Dredging Roundup / NORTH AMERICA June 2015
PORT OF GULFPORT MISSISSIPPI
After about eight months of dredging the ship channel at the Port of Gulfport Mississippi was restored in May to its authorized 36-foot depth.
The Mississippi State Port Authority agreed 10 months ago to provide $8 million for the project; the federal government provided $4 million.
The 16-mile channel had silted to a depth of 32 to 33 feet since its last maintenance dredging in 2009. The Corps of Engineers said maintenance dredging is required every 12 to 18 months.
Gulfport is in the midst of a major expansion after being struck nine years ago by Hurricane Katrina’s 24-foot storm surges. Development is proceeding on 84 reclaimed acres and port officials are considering buying three cranes to handle post-Panamax vessels.
The port handled about 164000 TEUs of imports and exports last year.
BAYOU TEXAR PENSACOLA FLORIDA
The dredging of Bayou Texar in Pensacola Florida to return it to pre-April flood depths was underway at press time.
More than 10000 cubic yards of sediment was scheduled to be removed by the end of June.
The Pensacola City Council approved spending $678590 to hire Theodore Alabama based Crowder Gulf Joint Venture Inc. to remove sediment from 14 sites in the bayou from Bayview Park to the 12th Avenue bridge.
The dredged material is to be placed at the mouth of the bayou opposite the 17th Avenue boat launch.
The Department of Environmental Protection has said the work must be completed by June 29.
POMPTON LAKE NEW JERSEY
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final version on May 20 of a $43 million plan to dredge mercury-tainted sediment from the 200-acre Pompton Lake in northern New Jersey. An EPA permit takes effect June 22 and DuPont Corporation whose former munitions factory was responsible for the pollution has 90 days from that date to submit a work plan.
The lake is used for boating and fishing though residents have been warned not to eat the fish. It is also used as a backup source for a local reservoir of drinking water for Bergen and Passaic counties.
The EPA plan calls for DuPont to dredge 128000 cubic yards of material from the lake bottom and send it to a disposal facility.
DuPont is conducting research on the nearby Ramapo River and is due to send a report to EPA in June.
COS COB HARBOR CONNECTICUT
The Connecticut Bond Commission approved on May 12 a final $1 million for the dredging of the Cos Cob Harbor and Mianus River.
Boaters have asked for the project for years because of silting in the harbor.
The work will begin once the Departments of Energy and Environmental Protection complete testing and grant permits.
