Using Dredge Material for the Benefit of the Alabama Coast – January Membership Breakfast

During PEP’s January Member Breakfast, our speakers discussed the process and goals regarding the beneficial use of the dredged material from the Mobile Bay ship channel deepening and widening, as well as the thin-layer placement of future maintenance dredge.

Justin S. McDonald, P.E., Deputy District Engineer for Programs & Project Management (Acting), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District and Roberta Swann, Director, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) shared the history and science  behind the use of the dredge material as well as the challenges and opportunities.

The collaboration between the two companies, extending over three-and-a-half decades, has resulted in innovation in Mobile Bay. Mr. McDonald explained the environmental compliance and the Corp’s monitoring of every dredging transaction in the bay. Roberta explained the Interagency Working Group (IWG), co-led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), that relies on decades of scientific research, monitoring data, and project execution to evaluate and confirm sediment suitability for beneficial applications. This rigorous, evidence-based approach ensures projects are environmentally sustainable and economically viable, aligning with the goal of effective waterway management.