Industrial/Commercial Development

Framework for Dredged Material Management

May 2004

6.2.7 Industrial/Commercial Development

Industrial/commercial development near waterways can be aided by the

availability of hydraulic fill material from nearby dredging activities. The use of dredged

material to expand or enhance port-related facilities has generally received local support

because of the readily apparent potential benefits to the local economy. Approval of the

disposal operation is generally predicated on the advancement of the port development

project and not on the incidental need for proper disposal of the dredged sediments. Use

of dredged material to reclaim former industrial sites (brownfields) for other uses has also

been considered in some areas.

6.2.8 Material Transfer for Fill

Dredged material is commonly used in construction of dikes, levees, and CDFs.

Dredged material, pumped on site and dewatered, readily lends itself to these uses. By

using dredged material to build or increase capacity in CDFs, or for dikes and levees,

overall project costs may be reduced by not having to use off-site material for these

purposes. Some local and state agency and private use is made of dredged material for

dikes and levees in certain situations such as for erosion and flood protection. Thousands

of cubic yards of dredged material have been dewatered in holding areas, then provided

to public or private interests for fill material. Often, the material is provided free of

charge to make room in disposal sites for subsequent disposal.

6.2.9 Multipurpose Uses and Other Land-Use Concepts

With careful engineering design, construction, long-term coordination and

planning, and proper implementation of operational and maintenance procedures, a

disposal site having combinations of uses may be developed. A park and recreational

development built over an existing solid waste landfill using dredged material as a cover

is an example of how several of the beneficial uses discussed in the preceding sections

can be lumped into a multipurpose project. There are a number of actual and planned

examples of multipurpose sites. Often, multipurpose objectives do not involve substantial

cost increases to the dredging project when plans are made in the initial phases of design

and construction. Frequently, recreational use and wildlife and fish habitat can be

developed simultaneously on a disposal site. Potential problems with development of

multipurpose projects are usually related to conflicting user groups of the proposed

disposal/development site. Careful selection of compatible potential users can avoid

situations where the projected uses conflict.

6.3 Evaluate Physical Suitability of Material

Basic data on physical characteristics of the sediments to be dredged (see section

3.5.2) can often serve as an effective initial screen to determine if proposed beneficial use

options as identified above are sufficiently feasible to warrant more detailed evaluations.

Grain-size compatibility with the intended beneficial use is often a major consideration.

In most cases, clean, coarse-grained sediments (sands) are suitable for a wide range of