{"id":2262,"date":"2017-03-30T16:07:09","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T20:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/?p=2262"},"modified":"2017-04-19T10:33:32","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T14:33:32","slug":"department-of-the-environment-develops-guidelines-for-reuse-of-dredged-material","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/2017\/03\/30\/department-of-the-environment-develops-guidelines-for-reuse-of-dredged-material\/","title":{"rendered":"Department of the Environment Develops Guidelines for Reuse of Dredged Material"},"content":{"rendered":"
MEDIA CONTACTS:<\/span><\/h5>\n

MDE: Jay Apperson<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(410) 537-3003<\/a>
\njay.apperson@maryland.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

MPA: Richard Scher<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(410) 385-4480<\/a>
\nrscher@marylandports.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Department of the Environment Develops Guidelines for Reuse of Dredged Material<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Draft guidance developed in collaboration with Md. Dept.of Transportation\u2019s Port Administration, designed to encourage private sector innovation; public meeting set<\/em><\/p>\n

Baltimore, MD (March 30, 2017<\/span><\/span>) \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Newly developed Maryland Department of the Environment guidelines will help allow for dredged material to be safely reused in innovative ways that protect and benefit the environment.<\/p>\n

The Department of the Environment developed the draft guidelines in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Transportation\u2019s Port Administration (MPA). The draft guidelines are for reuse of dredged materials, as an alternative to disposal, for such purposes as: fill for brownfields redevelopment; construction and roads; landfill cover; and restoration or creation of aquatic habitats such as marshes. They are designed to clarify regulatory requirements \u2013 and, in turn, encourage further private sector innovation in using dredged materials to benefit water quality or as useful products.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting valuable material to work for communities and ecosystems makes sense, and the Maryland Department of the Environment is providing a road map to doing just that in ways that protect public health and benefit the environment,\u201d said Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles. \u201cThrough science, innovation and public-private collaboration, we can advance the greening of Maryland and strengthen our economy with valuable dredged materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding innovative ways to manage sediment removed from the shipping channels serving the Port of Baltimore is a priority for the MPA. With the development of MDE\u2019s Draft Guidance Document and Technical Screening Criteria, there is now a clear path forward for making innovative reuse a reality, not just for the MPA, but for the private sector and related industries throughout Maryland,\u201d said MPA Director of Harbor Development Chris Correale. \u201cThe MPA is grateful for MDE\u2019s leadership on this effort \u2013 we share the same goal that dredged material, as a valuable natural resource, can safely be reused while driving innovation, benefiting the environment and growing Maryland\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of the Environment considers dredged material a valuable resource for achieving its mission to protect and restore the environment for the health and well-being of all Marylanders. Most dredged material from the Chesapeake Bay, including Baltimore Harbor\u2019s navigation channels, is made up of clean sediments that can be used on the land as soil amendments or fill or in water to create aquatic habitat.<\/p>\n

Dredged material has been safely reused to restore islands, such as Poplar Island in the Chesapeake Bay. That project also increases wetlands and upland habitat for nesting birds. Dredged material could be reused for projects to protect shorelines from erosion or from rising sea levels as a result of climate change, to create wetlands that improve water quality or to restore contaminated sites to safe and productive use. Other potential uses include as aggregate products for block or pavement or for use as base material for highways. Reuse of dredged material from Baltimore Harbor that would otherwise be disposed of in the MPA\u2019s Cox Creek Dredged Material Placement Site would also effectively extend that facility\u2019s lifespan.<\/p>\n

The Maryland Dredge Material Management Program\u2019s executive committee assigned a broad-based workgroup the task of reviewing current law and regulatory programs and recommending policy revisions to promote the reuse of dredged material. The newly developed technical guidance is in response to a recommendation in that workgroup\u2019s June 2016 report.<\/p>\n

The draft guidance<\/a> is designed to assist scientists, engineers and other technical professionals seeking approvals to innovatively or beneficially reuse dredged material. The guidelines are designed to allow applicants to better understand what information is required, leading to increased transparency and efficiency in the permitting and approval process.<\/p>\n

A public meeting to present the draft guidance and answer questions is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 25 at the Department of the Environment\u2019s Baltimore headquarters, 1800 Washington Boulevard. Public comments on the document will be accepted through May 26. The department will review and consider all comments received.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MEDIA CONTACTS: MDE: Jay Apperson (410) 537-3003 jay.apperson@maryland.gov MPA: Richard Scher (410) 385-4480 rscher@marylandports.com Department of the Environment Develops Guidelines for Reuse of Dredged Material Draft guidance developed in collaboration with Md. Dept.of Transportation\u2019s Port Administration, designed to encourage private sector innovation; public meeting set Baltimore, MD (March 30, 2017) \u2013\u00a0Newly developed Maryland Department of  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,4,14,21,1,23],"tags":[85,28,93],"class_list":["post-2262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chesapeake-bay","category-clean-water-2","category-press-release","category-sustainability","category-uncategorized","category-wetlands","tag-chesapeake-bay","tag-clean-water","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2262"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2282,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262\/revisions\/2282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}