Table Rock Lake oversight committee created by Corps of Engineers
The Army Corps of Engineers released this time line showing the plans for revisions and release of the Shoreline Management Plan.
December 11, 2019
Isaac Estes-Jones
The US Army Corps of Engineers has created the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee (TRLOC) to act in an advisory capacity as the Corps finalizes plans for Table Rock Lake. The committee will hold a series of public meetings over the next six months to gather public input on proposed changes to the Corps’ plans for Table Rock Lake.
After several years of gathering information, the Corps has indicated a finalized Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) will be released to the public in May 2020.
The six member committee includes representatives of the various stakeholders in the future of Table Rock Lake. Representatives included Chairwoman Dr. Tammy Jahmke, representing conservation; Vice-Chair Ryan Benefield, representing the state of Arkansas; Secretary Sheila Thomas, of the Table Rock Lake Chamber of Commerce; Pat Cox, representing boating; Twila Harrison, of Shell Knob, representing that economic development area; and Rob Hunt, representing the state of Missouri.
The committee will hold a series of public hearings, from December to May, to discuss revisions to the Table Rock Lake Master Plan and Shoreline Management Plan.
These meetings will be held at the Dewy Short Visitors Center in December and January, March and May, 2020. The first meeting will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday, December 12. The May 6, 2020, meeting will also be held from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.
Seating during the committee meetings will be limited and available on a first come-first served basis.
Meetings on January 23, 2020, and March 5, will take place all day, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow for substantial public comment. The opening three hours will be structured so that individuals may speak before the committee for up to two minutes.
Jay Townsend, Chief of Public Affairs for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock Unit, says that two minute time will be strictly enforced. “The purpose of the committee is to take provide formalized and structured input to the Commander on [the Shoreline Management Plan]. We encourage everyone who wishes to make verbal comments to have a very consolidated and concise comment to fit into that timespan,” Townsend said.
Verbal comments will only be allowed during specified times of the January 23 and March 5, 2020, meetings. Three hours will be allocated at each of those meetings for comments.
Comments can included suggestions about how you would like to see the Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management Plan revised; or provide comments on the issues that should be studied before a decision is made on Shoreline Management Plan revisions, according to the Corps of Engineers.
When submitting written comment, each page must include the following information: the author’s name, title or affiliation, address, and daytime phone number.
Comments can be mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee, P.O. Box 867, Little Rock, AR 72203. They may also be emailed to [email protected].
An online fillable comment card is available at https://go.usa.gov/xpZkQ.
The deadline for comments is February 27, 2020, to allow time for comments to be distributed ahead of the third meeting of the TRLOC. “That means the comments have to be to us by 27 February,” Townsend said, “Not in the mail by that date.”
All comments are considered public documents that will be available for review.
The TRLOC will submit their final recommendations to the Corps during the third public meeting, March 5, 2020.
The TRLOC is an independent Federal advisory committee established under of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. The committee is advisory in nature only with duties to include providing information and recommendations to the Little Rock District commander on revisions to the Table Rock Lake Master Plan and Shoreline Management Plan. The TRLOC may also, at the discretion of the District Commander, review any permit to be issued under the provisions of the existing master plan and shoreline management plan until any approved revisions are finalized and become part of the formal governing documents.
A court reporter will be present at all meetings of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee to ensure accurate reporting.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has been developing changes to the Shoreline Management Plan and Table Rock Lake Master Plan for the past several years and is approaching a finalized version of the documents. A draft Shoreline Management Plan dated November of this year is available at https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Planning/Table-Rock-Lake-Oversight-Committee/. Other documents on that site include the 2014 version of the Table Rock Lake Master Plan and other supporting documents related to the current changes proposed.
According to a timeline released by the Corps of Engineers, the final Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) and Environmental Assessment will be revealed to the public on May 6, 2020, the date of the final TRLOC public meeting.
The first shoreline management plan was released to the public in 1976 and was subsequently updated several times in the 1980s and 1990s before a finalized SMP was unveiled in 1996.
The updated SMP will cover the development of management strategies for the review, approval and administration of private shoreline uses on Table Rock Lake but will not consider public shoreline uses, which the draft SMP indicates includes commercial concession leases, limited motel/resort leases or public utilities. Some rules and regulations for those uses are described in the draft SMP, but overall are covered by the Master Plan and other Army Corps of Engineers policies.
The draft SMP lists several areas that the Corps considers major changes from the previous plan. Some of these changes include alterations to the locations of Limited Development Areas; a reduction in restrictions to docks in Restricted Limited Development Areas to allow the addition of swim docks and other expansions without adding slips; issuing new permits for docks; a reduction of maximum slip size to 12 foot by 30 food (down from 14 feet); and will allow the removal of certain small trees and shrubs, depending on size.
The full draft of the SMP is available online. Interested parties are encouraged to read over the document and submit any comments by February 27, 2020.
The first public meeting of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee will be Thursday, December 12, starting at 8 a.m. in the Dewey Short Visitor Center, 4500 MO-165, Branson.
The Table Rock Lake Master Plan development process started in 2012. The Shoreline Management Plan has been in development since 2014.
