Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11681/34593
Title: Gulfport Harbor Navigation Channel: Final Supplemental EIS
Authors: CH2M HILL (Firm)
Keywords: Dredging
Environmental management
Inland navigation
Gulfport (Miss.)
Publisher: United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Mobile District.
Abstract: This Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) assesses the potential impacts associated with the construction of authorized improvements to the Federal Gulfport Harbor Navigation Project in Harrison County, Mississippi. This FSEIS assesses conditions not addressed in a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) published by the USACE in June 1989. The FSEIS evaluates the impacts of widening the channel to its authorized dimensions, performing maintenance dredging on the existing channel, and placing the dredged material in pre-approved disposal areas. The FSEIS identifies the preferred alternative. Improvements of the Federal Gulfport Harbor Navigation Project were initially authorized by the Fiscal Year 1985 Supplemental Appropriations Act. The Water Resources Development Acts 1986 and 1988 further modified the project to cover widening and deepening and thin-layer disposal, respectively. The authorized deepening was completed in 1993. The only Congressionally authorized channel dimension change for the present project is to widen the channel. The proposed changes were funded under PL 84-99, Flood and Coastal Storm Emergencies. The purpose of the channel improvements would be to increase the width of the Mississippi Sound Channel from 220 ft to 300 ft for a distance of approximately 11 miles and increase the Gulf Entrance and Bar Channel from 300 ft to 400 ft for a distance of approximately 10 miles. Maintenance and future maintenance dredging would also be performed on the navigation channel. The USACE determined that changes were required in the existing Federal Gulfport Harbor Navigation Project to provide for safe and unrestricted navigation into and out of Gulfport Harbor. Pre-Hurricane Katrina documentation demonstrates frequent “waiting at anchor” status for many vessels attempting to enter the Port. Likewise, vessels often have to wait in the Port while inbound vessels navigate through the channel. These conditions pose an adverse financial impact to the shippers operating out of Gulfport. The actions considered in this FSEIS include the No-Action Alternative and widening to the federally authorized dimension. Several disposal options were considered for placement of dredged material, including beach nourishment, island creation, littoral zone disposal, disposal in existing Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites (ODMDSs) and open water sites, and possible designation of a new ODMDS for disposal. After considerable analysis, four preferred disposal sites were selected for use depending on the characteristics of the dredged material. Material associated with widening the channel to its authorized dimensions would be placed in the littoral zone southeast of Cat Island between the 14-foot and 18-foot contour and in the littoral zone east of the Chandeleur Islands in water depths greater than 25 feet. Future maintenance material dredged from the navigation channel would be placed in open water sites within Mississippi Sound utilizing thin-layer disposal methods, the littoral zone disposal area, and within the existing ODMDS located on the western side of the navigation project. The USACE believes, after consideration of economic, environmental, technical, and other factors, widening the channel and placing dredged material in the four identified locations would best fulfill its statutory mission and responsibilities.
Description: Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
Rights: Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/11681/34593
Appears in Collections:Environmental Documents

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