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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/21581| Title: | Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS) authorization and Short-Term FATE (STFATE) model analysis : 2014 -2015 working group findings report |
| Authors: | Ousley, Jase D. Schroeder, P. R. (Paul R.) Bailey, Susan E. Lang, Matthew J. Kennedy, Alan James, 1976- |
| Keywords: | Dredging--Regulations Dredging spoil |
| Publisher: | Environmental Laboratory (U.S.) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (U.S.) |
| Series/Report no.: | ERDC;TR-16-2 |
| Abstract: | Abstract: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) dredges millions of cubic yards of sediment from Federal ports, harbors, and waterways annually. The USACE Navigation Data Center reports on average 42% of dredged material is placed in Offshore Dredged Material Disposal Sites (ODMDS). Regulation of dredged material placement within waters of the United States and ocean waters is a shared responsibility of the USACE and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA, also called the Ocean Dumping Act) and the Clean Water Act (CWA). Dredged sediments placed offshore must have limited contaminants and be shown to have minimal impact on benthic species. The Short-Term FATE of dredged material placed in open water (STFATE) model was created by USACE to assist with dredge material placement impact assessment. STFATE enables the computation of the movement of dredged material disposed in open water as it falls through a water column and is transported by the ambient current. In 2013, STFATE model outputs resulted in operational restrictions on several projects in USACE South Atlantic Division (SAD) districts. A working group was set up to address operational controls such as dredging-vessel bin-load restrictions, confined release zones and other issues that impacted dredging efficiency and cost. Evaluation of the sensitivity of STFATE model inputs found grid cell size, dredge vessel velocity and heading, water density gradient, and application factors had significant impacts on model output. The working group found that applying a more specific, technically defensible application factor produced model outputs that result in less restricted dredging operations in USACE Mobile District, Mobile Harbor O&M project. Given the positive outcomes from the Mobile District, it is recommended that other USACE projects with operational restrictions undergo STFATE re-evaluation. Finally, as projects require a new MPRSA and CWA concurrence from USEPA, it is recommended that the findings herein be applied. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/21581 |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERDC TR-16-2.pdf | 2.68 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |