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  • ERDC, Buffalo District release dredged material guidance manual for Great Lakes region

    Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Great Lakes Districts — Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago — recently released a technical report which provides guidance for evaluating the environmental suitability of dredged material in the Great Lakes region.
  • Electronic and raster navigational charts updated to reflect spoil areas in Corpus Christi Bay

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Port of Corpus Christi and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) are working together to ensure the safety of the boating and sailing communities in the Corpus Christi Bay area during the dredging project of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement project. The electronic and raster navigational charts have been updated to reflect changes in the spoil areas in Corpus Christi Bay. Mariners should use caution when transiting near the spoil area and be advised that some water depths may be as shallow as 3 feet from mean lower low water (MLLW) within the marked spoil areas. Mariners are encouraged to update navigational charts with the latest information contained in the Local Notice to Mariners found at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/local-notices-to-mariners?district=8+0&subdistrict=g.
  • Current State of Practice of Nearshore Nourishment by the United States Army Corps of Engineers

    Abstract: This US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) special report prepared by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, provides an overview of the current state of practice for nearshore nourishment with dredged sediment. This special report was completed with responses and input from professionals across the dredging and placement teams from each of the USACE Coastal and Great Lakes districts, providing comprehensive overviews of the decision trees these districts utilize in the placement of their dredged sediment. This report describes the general practice of nearshore nourishment, the impediments and concerns faced by nearshore nourishment projects, and the practical methods utilized by the Coastal and Great Lakes districts for their nearshore nourishment projects. Understanding the current state of practice, along with the general and specific impediments the districts face, enables further research in and development of best practices for use across the USACE and better communication of the practice to other stakeholders.
  • Screening Dredged Material to Meet Placement Requirements

    Abstract: Certain types of dredging projects require screening of the dredged material (DM) to achieve the project’s DM placement requirement(s). Screening in the context of this report will be defined as the separation of an oversized fraction of the DM from the remaining fraction to meet project-specific placement compliance criteria (or criterion). Examples of DM placement requirements include aspects such as removing Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) to address safety concerns and extracting over-sized material for beneficial use of DM (e.g., gravel and debris from sand to meet beach nourishment placement standards). Welp et al. (2008) provide detailed guidance for personnel involved in dredging projects with sediment containing MEC. The purpose of this document is to not only update the previous MEC-centric guidance with newly developed or identified technology but to also expand upon screening aspects to provide guidance for personnel involved in dredging projects that require removal of an oversized fraction for screening purposes other than just MEC removal.
  • Corps awards contract for Big Fishweir aquatic environment restoration project

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, awarded a contract Aug. 26, 2022, to execute an aquatic ecosystem restoration project at Big Fishweir Creek. Big Fishweir Creek is an urban tributary of the St. Johns River, running approximately four miles south of downtown Jacksonville. It enters the St. Johns River, a designated American Heritage River, just north of the Ortega River.
  • Corps seeks public comments on St. Paul Small Boat Harbor dredging

    ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking comments on its draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, released today, Aug. 22, for the St. Paul Small Boat Harbor dredging in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
  • Corps of Engineers to begin dredging, beach nourishment in South Haven

    DETROIT- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will place South Haven harbor dredge material near-shore to nourish South Beach starting next week. Sampling results confirm the proposed outer harbor dredge material is suitable for beneficial reuse as nourishment material. About 18,000 cubic yards of material from the federal navigation channel will be placed south of the South Pier in South Haven, Michigan. “We understand the eroded area in front of the water treatment plant may seem the logical placement site, however, we do not have National Environmental Policy Act approval to place there this year,” said Elizabeth Newell Wilkinson Grand Haven Resident Engineer. “We are hard at work on the required Environmental Assessment to evaluate whether or not we will be able to place material there next year and are hopeful in the results.”
  • Swan Island: Monitoring and Adaptive Management Plan

    Abstract: Swan Island is a 10.12 ha island located in the Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Because of its value as a natural wave break for the town of Ewell on nearby Smith Island, as well as the ongoing erosion and subsidence of the island, in 2019 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)–Baltimore District placed 45,873 m³ of dredged sediment and planted 200,000 marsh plants. This restoration provided an opportunity to quantify the engineering (that is, resilience) and ecological performance of the island, postplacement. The lack of quantitative data on the performance of natural features such as islands has led to perceived uncertainties that are often cited as barriers to implementation. To address these data gaps, a multidisciplinary collaboration of five government entities identified project objectives and monitoring parameters through a series of mediated workshops and then developed a conceptual model to articulate those parameters and the linkages between them. This monitoring and adaptive management plan (MAMP) documents those monitoring parameters and procedures and can serve as an example for other scales, regions, and research questions. Documenting research and monitoring efforts may help to foster widespread acceptance of nature-based solutions such as islands.
  • Environmental Evaluation and Management of Dredged Material for Beneficial Use: A Regional Beneficial Use Testing Manual for the Great Lakes

    Abstract: The Environmental Evaluation and Management of Dredged Material for Beneficial Use: A Regional Beneficial Use Testing Manual for the Great Lakes (a.k.a. Great Lakes Beneficial Use Testing Manual) is a resource document providing technical guidance for evaluating the suitability of dredged sediment for beneficial use in aquatic and terrestrial environments in the Great Lakes region. The procedures in this manual are based on the Environmental Laboratory extensive research, working with US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Great Lakes districts, state resource agencies, and local stakeholders seeking to develop dredged material beneficial use alternatives consistent with regional needs and goals. This manual is the first guidance document developed by USACE for evaluating the environmental suitability of dredged material specifically for beneficial use placements. It provides a tiered framework for evaluating the environmental suitability of aquatic and upland beneficial uses consistent with the Inland Testing Manual and the Upland Testing Manual. This manual is intended to serve as a regional platform to increase collaborative problem-solving and endorse a common understanding of the scientific and institutional practices for evaluating dredged material for any beneficial use. Dredged sediment may be managed as a valuable resource, with great potential to create economic, environmental, and social benefits.
  • Corps of Engineers awards contract to dredge, rehabilitate jetty at Fishing Creek

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, has awarded a $3.17 million contract to White Lake Dock and Dredge, Inc., a Small Business out of North Shores, Michigan, for maintenance dredging and southern jetty rehabilitation for the Fishing Creek Federal navigation channel.