Rogue River Dredging Set to Start in June
Dredging of the Rogue River at Gold Beach, Ore. is scheduled to begin in June, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.In March, Army officials announced the Corps had awarded a $5.3 million contract to Tacoma, Wash.-based American Construction for the dredging operations. Corps staff anticipates dredging will run from June 1 through October 31, depending on weather.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains navigation channels along the Oregon coast and dredging is an important component of keeping the Rogue River Harbor open for recreational vessels…
Redwood City Proposes Port Deepening Project
A recommended $73 million plan to deepen the Redwood City Harbor and San Bruno Shoal channels, the navigation corridors essential for commerce and the Port of Redwood City, has been issued in draft by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers' San Francisco District. The port is conducting a public hearing on what is called the "Redwood City Navigation Improvement Project" August 10 at 7 p.m. at Redwood City Hall to allow public comment and recommendations on the project's Draft Feasibility Study and Environment Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report.
NY/NJ Port Authority Authorizes Dredging Study
The Port Authority Board of Commissioners has authorized a study harbor dredging in the Port of New York and New Jersey to identify, develop and explore innovative and cost-effective ways to remove and dispose of sediment from the port's channels and berths. The goal of the $4 million study is to find the most environmentally sensitive and the most effective way to deepen the port's channels to 45-ft. and then to 50-ft. The deeper channels are needed to accommodate a new generation of cargo megaships that can handle over 6,000 truck-size containers and require deep water to operate. The study will be done in two phases. The first, which will take approximately two years…
Maintenance Dredge Completed at Navy's Key West Harbor Project
The final steps in a U.S. Navy dredging project of Key West Harbor were completed Aug. 8 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The original dredge project, completed in 2005, restored the Key West Harbor to a uniform depth of 36 feet, giving U.S. Navy ships and commercial vessels a clear, six-mile, 300-foot wide channel to enter the port. However, the hurricanes that passed near Key West in 2005 caused sand and silt to fill in some of the dredged depth, causing shoaling in the channel. The final touch to the project began in March with a maintenance dredge of the harbor, to regain the designed depth that was lost due to the shoaling. Sponsored and funded by the U.S. Navy, the project was engineered by the U.S.
Company to Pay $735,000 for Ocean Dumping Violations
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that a dredging company will pay $735,000 for ocean dumping violations off the coast of northern California. The company will pay a $450,000 EPA fine and pay NOAA $285,000 to fund projects to restore the marine environment. Evidence indicated that the company’s disposal vessels leaked or dumped dredged material over 200 times from 1999 through 2003 while en route to a designated deep ocean disposal site 55 miles off San Francisco. Source: HK Law
Meetings to Resolve Environmental/Dredging Issues
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has asked the USACE and the EPA to convene a series of meetings to clarify the facts underlying a current dispute threatening both the environmental remediataion of a former ocean disposal site and the continued dredging of vital maritime ports in New York and New Jersey. "The Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS), the former 'mud dump' site six miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, must be sealed with clean fill to prevent material from escaping into the ocean," said Lillian Borrone, director of port commerce for the port authority.
