CRITICAL UPDATE REGARDING LOWER ACF NAVIGATION AND DREDGING
Extracted from the Summer Wrap Up 2026 Newsletter
Distributed August 30, 2026
Written by Clyde Morris, Director
As we discussed in the last newsletter, based on our analysis of the hydrological effects on the entire system, we believe Lake Lanier water levels will be adversely affected by the Corps’ proposed enlargement of the navigation season on the lower ACF, especially during dry and drought years. We are also concerned about the environmental impacts of resumed dredging, key issues in the Water Wars that we thought had been resolved years ago.
On August 14, the Corps issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), stating, “The USACE, as the lead Federal agency, has determined the proposed action may significantly affect the quality of the human environment and seeks comments regarding the identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the report to improve navigation, beneficial use of dredge material, and to assess the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed action.” More pointedly, the NOI goes on to say, “Additionally, the USACE will evaluate the potential social effects of the proposed action, including effects to demographics.”
These statements indicate that the Corps now intends to address potential impacts to Lanier, as we advocated in our white paper. But the NOI also specifies that the Corps is evaluating a nine-month navigation season – roughly twice as long as the existing one. We believe such an expanded navigation season would negatively impact Lanier and does not justify the resulting potential impacts on the ACF’s recreational and water-supply purposes, especially at Lanier.
Crucially, because the NOI frames this as a Supplemental EIS (and therefore an extension to their 1976 and 2017 Environmental Impact Statements) and explicitly says that neither of its two preliminary action alternatives for disposal of dredged material would require additional authorization, the NOI strongly signals that, as long as it can dispose of the resulting dredged material, the Corps will expand the navigation season – unless the SEIS concludes that some other factor or factors are significant enough to stop it from doing so. For that reason, it is imperative that the SEIS takes into account all impacts on all other authorized purposes of the ACF – including the effects on recreation and water supply at Lake Lanier. The NOI states that the Corps will accept public comments only through September 28, 2026 – a mere 45 days after the NOI.
THIS MEANS IT IS CRITICAL THAT CITIZENS SUBMIT THEIR CONCERNS IN WRITING BY THE DEADLINE REGARDING EXPANDED NAVIGATION THROUGH THE AVENUES PROVIDED BY THE CORPS. The NOI and those avenues can be viewed HERE.
CLICK HERE TO SHARE PUBLIC COMMENTS DIRECTLY TO THE USACE.
We are actively engaged with other stakeholders, including the Atlanta Regional Commission, in seeking to ensure the Corps conducts a robust economic impact analysis that includes a cost/benefit assessment of all impacts of expanded navigation, especially on Lanier, and issues a General Reevaluation Report accurately reporting whether enlarged navigation is economically justified and environmentally acceptable. Of course, we will keep all our members apprised as this matter evolves.
To read the initial article regarding this project and press materials, click here!
URGENT: PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD REGARDING ACF NAVIGATION AND DREDGING ENDS SEPTEMBER 28
Written by Clyde Morris, Director
September 14th, 2026
The Corps of Engineers has proposed resuming dredging and expanding the navigation season on the lower ACF (between Columbus and the Gulf). Since 2017, the navigation season has been 4 or 5 months, depending on water levels, using a 7-foot channel. The Corps’ proposal is a NINE MONTH NAVIGATION SEASON – TWICE AS LONG AS THE CURRENT ONE – using a 9-foot channel. Our analysis shows that this will require more water to be released from Lake Lanier, leading to lower lake levels.
The Corps is required to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (“SEIS”) before implementing any changes to ACF operations set out in its Master Water Control Manual. The SEIS is currently in what is called the “scoping process,” the official purpose of which is to “provide information to the public, to serve as a mechanism to solicit full and open agency and public input on alternatives and identification of significant issues to be analyzed in the SEIS“.