The Crane Chronicle will continue to cover these meetings and the development of the Shoreline Management Plan.
Isaac Estes-Jones
The US Army Corps of Engineers has created the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee (TRLOC) to act in an advisory capacity as the Corps finalizes plans for Table Rock Lake. The committee will hold a series of public meetings over the next six months to gather public input on proposed changes to the Corps’ plans for Table Rock Lake.
After several years of gathering information, the Corps has indicated a finalized Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) will be released to the public in May 2020.
The six member committee includes representatives of the various stakeholders in the future of Table Rock Lake. Representatives included Chairwoman Dr. Tammy Jahmke, representing conservation; Vice-Chair Ryan Benefield, representing the state of Arkansas; Secretary Sheila Thomas, of the Table Rock Lake Chamber of Commerce; Pat Cox, representing boating; Twila Harrison, of Shell Knob, representing that economic development area; and Rob Hunt, representing the state of Missouri.
The committee will hold a series of public hearings, from December to May, to discuss revisions to the Table Rock Lake Master Plan and Shoreline Management Plan.
These meetings will be held at the Dewy Short Visitors Center in December and January, March and May, 2020. The first meeting will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday, December 12. The May 6, 2020, meeting will also be held from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.
Seating during the committee meetings will be limited and available on a first come-first served basis.
Meetings on January 23, 2020, and March 5, will take place all day, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow for substantial public comment. The opening three hours will be structured so that individuals may speak before the committee for up to two minutes.
Jay Townsend, Chief of Public Affairs for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock Unit, says that two minute time will be strictly enforced. “The purpose of the committee is to take provide formalized and structured input to the Commander on [the Shoreline Management Plan]. We encourage everyone who wishes to make verbal comments to have a very consolidated and concise comment to fit into that timespan,” Townsend said.
Verbal comments will only be allowed during specified times of the January 23 and March 5, 2020, meetings. Three hours will be allocated at each of those meetings for comments.
Comments can included suggestions about how you would like to see the Table Rock Lake Shoreline Management Plan revised; or provide comments on the issues that should be studied before a decision is made on Shoreline Management Plan revisions, according to the Corps of Engineers.
When submitting written comment, each page must include the following information: the author’s name, title or affiliation, address, and daytime phone number.
Comments can be mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee, P.O. Box 867, Little Rock, AR 72203. They may also be emailed to [email protected].
An online fillable comment card is available at https://go.usa.gov/xpZkQ.
The deadline for comments is February 27, 2020, to allow time for comments to be distributed ahead of the third meeting of the TRLOC. “That means the comments have to be to us by 27 February,” Townsend said, “Not in the mail by that date.”
All comments are considered public documents that will be available for review.
The TRLOC will submit their final recommendations to the Corps during the third public meeting, March 5, 2020.
The TRLOC is an independent Federal advisory committee established under of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. The committee is advisory in nature only with duties to include providing information and recommendations to the Little Rock District commander on revisions to the Table Rock Lake Master Plan and Shoreline Management Plan. The TRLOC may also, at the discretion of the District Commander, review any permit to be issued under the provisions of the existing master plan and shoreline management plan until any approved revisions are finalized and become part of the formal governing documents.
A court reporter will be present at all meetings of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee to ensure accurate reporting.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has been developing changes to the Shoreline Management Plan and Table Rock Lake Master Plan for the past several years and is approaching a finalized version of the documents. A draft Shoreline Management Plan dated November of this year is available at https://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Planning/Table-Rock-Lake-Oversight-Committee/. Other documents on that site include the 2014 version of the Table Rock Lake Master Plan and other supporting documents related to the current changes proposed.
According to a timeline released by the Corps of Engineers, the final Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) and Environmental Assessment will be revealed to the public on May 6, 2020, the date of the final TRLOC public meeting.
The first shoreline management plan was released to the public in 1976 and was subsequently updated several times in the 1980s and 1990s before a finalized SMP was unveiled in 1996.
The updated SMP will cover the development of management strategies for the review, approval and administration of private shoreline uses on Table Rock Lake but will not consider public shoreline uses, which the draft SMP indicates includes commercial concession leases, limited motel/resort leases or public utilities. Some rules and regulations for those uses are described in the draft SMP, but overall are covered by the Master Plan and other Army Corps of Engineers policies.
The draft SMP lists several areas that the Corps considers major changes from the previous plan. Some of these changes include alterations to the locations of Limited Development Areas; a reduction in restrictions to docks in Restricted Limited Development Areas to allow the addition of swim docks and other expansions without adding slips; issuing new permits for docks; a reduction of maximum slip size to 12 foot by 30 food (down from 14 feet); and will allow the removal of certain small trees and shrubs, depending on size.
The full draft of the SMP is available online. Interested parties are encouraged to read over the document and submit any comments by February 27, 2020.
The first public meeting of the Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee will be Thursday, December 12, starting at 8 a.m. in the Dewey Short Visitor Center, 4500 MO-165, Branson.
The Table Rock Lake Master Plan development process started in 2012. The Shoreline Management Plan has been in development since 2014.
The Crane Chronicle will continue to cover these meetings and the development of the Shoreline Management Plan.
