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The first part of the meeting dealt with agency and issue updates. Jan
Miller (Corps) reported that a long-awaited report to Congress on confined
disposal facilities (CDFs) was winding its way through the review process.
The Buffalo District has hired a contractor to compile general information
on the Great Lakes CDF system as well as more detailed information about
each of them. Miller expressed hope that the GLDT could review it sometime
before its next meeting (October 5 - 6 in Milwaukee).
As for the TSCA/RCRA White Paper, Miller reported that Corps Headquarters
had not yet addressed issues raised in the paper regarding TSCA/RCRA rule-making
and potential effect on beneficial use of dredged material. Miller also
discussed prospects for a Water Resources Development Act of 2000. Although
no legislation has been introduced, draft provisions regarding a Florida
Everglades restoration project seem to be a major impetus for moving a
bill. Steve Thorp (Great Lakes Commission) indicated that the Commission
is advocating several items for WRDA2000, including expansion of the Corps'
program of beneficial use of dredged material to include restoration of
brownfields and reauthorization of sediment management authority under
WRDA'96 - Section 516. Neil Christersen with NOAA's Coastal Programs Division and a member of
the National Dredging Team discussed a draft document on coastal state
dredging policies. This inventory report will be used in providing related
technical assistance to states with coastal management programs. Lisa
Koch, Sea Grant Fellow at the Great Lakes Commission, reported on the
Commission's Beneficial Use Task Force efforts to-date. Koch indicated
that progress was being made in identifying strengths and gaps in Great
Lakes state regulatory frameworks for beneficial use of dredged material.
Ultimately, a major goal of the Task Force is to identify priorities and
concerns with respect to state and federal guidance for beneficial use.
The first task force meeting is scheduled for June 27 in Chicago. Thorp gave the Public Outreach Work Group report. Twenty thousand copies
of the dredging brochure, which was released last October, have been distributed
- most to GLDT members. Several thousand brochures have since been distributed
through the mail and at meetings around the region. The dredging video
is scheduled to be completed by the fall. Staff and GLDT members have
spoken to groups and at conferences on dredging since the last meeting.
An article in the Great Lakes/Seaway Review magazine included an excerpt
from the brochure in its Spring issue. The Dredging Team's web site was
also redesigned during the winter. During the public outreach discussion, Dan Injerd (IL) raised an issue
regarding the need for an independent perspective on dredging controversies.
State and federal agencies with a regulatory role in dredging matters
can be viewed as biased as can the dredging industry. Injerd asked the
Dredging Team to consider this issue for its current work plan and the
Team agreed. It was also decided to add the issue to the next meeting
agenda in Milwaukee along with an invitation to Emily Green of the Sierra
Club to talk about a recent effort pertaining to local public outreach
process. Note: Thorp will explore during the summer a way to involve the
GLDT's roster of local dredging advocates in responding to dredging controversies.
Discussion continued about plans for the next meeting. Thorp indicated
that the format for the meeting will include a joint session with the
Commission's Beneficial Use and Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Task Forces
and the Great Lakes Committee of the National Association of Conservation
Districts. The joint arrangement will also include a tour of the Milwaukee
Port facilities, the local CDF and its beneficial use experiments as well
as discussion of other water quality - erosion issues for the Milwaukee
River. Dredging technologies will also be addressed. Wayne Warren (OH
and GLDT Co-chair) mentioned that a major coastal resource management
conference was coming to Cleveland next year (July 17-19). The GLDT could
have a role such as organizing a panel discussion or convening a related
event. Miller and Thorp raised the possibility of organizing a symposium
on recreational boating and its connection to dredging issues and low
lake levels. Coastal Zone 2001 could be the venue - to be discussed in
more detail at the Milwaukee meeting. The meeting included a field trip to the CDF where innovative efforts
are underway to conserve space and implement beneficial use. For several
years, coarse material (little pollution) has been mined and sold for
construction purposes. Chuying Wu, with the University of Minnesota's
Natural Resources Research Institute, indicated that beginning this summer
an experimental machine will be installed to "clean" the sediments using
a hydrocyclone. This device uses centrifugal force to separate particle
sizes, thereby furnishing coarser material for acceptable uses. Paul Eger, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, gave a presentation on a beneficial use pilot program where material from the Erie Pier CDF is used in mine-land reclamation on the Minnesota Iron Range. This project, which began a year ago and will be substantially expanded this year, is intended to reclaim wetlands in tailing basins. There are 25,000 acres of trailing basins on Minnesota's Iron Range and hundreds of these acres were once wetlands. Three thousand cubic yards of dredged material will be railed from Duluth-Superior Harbor to the site. One of the problems to be monitored is the extent that the exotic species plant purple loosestrife is propagated in the experimental plot. A presentation was given by Jim Selegean (Corps - Detroit District) on
the Nemadji River modeling work under the Great Lakes Sediment Management
Program. One goal of the program is to facilitate a watershed approach
to sediment management. The field trip also included a visit to places
along the Nemadji River to observe bluff and bank slumping. The river
runs through an extensive area of red clay subject to serious erosion
problems. Silt from the watershed contributes to the sedimentation in
the Duluth-Superior Harbor. The Duluth meeting also featured a special guest speaker, L. Keith Yetter,
retired dredging company executive who spent thirty years planning and
conducting dredging work in the Duluth-Superior Harbor. He reflected on
the many changes in dredging policy that have occurred on his watch -
most notably the increased environmental regulation. Yetter acknowledged
the need to deal appropriately with contaminated sediments but also lamented
bureaucratic procedures which cause delays in dredging. As chair of the
area's Harbor Technical Advisory Committee, he also suggested that dedicated
staff in regulatory agencies working closely with the maritime industry
and concerned citizens was a model for getting dredging work accomplished.
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Last Modified: November 04, 2002 Copyright © 1998-2012 |
