October 19, 2006

The Federal Maintenance Dredging Process

In the State of Connecticut

Critical Issues

1.   Lack of timely maintenance dredging of Federal navigation projects adversely affects the viability of water-dependent uses vital to the State’s economy and increases environmental and public safety risks, including risks associated with increased truck traffic on State highways and reduced under-keel clearance in navigation channels.

2.   A backlog of needed maintenance dredging projects exists in Connecticut. Maintenance dredging of Bridgeport Harbor is urgently needed to support waterborne commerce; smaller harbors supporting recreational uses also require maintenance.

3.   The existing process for planning, approving, and funding maintenance dredging projects conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is of unreasonable complexity, length, and uncertainty. Projects for maintenance of Connecticut Harbors, excepting the three major ports, have low priority in the Federal budgeting process. As a result, the affected municipality must pursue project funds through Congressional “earmarks.”

4.   The State of Connecticut does not strive to advance maintenance dredging through the State’s Coastal Management Program; the principal State role is to regulate projects. While municipalities may have a cost share, the State provides no funding support.

5.   The State may specify conditions for dredged material disposal that are not required by Federal agencies, further adding to the uncertainties.

6.   Ongoing issues concerning open water disposal. of dredged material in Long Island Sound (LIS) affect planning for maintenance of Connecticut harbors. Some of the principal issues concern the application of the requirements of the Federal Marine Protection, Research. and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) to dredged material disposal in LIS.

7.   The Central and Western US dredged material disposal sites were designated by the U.S. EPA in 2005 following an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Under the terms of the designation, the USACE, acting in coordination with the EPA and Connecticut and New York, must prepare a dredged material management plan (DMMP) for LIS over the next seven years or else the disposal site designations will expire and the sites will be closed.

8.   Existing dredged material disposal sites in eastern LIS must also be designated by the EPA in the foreseeable future or else their use will be discontinued.

Priority Recommendations

1.      The State of Connecticut should actively encourage, facilitate, and coordinate timely maintenance dredging of Federal navigation projects through a specific State agency and coordinator with powers and duties for this purpose.

2.      Connecticut’s Congressional delegation should support provision of adequate funding for timely completion of the LIS DMMP. When preparing the DMMP, it must be recognized that continued cost-effective open water disposal of suitable [emphasis added] dredged material is a necessary and viable option.

3.      The Congressional delegation should also support funding as needed for the most timely study and designation of the eastern US dredged material disposal sites by the U.S. EPA.

4.      In coordination with preparation of the LIS DMMP, stakeholders should review and evaluate the status of dredged material management in LIS for the purpose of considering any appropriate modifications of the MPRSA (and specifically the Ambro Amendment of that Act) as may be required to best balance the need for timely and economical maintenance dredging with the need to protect US resources and environmental quality.

5.      Priority attention should be given to completing a harbor-specific DMMP for the Port of Bridgeport with active participation by the State of Connecticut.

6.      A meeting of the LIS Congressional Caucus should be convened to consider issues affecting the beneficial use and conservation of LIS. including dredging and dredged material management issues.

7.      Increased attention should be given by the State to facilitating feasible alternatives to open water disposal of dredged material, including innovative sediment treatment technologies. beneficial upland applications, confined aquatic disposal, and habitat creation.

8.      The Connecticut Coastal Management Program should be applied to achieve a more active role by State agencies, including the Department of Environmental Protection, to advance the State’s interests for maintenance of Connecticut harbors.

9.      ‘l’he coastal management agencies of Connecticut and New York should better coordinate initiatives to address and resolve dredged material management and other issues of LIS-wide significance.

10.    The State of Connecticut should pursue all feasible measures to substantially reduce the amount of contaminants, including those from motor vehicles, discharging into navigable waterways from bridges over those waterways.

For a more detailed review of issues and recommendations, see the March 21, 2005 report “Summary of Findings and Recommendations from a Study by the Connecticut Harbor Management Association of the Federal Maintenance Dredging Process in the State of Connecticut” by Geoffrey B. Steadman and John C. Roberge.