Field survey to prioritize needs for modernizing dredged material evaluation guidance

This technical note synthesizes and disseminates results of a 2020 survey of USACE dredging program and project managers to identify and prioritize needs related to the modernization and streamlining of the dredged material assessment decision guidance pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 103 of the Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). Priorities identified through the survey and subsequent follow-on interviews—together with advances in science and technology—will facilitate development of an electronic decision guidance tool to enable consistent, timely, and cost-effective dredged material management decisions. This tool will also facilitate a standardized database for ready access to historical data.

WORKING THROUGH STATE DIFFERENCES TO CREATE A REGIONAL DREDGED MATERIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR FEDERAL HARBORS IN LONG ISLAND SOUND

On January 11, 2016 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New England District (NAE) completed a Final Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) for Long Island Sound (LIS). The DMMP was requested by the Governors of Connecticut and New York, in their letter of February 8, 2005 to the Chief of Engineers, following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) publication in April 2004 of the Long Island Sound Dredged Material Disposal Site Designation Study Final Environmental Impact Statement. The LIS is a large coastal estuary located between Long Island, New York on the south, and the shores of New York, Connecticut and southwestern Rhode Island on the north. A total of nearly 240 harbors, coves, bays and rivers supporting various levels of navigational access are located along these shores. Twelve Congressional districts and 112 municipalities border the Sound and its adjacent waters in the three states. The ideals, goals, and needs along the LIS do not always align and thus the need for open communication throughout each dredging project.