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Mortar Creek Emergency Streambank Protection Project  

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The public comment period ended on May 24th.

Thank you to everyone who submitted comments online or through e-mail or letter to assist USACE in this important project.


Mortar Creek Streambank Protection Project
 USACE Galveston District
 ATTN: RPEC - Ford, P.O. Box 1229
 Galveston, TX 77553-1229

bridge over a creek

Mortar Creek Emergency Streambank Protection Project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants your feedback on the Mortar Creek Streambank Protection Project, located in Quitman, Ark. in Faulkner County. 

THE STUDY

The primary purpose of the Mortar Creek Emergency Streambank Protection Study is to develop a plan to protect the bridge over Mortar Creek at Mortar Creek Road southeast of Quitman, Ark. in Faulkner County. Encroaching erosion threatens both the bridge and the road. Mortar Creek threatens to cut through the road at the crossing and reconnect at a different location on the downstream side. If this happens, the bridge will be cut off from the road and drivers will not be able to cross.

THE ALTERNATIVES

A number of measures were proposed to address Stump Creek's flood risk concerns, and those measures were then used to form alternatives to be further evaluated. The most efficient alternatives to be carried forward are:

No Action - If no Federal action is taken at Mortar Creek, the streambank will continue to erode and lead to failure of the bridge or the road approaches at the Mortar Creek crossing. 

Alternative 3 - Protect bank and remove former bridge abutment. This alternative would reduce erosion, provide emergency streambank protection, and prevent closure of Mortar Creek Road, but would not address current damage to the streambank. Additional analyses are needed to quantify those reduction amounts.

Alternative 5 - Build out and protect bank and remove former bridge abutment. This alternative would reduce erosion, provide emergency streambank protection, address current damage to the streambank, and prevent closure of Mortar Creek Road. Additional analyses are needed to quantify those reduction amounts.

Alternative 7 - Remove former bridge abutment, protect bank upstream and provide redirective structures downstream. This alternative would reduce erosion, provide emergency streambank protect, address current damage to the streambank and prevent closure of Mortar Creek Road. Additional analyses are needed to quantify those reduction amounts.

To learn more about the study and to review the official study documents please visit our documents page

Contact Us

Mortar Creek Emergency Streambank Protection Project Team
 USACE Galveston District
 ATTN: RPEC - Ford, P.O. Box 1229
 Galveston, TX 77553-1229

E-mail: ceswl-mortarcreekstreambankprotection@usace.army.mil

What is NEPA?

The National Environmental Policy Act is our basic national charter for protection of the environment. It is foremost a procedural law that helps ensure that federal decision makers take a hard look at the potential effects of a proposed action and allow the public and other stakeholders to comment on the federal agency’s effects analysis and consideration of reasonable alternatives. The NEPA analysis helps these decision makers understand the environmental consequences of the alternatives in comparative form before making a decision. This “hard look” is informed by the public and other stakeholders, starting with a project or study’s scoping phase.

graphic describing the national environmental policy act
* click the image to enlarge 

The environmental review process that accompanies Corps planning studies and its value to the public are not always easy to understand. Recognizing this, and to help the public and organizations effectively participate in federal agency environmental reviews, the Council on Environmental Quality wrote the informational A Citizen’s Guide to the NEPA