Mid-Atlantic Contaminated Sediment Symposium: Navigating through Contaminated Sediments to Achieve our Vision of a World Class Harbor Estuary

Transcription

1 Mid-Atlantic Contaminated Sediment Symposium: Navigating through Contaminated Sediments to Achieve our Vision of a World Class Harbor Estuary U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lisa A. Baron 28 March 2012 US Army Corps of Engineers

2 Vision of a World Class Harbor Estuary Harbor Deepening Project to -50 Ft. Drift Removal Dredged Material Management Channel Maintenance Comprehensive Port Improvement Plan Green Port Improvements Harbor Operations Committee Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Comprehensive Waterfront Planning Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Plan Liberty State Park Public Access Planning for Sea Level Rise Lower Passaic River NJ Meadowlands Harbor Estuary Program Jamaica Bay Bronx River Storm Preparedness Planning Storm/Flood Risk Management Projects Hurricane Evacuation Plan

3 Improved Sediment Quality is critical to Maintain the Port s Economic Viability Reduce the Cost of Dredged Material Management Protect Human and Ecological Health Remove Fish/Shellfish Advisories (Hg, PCBs, Dioxin, DDT) Achieve USEPA s Fishable Swimmable Goal Allow communities to access and utilize the estuary as a resource Remove Impediments to Advance Restoration

4 Vision of a World Class Harbor Estuary Harbor Deepening Project to -50 Ft. Drift Removal Dredged Material Management Channel Maintenance Comprehensive Port Improvement Plan Green Port Improvements Harbor Operations Committee Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Comprehensive Waterfront Planning Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Plan Liberty State Park Public Access Planning for Sea Level Rise Lower Passaic River NJ Meadowlands Harbor Estuary Program Jamaica Bay Bronx River Storm Preparedness Planning Storm/Flood Risk Management Projects Hurricane Evacuation Plan

5 Significance of the Port of New York & New Jersey Largest Port on the East Coast (59% share) 3 rd in US (13% share); 15 th in World $114.5 B in cargo (over 5 million TEUs per year) 1,031,540 automobiles (2008) 269,900 full time jobs (10/2011) $11.2B in personal income (10/2011) $2.2 B in NY/NJ state and local tax revenue 35 percent of US population served

6 NY & NJ Harbor Deepening Contract Areas As of March 27, 2012

7 NY & NJ Harbor Deepening Contract Areas and Future O&M Projections As of March 27, 2012 Future O&M: ~53,000 CY/YR Future O&M: ~500,000 CY/YR Future Sand Mining ~432,000 CY/YR

8 Dredged Material Management Capping Landfills & Brownfields in Port Region Pennsylvania Coal Mine Reclamation Before After Goal is to utilize ALL material beneficially Total Dredged for Harbor Deepening and O&M ( ): >53M CY (not including ongoing contracts) * >13M CY Non-HARS Placed upland + NBCDF * > 35M CY HARS/Reef Site

9 Beneficial Use of Dredged Material in Jamaica Bay Ecosystem Restoration And Shoreline Stabilization Restored: Elders East: 43 marsh acres Elders West: 40 marsh acres Now using Harbor Deepening Ambrose 3B san to restore: Yellow Bar: 42 marsh acres (375,000 CY) Black Wall: 22 marsh acres (150,000 CY) Rulers Bar: 12 marsh acres (95,000 CY) 125,000 CY to stabilize the shoreline at Plumb Beach

10 Vision of a World Class Harbor Estuary Harbor Deepening Project to -50 Ft. Drift Removal Dredged Material Management Channel Maintenance Comprehensive Port Improvement Plan Green Port Improvements Harbor Operations Committee Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Comprehensive Waterfront Planning Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Plan Liberty State Park Public Access Planning for Sea Level Rise Lower Passaic River NJ Meadowlands Harbor Estuary Program Jamaica Bay Bronx River Storm Preparedness Planning Storm/Flood Risk Management Projects Hurricane Evacuation Plan

