Update: someone involved with the project reassured me that the Corps did sign off, the problem is the RR is taking their time on approval thru there easement. I have assumed from the beginning that the city would not be dumb enough to proceed without approval. Not sure if they followed plans, but that is a discussion for another day.
I took the above picture in the middle of September on a Saturday morning. I counted 15 construction hard hatted men inspecting what they have built so far.
According to this article;
It will take the next few weeks “to complete everything other than the low-head dam,” said Mike Patten, city parks planning and project manager. The plan is to work on that throughout the winter and into the spring as the city continues to work toward necessary approvals from BNSF Railway to fully complete the project.
This is an interesting ‘excuse’. The city received a $750K donation from Lloyd Companies to construct a picnic area but the city apparently is using some of the funds to create this diversion dam (they are calling it a low head dam, but it is NOT.) Last month the city brought in heavy equipment to build this dam that many local waterway advocates say is ‘troubling and suspicious’ because changing the natural flow of the river should never be an afterthought.
So after building 80% of the structure they suddenly stopped and then the above ‘inspection’ occurred. So why didn’t the city ask for permission from the Fed DOT to construct this before bringing in all the equipment? I don’t know. This is Federal easement land and those permissions also have to have the Federal Government involved, and we know the pace they move.
So the nagging question is, did the city get ANY permission from the Feds before starting this project? I don’t know. But it has all the signs of a ‘ask for forgiveness instead of permission’.
There are also some other interesting things going on, for instance there is a massive culvert that flows out into this area that comes from underneath the Sioux Steel district, and there has been a constant flow of water for over a month, and NO rain. Where is the water coming from? Is there that much seepage from the buildings and the quartzite underneath?
I believe the city had a convo in 2018(?) about this saying they wanted to raise the water levels next to the Steel District project 6 feet which would certainly flood the east bank everytime it rains. It’s fun to have dreams.
Some would say why don’t I just ask the city what is going on, oh I have made many attempts and the answer is always the same;
We’ve gone full circle, haven’t we? We’ve gone from a time when a sitcom based on a Nazi premise was okay until it was not anymore due to being politically incorrect, but now, we have a presidential nominee of a major American political party who admires Hitler and wishes he had his generals….. Thus, when it comes to all of this, I’m afraid I do see something here.
( and Woodstock adds: “Why would anyone want generals like Hitler’s?” ….. “Hell, they lost the war”….. #IWantToDesignACarLikeTheFordEdisel )
Scott,
The Culvert you are speaking about is in the location of where the former “Western Channel” was. I noticed this long ago. If you look on google maps, and at old pictures of Seney Island, you will notice where this channel was.
If you start from the southside at the point the “sewer line” crosses the river, follow it in a northwestern angle towards Phillips Ave, then turn and follow it in a northeastern angle back to the river itself. It comes out exactly at the spot of the culvert. Then also remember how they filled in the channel between 1908-1918, they allowed residents to throw their trash, fill, junk into it, and by 1920, covered it all up, finally allowing Sioux Steel, Pitts Steel, and the Milwaukee Railroad to purchase commercial lots on the west bank.
As for the changing of the river itself, remember, the city has never owned this land it was always a private land claim, and when they filled in the channel, it then becomes protected by the “State” to which the Federal Govt also controls, and manages all major waterways that connect to inter-state commerce. The Sioux River connects to the Missouri, hence it is a major artery for commerce, the Feds would yes, be involved in any such change to the river.
Read this pdf document I have shared on my website, I provide some pretty interesting history…
https://s3.amazonaws.com/fcstores/stores/400821/2911/(1334722)%20COMP%20SF%20Community%20Chronicle%20SeneyIsland.pdf
Let me know what you think…
It’s been a long time since I learned this, but to my understanding for waters to be under federal jurisdiction, they have to be navigable waters, but at that point along the Sioux the waters are no longer naturally navigable because this location is on the other side of the Falls relative to the navigability of the Sioux in its relation to that part of the Missouri River that is south of that Rivers dams, dams which make the Missouri even itself non-navigable and nonfederal as well west and north of Yankton, however.
Congress has not formally through statute to release any of the channels from the Corps. The filling in of the west channel was done without permission of the Corps? Even if it was 100 years ago, it is still the
Corps’ responsibility. Everything built on the channel can be torn down and returned to its natural state, if the Corps so chose to press the issue.
If you want an answer, reach out to the US Army Corp of Engineers, Omaha District. They control the diversion channel, which would impact the National Flood Insurance Program. If this causes damage, a major lawsuit could be coming to the city, if they are the ones performing the changes. Don’t worry though, I’m sure we could raise taxes to pay for any mess that comes up, maybe point the finger at someone else or just blame the freak storm event.