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Disposal of Contaminated Sediment from the Port of New York
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2004-06-01
[PDF-1.17 MB]
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Abstract:The Port of New York and New Jersey has experienced nearly continuous dredging, and a significant quantity of these sediments have required special treatment because of the levels of contaminants present. Through examination of laws, regulatory frameworks, sediment testing protocols, stakeholder positions, litigation, and specific management actions, this case study examines the multiple decision processes that relate to placement of dredged sediments over about a decade. Primary conclusions include the use of science, regulatory and broader decision process change, and the evolving social values illustrated by both. In New York, the hierarchy of sediment tests proposed in the Green Book has been transformed to specific bioaccumulation tests for benthic organisms with threshold or matrix values. Frequently, thresholds are related to reference sediments as required by law, but the selection of reference sediments remains problematic. Over the decade, regulatory and decision processes were driven by litigation from ocean environmental groups and from prospective ocean dumpers. Strongly held views not easily accommodated by consensual processes such as the Harbor Estuary Program resulted in a Three-Party Letter among senior government officials that, among other objectives, severely curtailed the use of the ocean for sediment disposal. By the decade's end, the Mud Dump Site had become an Historic Area Remediation Site with the potential to accept only a small percentage of the material from harbor dredging. Port development and dredging continued. Thus, valuing the ocean environment and the economic benefits of the port has resulted in increasing use of nearshore and terrestrial environments for disposal. References, 8 figures, 16 tables; 102 p. (1.17 Mb)
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