It is important to understand that, while the Corps says it is evaluating “reinstating Operations and Maintenance Dredging” (NOT to be confused with dredging Lake Lanier, an incorrect assumption some people around Lake Lanier make when they hear the term “dredging”), the sole purpose for resuming dredging is to expand navigation. The Corps’ August 14 Notice of Intent (“NOI”), for the first time, announced that the Corps would be evaluating two preliminary action alternatives “based on a 9,300 cubic feet per second (9 month) flow scenario,” which would be roughly a doubling of the existing navigation season. Because of this, we think it is imperative that the Corps be required to fully evaluate the economic impacts of any expanded navigation operations in this SEIS, even though the Corps frames it as evaluating only the resumption of dredging. You can see the NOI here: https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Portals/46/docs/planning_environmental/docs/PN/08142026_NOI_ACF%20Dredging%20SEIS_.pdf?ver=LK8bBsiF9anpixI0BYerqQ%3d%3d
Public comments on the Corps’ proposal are being accepted by the Corps until September 28, 2026. If you want to raise any issues regarding the Corps’ proposal, this is your chance to have your voice heard as an individual citizen and taxpayer before the Corps performs its analysis that will be formally documented in the SEIS.
There are three ways to submit your comments:
1. By typing your comments into an online portal that can be found here: ACF Dredging Project Comment Form
2. By sending an email to this address: cesam-acfdredgingmailinglist@usace.army.mil
3. By sending a hard-copy letter to this physical address: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, CESAM-PDE-I, Attention: ACF Dredging Project, 100 Canal Street, Mobile, Alabama 36602-1901.
We encourage you to use your own words to express your thoughts, concerns, and opinions on this matter. In order to help you compile your thoughts, we are providing a form letter (below) for you to use – or not use – as you see fit. Feel free to copy and paste all or parts of it or just use it to help you compile the thoughts that you want to express in your own words.
The most important thing is for you to provide your input directly to the Corps by the deadline, September 28.
FORM LETTER:
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Date]
To Whom It May Concern:
The referenced Notice of Intent (NOI) affects not only dredging but navigation operations in the ACF Basin by proposing to enlarge the current navigation season from 4 or 5 months to 9 months, essentially doubling it. That action will require significantly increased support flows from Lake Lanier, leading to lower lake levels. Declining lake levels at Lake Lanier produce a range of foreseeable impacts, including:
- Sailing, motor boating, water skiing, and jet skiing hazards: obstructions previously submerged emerge or move closer to the surface as levels drop, creating new collision hazards for recreational watercraft.
- Shoreline exposure and erosion: lower levels expose additional shoreline, which can increase erosion and negatively affect water quality.
- Swimmer safety: as water retreats from posted swimming areas, swimmers are forced outside the ropes into areas with unpredictable drop-offs and lake-bed conditions, increasing the risk of drowning.
Increased drawdowns driven by navigation-support releases will cause more frequent and severe recreation, safety, and water-quality impacts. The Corps’ Water Control Manual describes the results of declining lake levels at three thresholds: Initial Impact Level (elevation 1,066 feet) “Reduced swim areas, some recreational navigation hazards are marked, boat ramps are minimally affected, a few private boat docks are affected;” Recreation Impact Level (elevation 1,063 feet): “All swim areas are unusable, recreational navigation hazards become more numerous, boat ramps are significantly affected, 20 percent of private boat docks are affected;” and Water Access Limited Level (elevation 1,060 feet): “Most water-based recreational activities are severely restricted, most boat ramps are unusable, navigation hazards become more numerous, 50 percent of private boat docks are affected.”
In addition to these effects, water level reductions impact the Lanier regional economy by reducing visitation and the revenue visitors generate. As reductions increase, they can also imperil Lanier’s ability to supply water to roughly 5 million people in North Georgia. The combined effect of all these factors on the Lake Lanier community that has been built over the last 70 years will be a direct result of the Corps’ attempt to resurrect a physically challenging, environmentally damaging, and exceedingly expensive navigation system that even under ideal conditions will function for no more than 9 months a year – and much less in the many dry years the ACF often experiences.
I therefore oppose any dredging or navigation operation change that would negatively affect Lake Lanier water levels and ask the Corps to record my opposition as part of the public comment record for this SEIS. I also request that the SEIS quantify (a) the realistic economic benefits and costs the proposed 9-month navigation season will generate, (b) how the proposed navigation season changes would alter the frequency and duration Lake Lanier spends at or below each of the three impact levels, (c) the economic impact of the resulting lower water levels on the Lanier recreation economy, and (d) all potential impacts on Lanier’s ability to meet its water supply purpose.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
