Annual WEDA Meeting Set for Toronto in June

The 2014 Western Dredging Association (WEDA) 34th/Texas A&M University (TAMU) 45th Annual Dredging Conference will be held June 15 through 18 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto Canada.

Plans for the technical presentations are still being finalized and include discussions on safety and environmental protection during dredging projects the history of dredging dredging for navigation environmental cleanup and flood control management of dredging projects and programs; research into dredging processes equipment and effects on the environment and new dredging equipment and practices. To view a list of accepted abstracts visit the WEDA website (www.westerndredging.org). Final manuscripts are due April 7.

The schedule for technical program and other conference events includes:

• Sunday June 15 7 to10 p.m. Ice Breaker (in Exhibit Hall);
• Monday June 16 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Opening ceremonies followed by Texas A&M Seminar;
• Monday June 16 afternoon WEDA Environmental Commission Meeting;
• Tuesday June 17 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. WEDA Technical Program Safety and Environmental Panels;
• Tuesday June 17 evening Conference Awards Dinner;
• Wednesday June 18 8 a.m. to noon WEDA 34 Technical Program.

The conference tours and spouse/partner program includes:

• Sunday June 15 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. tour to Niagara Falls;
• Monday June 16 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Special Spouse/Guest Tour. (Included with spouse/partner registration);
• Tuesday June 17 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Special Spouse/Guest Tour (Included with spouse/partner registration);
• Wednesday June 18 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Post Conference Technical Tour – (Included in registration fee).

Daily breakfast and lunches Monday and Tuesday June 16 and 17 and refreshments will be included.

The exhibit hall will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Post Conference Tour

Members will visit the Hamilton Harbor Area of Concern at Randle Reef in Lake Ontario.

The governments of Canada and the U.S. have recognized contaminated sediment issues as a major problem in the Great Lakes ecosystem. In 1985 the two countries identified 43 Areas of Concern (AOC) where impaired water quality prevented full beneficial use of rivers bays harbors and ports.

The tour site Randle Reef (Hamilton Harbor AOC) Lake Ontario is one of the largest PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) contaminated sediment sites (675000 cubic meters or 882900 cubic yards) on the Great Lakes and in all of Canada. Proposed remediation for this site involves constructing a 7.5-hectare (18.5-acre) engineered containment facility (ECF) that will manage PAH and heavy metal contaminated sediments in two ways. First the ECF will be constructed on top of the most highly contaminated sediments (in situ 130000 cubic meters or 170000 cubic yards) isolating those sediments in place. Second other contaminated sediments (500000 cubic meters) will be dredged and placed inside the ECF.

The ECF will be constructed by installing a double steel sheet pile wall. The sealed inner wall will isolate the dredged material and the space between the walls will be filled with rock to enhance the wall structural properties and also function as a polishing cell for the dredge effluent. The outer wall will also serve as the outer face for a future port facility.

Because of concerns over volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from sediments mechanical dredging will be minimized to less than five percent of the total dredge volume. The majority of the dredging will be conducted by hydraulic means discharging into the ECF below the water level.

A thin layer cap (approximately six inches) of sand will be used to manage residuals generated during dredging. A thin layer cap will also be used to manage approximately 40000 cubic yards of less contaminated sediments at the site. Approximately 5000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be capped using a combination of sand enriched with total organic carbon and reactive core mats.

The engineering design and environmental assessment are now complete for the project. The Randle Reef sediment remediation project is a critical step toward eventual delisting of the Hamilton Harbor AOC. Construction activities will begin in the summer of 2014 and be completed by 2022.

The tour site is an approximately one-hour bus ride from the Royal York Hotel and the schedule of events is as follows:

• 1 p.m.: pick up at the hotel; 2 p.m. arrive at Randle Reef;
• 2:30 p.m.: board Harbor Queen; 4 p.m. return to Randle Reef/board bus;
• 5 p.m.: arrive back at hotel.

Environmental Awards
The Environmental Committee is accepting nominations for the 2014 Environmental Excellence Awards which recognize projects for their outstanding contribution to meeting the goals of WEDA such as promoting communication and understanding of environmental issues and stimulating new solutions associated with dredging and the placement of dredged materials.

Two awards will be given each year – one for navigation dredging and one for environmental dredging. These awards will be presented at the annual WEDA conference. Winners will receive a plaque press release and special highlight on the WEDA website. The award goes to the project and team members will be recognized. At least one project member must be a WEDA member and the project must be located in the Western Hemisphere.

The project must not have been completed more than two years from the date of the award application. For longer term projects specific increments or phases must have been complete to be eligible for consideration. Applications will only be accepted for projects that have been approved by all applicable regulatory agencies and implemented. Project nominations cannot be accepted without the necessary permisions from the project owner. Previous WEDA Environmentl Award winners are not eligible to resubmit the same projet unless it is a major significant new phase. Winners for the Silver Awards and Honorable Mention Awards can be resu mitted as long as time criteria are met.

The projects will be judged and ranked on environmental  enefits (35 points); innovation (20 points); economic benefits (15 points); transferability (15 points); and outreach and  ducation (15 points).

The application should also include a summary of the project including goals objective and accomplishments and a complete list of team members and their affiliations. Applications should be no longer than six pages total and an additional three pages may be used for figures diagrams or photographs.

Applications should be submitted by April 18 2014 in PDF format to Craig Vogt chair of WEDA Environmental Commission at Craig@craigvogt.com.