DNR: Sets public informational meeting on Estabrook Dam abandonment and removal application

MILWAUKEE – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District have scheduled meetings on the Estabrook Dam abandonment and removal application. The meetings will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 from 4-6:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn – Milwaukee Riverfront, 4700 N Port Washington Road, Milwaukee, WI 53212.

MMSD will hold an open house informational meeting from 4-5 p.m., and will present and answer questions regarding the plans for the project. The DNR will hold a public informational meeting from 5-6:30 p.m., where individuals can learn more about the proposed activity and submit written or oral comments about the permit application. Oral comments will be limited to two minutes per individual and should focus on the removal plans and application.

The dam is near Estabrook Drive and West Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee. It was built in the 1930s and creates an impoundment in the Milwaukee River. MMSD assumed ownership of Estabrook Dam on Jan. 19, 2017 and subsequently applied to abandon and remove the dam.

The DNR has determined to analyze the proposed abandonment of Estabrook Dam as an Integrated Analysis Action under Chapter NR 150, Wisconsin Administrative Code. This incorporates existing project documentation as well as new data and studies required for regulatory permit reviews into a complete analysis of the project impacts.

More information on the project and the DNR’s environmental review process is available at: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Dams/SpecialInterest.html. Written comments also may be submitted through U.S. mail to DNR Estabrook, Department of Natural Resources, 2300 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212 or by email to DNREstabrook@wi.gov no later than October 3, 2017.