NOTE: A new PDF for this report was uploaded on 2/20/2020 to correct an error that was in the previous version. The link to the report on Knowledge Core will still remain the same. If you have downloaded a version of the report prior to now please replace it with the new version now available.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.21079/11681/35353
Report Number: ERDC/TN EWN-20-1
Title: Use of Engineering With Nature® Concepts on the Savannah Harbor Navigation Project, Dredged Material Containment Areas, Savanna, GA
By Michael P. Guilfoyle, J. Stevan Calver, Mary E. Richards, and Richard A. Fischer
Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited January 2020
Purpose: This document summarizes the management approach for the Dredged Material Confinement Areas (DMCAs) (located in Jasper County, SCa) at the Savannah Harbor Navigation Project (SHNP) in the Savannah Harbor, Chatham County, GA. The LTMS was initiated to mitigate wetland losses in Georgia and South Carolina from ongoing dredged material deposition, harbor deepening efforts, and normal operating activities from maintenance of the Savannah Harbor. Since the inception and implementation of the LTMS in 1996, USACE has recognized that engineering operations, particularly those that involve dredged material deposition, can provide opportunities for infrastructure enhancement by applying improved engineering practices, and by incorporating natural features in the final product, which yield additional environmental benefits. The Engineering With Nature® (EWN) initiative incorporates both infrastructure development and enhancement with environmental management. The purpose of this technical note is to: (1) summarize the creation and management of the DMCAs from implementation of the LTMS, (2) identify and describe features of the LTMS in common with EWN principles, and (3) discuss how this approach improves USACE’s ability to meet mission objectives while providing environmental benefits to the local and regional ecosystem.