State to Finalize Dredging Plan for the Commonwealth: Contractor Hired to Begin Phase 2 of the Dredged Material Management Plan

Contact: Anne Donovan
January 22, 1998
(617) 727-9530, x411

The Cellucci Administration is gearing up for the second phase of developing a dredging plan for the major ports of Massachusetts. The state has inventoried the quantity and location of material that needs to be dredged coastwide and has identified potential disposal options. To obtain the information necessary to select the disposal sites, a contractor, who was selected on January 22, will develop Environmental Impact Reports on these disposal options. This project is funded under the 1996 Seaport Bond.

"Shipping is a key to a healthy Massachusetts economy," said Governor Paul Cellucci. "We have to find an affordable and environmentally sound way to dredge these channels to prepare our ports to handle the major shipping traffic of the 21st Century."

"The real issue is disposal of contaminated dredged material from the urban ports," explained Environmental Affairs Secretary Trudy Coxe. "Until now, suitable disposal methods have been out of our reach because they were presumed to be financially or environmentally costly, creating a tremendous dredging backlog in Massachusetts. This plan will identify disposal solutions that will enable port economic development to proceed while ensuring the protection of Massachusetts' natural resources."

To address dredging needs along the coast, the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) directed Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (MCZM) to develop a statewide Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP). The purpose of the DMMP is to identify and permit disposal alternatives with sufficient capacity to accept dredged material unsuitable for unconfined ocean disposal from public and private dredging projects over the next 20 years. The DMMP focuses initially on the ports of Gloucester, Salem, New Bedford, and Fall River. MCZM completed Phase 1 of this project this September, which found that:

• 4.0 million cubic yards of material need to be dredged over 20 years;
  
• Potential aquatic disposal capacity exists within each of the ports;
  
• Upland disposal capacity may be limited because of a surplus of material from other major infrastructure projects; and
  
• All potential upland and aquatic disposal alternatives require site-specific assessments.
  

"The information provided in Phase 1 gives us a firm understanding of the scope of the dredging needs out there, as well as the possible disposal options," said Peg Brady, Director of MCZM. "Phase 2 will give us the technical information to narrow down the options. This information will enable agencies, communities, and all other interests to come to the best decisions."

MCZM has hired the Maguire Group team to complete Phase 2, developing individual Environmental Impact Reports for each of the ports under the provisions of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). Subconsultants to the Maguire Group for this project include: SAIC, GEI, Environmental Settlements, and Warner/Stackpole. Specifically, the Maguire Group team will perform site-specific analyses of the resources present at potential disposal sites, and will assess the potential environmental and economic impacts associated with the use of the sites. Once this is completed, MCZM will work with the port communities, maritime industry, environmental interests, and local citizens to identify those sites that best meet the goals of cost-efficiency and environmental protection.