) the regulating stage at Poplar Bluff will be 10.5 feet.  Requests for deviation from this regulating plan will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will require review by AGFC. 

What's Next
The Little Rock District is evaluating existing conditions and collecting environmental baseline data for the Black River. If funding is received for FY06, various water control plans will be analyzed along with an environmental assessment.  The Little Rock District is trying to determine if the water control plan can be changed to minimize flooding to farmland and damages to timber in the Dave Donaldson Black River Wildlife Management Area.

Background
For years, farmers who plant low-lying acreage downstream of Clearwater Dam sought and were granted numerous deviations from the existing water control plan for Clearwater Lake.Because of these repeated requests, the Corps' Little Rock District began working with interest groups and government agenciesto develop a new water control plan for the 52-year-old Clearwater Lake that more closely matches the needs of today's basin users. Representatives of these interests joined together to form the Clearwater Lake/Black River Committee. In 1998, the committee unanimously endorsed an alternative water control plan to aid the farmers downstream of the lake along the Black River. By late 1999, a draft environmental assessment was completed and sent to other agencies for comment. In response, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission furnished data that indicates the proposed plan may have significant impacts to bottomland hardwoods in the Dave Donaldson Black River Wildlife Management Area. AGFC asked the Corps to return to the original water control plan. The two agencies agreed to conduct some tests to see what affect the proposed new plan would have on the hardwoods, however, extended drought made the tests impossible. Then in 2001, appropriate water conditions finally occurred. Corps personnel were able to visit the wildlife management area and confirm that significant amounts of tree roots were flooded and could, under certain conditions, remain flooded long enough to damage or destroy the trees at the regulating stages under the new plan.The new plan that was shelved called for a four-foot stage during the growing season to keep water off bottomland farms. However, the four-foot stage inundates the roots of the hardwood trees in the wildlife management area. In general, Clearwater Lake reduces widespread downstream flooding by trapping large amounts of water during heavy rains. This water is then released in a controlled fashion (according to the water control plan) over an extended period of time, thus reducing downstream flood crests. The lower the operating stage

Public Involvement
The Corps held two public workshops in April, 2001, to explain the situation and answer questions from the public. The first workshop was April 25 at the Black River Coliseum at 301 S. 5th Street in Poplar Bluff, Mo.  The second was April 26 at the Randolph County Development Center on the Black River Technical College campus in Pocahontas, Ark.   


Send us your comments
If you have questions, comments or concerns about the Black River Water Control Plan Study, you can send an e-mail to the project manager.
Jim Marple
Black River Water Control Plan
Planning, Environmental and Regulatory Division
P.O. Box 867
Little Rock, AR  72203-0867