South Elgin met its deadline to weigh in on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ second study on removing dams in the Fox River, but officials say they are now wondering if the federal government is still pursuing the idea.

The nine municipalities with dams on the waterway were asked to submit their position on doing a new analysis of the proposed dam demolition, which supporters say will improve the environmental health of the river but detractors warn could cause unanticipated changes to the river sedimentation.

“We had to send a letter to the Corps by Jan. 31,” South Elgin Village President Steve Ward said. “While we’re endorsing their study about removing the dam, the letter is not showing support for the removal but raising questions.”

However, Ward said, a recent Facebook post on the Friends of the Fox River page has him wondering if the effort was necessary and the Army Corps has abandoned its plans.

The Friends post advertises a Feb. 8 event at which retired civil and environmental engineer Art Malm will “review the success of the removal of the Carpenter dam and outline the strategy and funding for the (removal of the) remaining central Fox River dams following a ‘high level administrative order’ stopping all Army Corps support of the project.”

Malm is a South Elgin resident, a former Elgin employee and a Friends of the Fox River and Fox River Study Group board member, which has been involved in promoting dam removal efforts.

In an interview with The Courier-News, Malm said the study group received word from the Corps in December that a hold has been placed on the federal dam removal project.

While he would not provide all of the correspondence between the group and the Corps, Malm did share a Dec. 10 email in which a deputy district engineer told the Fox River Study Group that, “After conferring with USACE HQ and the (Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works) office, I can share that the study remains paused while it is under review by senior administration personnel. And unfortunately, I do not know how long this review will take before we have an answer.”

Courier-News calls requesting a comment from the Corps’ Chicago office were not returned.

South Elgin officials said they have not heard anything from the Corps confirming Malm’s claims. South Elgin spokesman Craig Pierce said Village Administrator Steve Super spoke to Malm on Jan. 29.

“Art reiterated that the project is on hold, but remains hopeful it’s temporary,” Pierce said.

Mayor Dave Kaptain said the city of Elgin, which is also awaiting word from the Army Corps on if a second study will be done, has not heard anything about a hold on the study or anything else related the dam removal proposal.

Kaptain said he found it troubling that such messages are being relayed to the river study group but not released to the city, especially since Elgin gives the study group $50,000 a year to fund its work.

If what Malm said is correct, “those are the words I’ve been waiting to hear for a long time,” Ward said.

Pierce said he would not be surprised if the Fox River dam removal plan is in limbo given the federal government cuts to environment-related projects in the Midwest.

“I just saw Monday morning that 90% of the federal funds for Chicago’s lock and dam restoration project were cut,” Pierce said.

On Jan. 25, Engineering News-Record reported that a $1.2 billion project to prevent Asian carp and other invasive species from entering the Great Lakes had been paused and is under review by the Trump administration, according to lawmakers from Michigan and Illinois.

If Malm is correct, Kaptain said, the Army Corps’ approval for dam removal is unlikely to move forward for at least another three to four years because of the current administration. By that time, all studies that have been done would need to be updated, delaying the work even further, he said.

“This throws a wrench into things being done. The whole thing’s a mess,” Kaptain said.

For his part, Malm said he thinks the removal of Fox River dams will eventually happen.

“With two major studies expected in 2026 (being done by groups other than the Army Corps),” he said, “I expect that once the issues are fully aired, South Elgin will ultimately support dam removal sooner rather than later.”

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/03/elgin-dam-fox-army-corps-study/