Description
Main TitleThe New York / New Jersey Harbor Dredging Conflict
PublisherHudson River Foundation
Date Created1998
Subject (Geographic)New Jersey, New York
Subject (Geographic - Hierarchical)
Country: United States
State: New Jersey
Subject (Topical)local government; contamination; public policy; dredging; harbor; sediment; Mud Dump; ports; Hudson River
DescriptionDredging projects can become stalled for several reasons, including interagency conflicts, inadequate dredged material management, insufficient information, and inconsistent funding. New York/New Jersey Harbor recently experienced stalled dredging projects. As New York/New Jersey Harbor's original depth, before dredging, was 18 feet, dredging is a necessity since today's tankers have a draft of 40-45 feet. In 1996, dredged material volume projections for the port were approximately five million cubic yards. Until the 1972 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) dumped most ofthe port's dredged material into the open ocean. After passage ofthis Act, the COE began to use an area called the Mud Dump, located about six miles east of the New Jersey Shore. Environmental regulations required any material destined for the Mud Dump to pass a toxicity test. In 1992, the EPA revised the test and found that instead of a five percent failure rate, they now had a sixty-six percent failure rate. Since material that failed the test could not be placed at the Mud Dump, new disposal options were needed for huge quantities of material. The new more sensitive test and the increased volume of contaminated material that had to be disposed ofled to a conflict that resulted in a deadlock. It is my opinion that the main reasons for the dredging conflict were public misperception of the issue, fear of litigation on the part of policy makers, and failure to plan. Most important to preventing a reoccurrence are finding acceptable alternatives for disposal, decreasing sediment decontamination, and decreasing sediment loading.
NoteA Final Report of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program. Polgar Fellow and Project Advisor are both from the Marine Policy Program, College of Marine Studies, at the University of Delaware.
NotePurpose: To discuss the causes behind the deadlock in dredging the New York/New Jersey Harbor, specifically conflict caused by public misperception, fear of litigation, and failure to plan.
Data Life Cycle Event(s)
Date: 2008-12-01 00:00:00.0
Creator: Karen Hanson
Organization NameNew Jersey Environmental Digital Library
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