WEDA Midwest Chapter To Meet In Milwaukee
Technology, beneficial dredging and aspects of dredging specific to the Great Lakes and Midwest regions will be topics of discussion at this month’s Western Dredging Association (WEDA) Midwest Chapter conference.
The conference will be March 11-13 at The Westin Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wis.
“I think we have a good mix of topics this year, said Paul Olander, vice president for the WEDA Midwest Chapter.
Topics will range from mitigation of contaminated sediments in the Great Lakes to guidance about beneficially using dredged material and learning about the river history that led to the formation of Milwaukee. Additionally, Women of WEDA will host an off-site social event at the Lakefront Brewery with transportation provided.
The conference will begin with an optional short course hosted jointly by the Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and WEDA. Titled “Innovations Towards Achieving More Sustainable Management of Dredged Material,” the course will discuss the Corps’ intent to achieve 70 percent beneficial use of all dredged materials by 2030, often called the “70 by 30” plan.
The course is designed to help participants to implement new Corps of Engineers guidance to consider environmental benefits and efficiencies when comparing dredged sediment beneficial use placement options. It will present methods that can be used to assign values to environmental benefits resulting from beneficial uses.
The conference will also include a safety panel led by the WEDA Safety Committee and a presentation by John Gurda, a Milwaukee-born historian and writer whose 23 books formed the basis of an Emmy-winning documentary series that premiered on Milwaukee Public Television.
“We try to build our conferences out to reflect what’s going on in the region,” Olander said. Beneficial use is a huge portion of the dredging on the Mississippi River, trying to figure out what to do with the material once it’s removed from the riverway to help navigation and commercial efforts.”
The ERDC short course and other conference presentations will provide opportunities to disseminate data to the industry as well as for open discussion, Olander said. Presentations are interspersed with opportunities to visit exhibitors, take a tour and network with others. The conference will also conclude with a Corps of Engineers workshop the afternoon of March 13, including discussion about Dredge Quality Management and introducing how this typically blue-water movement will now be moving into brown-water applications.
“We hope it will be very helpful for some of the inland contractors and understanding how it works and how it pertains to them,” Olander said.
Olander said regional WEDA conferences are not only a chance for those within the industry to gather but also to showcase the industry for those who might have an interest in joining it. As with other trades, he said, the marine construction and dredging industries are seeing a need to bolster the workforce from the younger generations as legacy professionals who supported these specialized trades for the last few decades begin to move toward the twilight of their careers. At the same time, he said, industry revitalization efforts like those funded by the Industry Investment and Jobs Act and federal grant programs mean increasing employment opportunities. A special presentation by J.F. Brennan Company, Inc., will include how the company has adapted to make sure it is offering the right incentives to recruit and retain talented employees, he said. The Midwest Chapter has offered a lower student registration rate and travel scholarship for students this year to encourage more participation.
WEDA also offers programs like “Young WEDA,” geared to those age 35 and under, to attract and engage young professionals in the dredging world, helping them to stay both informed and connected. Young WEDA helps provide access to a unique network of professionals in the dredging field, representing research institutes, universities, industry, governmental authorities and consultants. It is designed to expand members’ networks with valuable new contacts to enhance their careers.
The Midwest Chapter WEDA Conference typically brings in more than 100 participants. Each year it is held in a different city within the region.
“At the end of the day what we’re trying to do is provide a forum so that people can share the great work they’re doing in the industry,” Olander said.
For more information about the conference or to learn about joining WEDA, visit https://westerndredging.org/.