11 Hudson Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan Provides a SHARED vision and blueprint for future restoration Coordinates and aligns regional restoration activities Identifies more than 300 Restoration Opportunities Harbor Estuary Program s Regional Master Plan for Restoration Not just the USACE s Plan Feasibility Study evaluates all opportunities for future programmatic authorization Model for large-scale ecosystem restoration programs

12 Target Ecosystem Characteristics

13 Sediment Contamination TEC Goals 2015 Goal: Isolate or Remove at least 25 acres of contaminated sediment 2050 Goal: Isolate or remove at least 25 acres every 2 years

14 Track Down and Contaminant Reduction Programs/Studies: Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (REMAP) Contaminant Assessment and Reduction Program (CARP) Harbor Project (Harbor Consortium) Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) CSO Abatement Programs

15 REMAP and 1998

16 Sediment Contamination Reduction Opportunities (2,3,7,8-TCDD) Insert Dioxin TEC map

17 Mechanisms and Authorizations for Sediment Remediation Superfund- CERCLA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) WRDA Section 312 Environmental Dredging Section 204 of WRDA 1992: Beneficial Use of Dredged Material for protection, restoration and creation of aquatic and ecological habitats ($15M/yr; up to $5M/project) Section 207 of WRDA 1996: Beneficial Use of Dredged Material (no annual limit) Section 2037 of WRDA 2007: Broaden Sec 204 to include flood control/flood damage reduction ($30M/yr limit; up to $5M/project) Authorizes Regional Sediment Management (RSM) Plans ($5M)

18 Lower Passaic River Restoration Feasibility Study 1) Remediation of contaminated sediments Dredging/Capping Disposal Options including decontamination, CAD/CDF or Off-site 2) RESTORATION

19 Future Restoration Planning Known Contaminated Sites within ½ mile of each CRP Opportunity

20 Future Restoration Planning Superfund Sites within Lower Passaic Hackensack River Newark Bay Planning Region

21 Advancements to Date Sediment Remediation: Hudson River Phase 1: 283,000 CY Removed (2009) Hudson River Phase 2: 2,400,000 CY (started June 2011) Lower Passaic River Tierra Removal Action: Dredging of 40,000 CY (initiated 19 March 2012) Harbor Deepening and O&M Navigation: Removal of > 13M CY Non-HARS sediment (+ ongoing contracts in Newark Bay, Port Jersey and Arthur Kill) Honeywell/Hackensack River (pending) Berry s Creek (pending) Studies: Lower Passaic River RI/Feasibility Study 8 Mile Focused Feasibility: Possible Removal of 4.2 M CY to 11 M CY Time Critical Removal Action at RM10.9: < 30,000 CY Gowanus Canal: RI (Jan 2011) and FS (Dec 2011) Completed Newark Bay RI/FS Study Newtown Creek RI/FS Study Raritan River

22 Challenges to Ecosystem Restoration Duration of Remedial Investigations and remedial actions in Priority Watersheds Funding Widespread Contamination in Urban Estuary] Fear of Attractive Nuisance Lack of Big Picture Thinking Be Innovative and Creative Habitat Exchange Overcoming Regulatory hurdles Lack of Consensus on acceptable levels of contamination = HARBOR CLEAN

23 Contaminated Sediments: Future Next Steps Advance recommendations from the RSM Plan Strengthen regional coordination on regulatory issues, watershed planning and DMMP Develop sediment quality map that prioritizes cleanup Accelerate Hudson River and Lower Passaic remedial actions Identify and reduce sediment loads Update research, monitoring and modeling Advance Local Decontamination Technologies Ensure funding for O&M Complete HRE FS Use existing authorities to aggressively address contaminated sediments Achieve Consensus to proceed with restoration in an contaminated urban environment without being paralyzed

24 Achieving our Vision of a World Class Harbor Estuary Lisa Baron Lisa.a.Baron@usace.army.mil