The Eddyville Dunes need letters SOON. Before the IDOT can let contracts for
construction of the Eddyville Bypass, it must obtain a 404 permit from the Corps. The
404 permit is accompanied by a 401 Water Quality Certification issued by the IDNR.

The public comment period ends December 2nd.

The Near East Alternative will require 5.2 million cubic yards of fil dirt, which translates
into an additional 200 acres of farmland impacts, an additional 7.2 acres of wetland
impacts, and adds an estimated $14,000,00 to the project's cost. The safety, noise, air pollution, traffic disruption, and other effects of moving 325,000 dumptruck loads of fill through the wet swale or past the high school were not considered before a final decision was made. The actual wetland and farmland impacts were not documented and compared
to those of other alternatives. The increased cost was not documented and compared to the cost of other alternatives. The direct and indirect (or secondary) impacts to the project area were not documented and compared to those of other alternatives. Revealing the "nuts and bolts" of a selected route after the public's opportunity to comment is contrary to the purpose and intent of National Environmental Policy Act.

The Corps needs to hear from Dunes advocates.

The Corps is required to permit the "least environmentally-damaging practicable
alternative." "Our own" Impact Summary Table below, based on IDOT data and our analyses, shows that a well-designed Far East Alternative has the least impact on the Eddyville area. It is also the least expensive alternative.

	West	Near East	Far East
Residential displacements	1	9	1
Farmland*	367 acres	263 acres	175 acres
Wetlands	43.9 acres	20.85 acres	8.65 acres
Cost	$46,950,000	$43,663,000**	$26,303,000**
* includes r-o-w and borrow areas for obtaining fill dirt. Assumes that 100% of the borrow acreage is returned to 50% agricultural production.
** includes cost of the planned Hwy. 137 bridge over the Des Moines River

The Corps is concerned that the Far East Alternative would not just bypass Eddyville, but abandon it. Actually, traffic on existing Hwy. 63 through town and on Hwy. 137 between the industrial complex and Eddyville will be comparable regardless of which east-of-the-river bypass is constructed.

Talking points for your letter to the Corps and the IDNR:

1. The Far East Alternative would impact fewer acres of wetland, fewer acres of farmland, and cost less than the Near East Alternative. It is the east environmentally-damaging practicable alternative.

2. The Far East Alternative would avoid the safety, noise, traffic disruptions, reptile
mortality, dust, runoff and other environmental impacts of the massive hauling effort
needed to construct the Near East Alternative.

3. Traffic levels through Eddyville will be comparable for both east-of-the-river bypasses
and therefore will have similar impacts on local businesses.

4. The placement of the Near East Alternative's south interchange on the east edge of the
Des Moines River floodplain will encourage development in the floodplain, reducing its
natural value and increasing flood hazards. The floodplain between the interchange and
the river to the west has been zoned Highway Service Commercial by Wapello County.

5. 182nd St. (through the orchid swale and sand prairie) will be used as the main haul road. Doing so is a massive disruption of the environmentally-sensitive area that the Near East Alternative was ostensibly re-designed to avoid. Reptile mortality, for instance, is highly
related to proximity and intensity of traffic.

6. The mitigation plan fails to replace many of the values and functions of the wetlands
that will be destroyed by the Near East Alternative. Hillside seeps in the Dunes' sandy
soils will be replaced by open water emergent wetlands in an adjacent county. The
Far East Alternative avoids impacting rare wetlands that are impossible to recreate.

7. The Corps' 404 Notice does not mention the additional 50-acre prairie preserve at the
Teno property, discussed in the EIS. Future development in this area will destroy high
quality wetlands and sand prairie supporting rare species. These "reasonably foreseeable" cumulative impacts of the Near East Alternative have not been documented in the EIS, nor provided for in the mitigation plan.

As always, we are grateful for your trust and support. Please write by December 2nd and, hopefully, we can get a better outcome for the Eddyville Dunes and Wetlands. Thank you.

Send your comments to: District Engineer, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, Clock Tower Building, P. O. Box 2004, Rock Island, IL

61204-2004.

Or e-mail to:
Neal.J.Johnson@mvr02.usace.army.mil>
and copy to:
Chris Schwake, cschwak@max.state.ia.us

The Corps will accept comments by e-mail with the understanding that they will not be maintaining addresses electronically and will not be sending official Corps responses electronically.

Please be sure that any electronically-mailed comments include the originator's full name
and U.S. Mail mailing address.

******
Please send a copy of your letter to the IDNR: Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 900 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319. You may e-mail comments to Chris Schwake, cschwak@max.state.ia.us Contact Ms. Chris Schwake at (515) 281-6615 if you need
additional information from the IDNR.

If you e-mail your comments, please let Chris know you copied them to the
Corps.

Please also send your comments to: Mr. Tom Taylor, U. S. EPA Region 7, 901 N. 5th St., Kansas City, KS 66101 phone (913) 551-7226 FAX 913-551-7956 taylor.thomas@epamail.epa.gov

Senator Tom Harkin, 210 Walnut St., 733 Federal Building, Des Moines, IA
50309;

and Senator Charles Grassley, 206 Federal Building, 101 1st Street
SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401.

Please feel free to contact us for information, and thanks for sending letters.
Glenda Buenger and Pat McAdams 2282 Teller Avenue, Rose Hill, Iowa 52586
(515) 632-8308 rockman49@hotmail.com

Last Updated: 8/2/2000