The final determination for any project application ultimately falls to the appropriate regulatory agency that is tasked with managing a particular resource or water body.
Lower Reach Project:
The City of Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Whitewater have developed a design based on years of coordination with multiple agencies and stakeholders. A final design and permit application has been submitted to the appropriate State and Federal agencies for review. If the design as proposed meets all of the required legal statutes then the agencies will issue the required permits for construction to begin. If the project fails to meet all of the legal statutes, the design must be altered or removed for consideration. In that instance, the City and GRWW would continue to work with the permitting agencies in an attempt to design a project that meets the project purposes to the greatest extent possible.
Upper Reach Project:
The City and GRWW have worked in coordination with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC), and other agencies, on the development of 14 different design alternatives for the upper reach project and have advocated for the removal of the Sixth Street Dam and the construction of an Adjustable Hydraulic Structure upstream. The GLFC however will ultimately be the responsible party for selecting the preferred design alternative that would then need to undergo a final design and permitting process review similar to that of the Lower Reach.