SWG-2013-00841 - Judge Jeff Branick-Jefferson County - Keith Lake Fish Pass - Jefferson County, Texas

Public Notice          Project Plans

The applicant requests to modify Department of the Army Permit SWG-2013-00841 to permanently discharge approximately 10,708.33 cubic yards (CY) of fill into 4.81 acres of tidal wetlands and 1.46 acres of open waters to improve the design of the existing Keith Lake Fish Pass Baffle and restore optimal functionality to the structure. The proposed work also involves dredging of approximately 27,056 CY of material from tidal wetlands and open waters to facilitate placement of the bedding stone and rock rip rap on either side of the baffle and along approximately 750 linear feet of the southern shore of the channel. A total of 947.41 CY of the excavated native material would be placed in open water areas as fill to create an embankment with an elevation of -2.5 and a 4:1 slope along the southern shore of the channel. The remainder of the excavated material would be hauled off-site for disposal. Temporary staging and/or access could occur within 50 feet of the proposed rock apron footprints, as well as in the upland area between the beach and the project footprint, and the temporary access route from the upland staging area to the west of the structure. Board matting will be temporarily placed into 2.18 acres of tidal wetlands, as necessary, to minimize impacts. Temporary work areas in wetlands would be restored to existing grade and sprigged with smooth cordgrass plugs on a 1.5- by 1.5-foot grid spacing once construction is completed.

The purpose of the project is to restore optimal functionality of the baffle structure to help reduce the volume of saltwater coming through the fish pass, with a goal of salinity levels not exceeding 10 parts per thousand more than 20% of the time at connection between Keith and Johnson Lakes.