§2326b Sediment Management

Summary

The Secretary may work with non-Federal partners to make long-term plans to control and manage sediment at navigation projects. Each plan must check how much and what kind of sediment is arriving, look at ways to reduce sediment, describe dredging practices, explain how dredged material sites will be managed or fixed up, and consider other disposal or reuse options. Each plan must include a schedule and fit with other planning like cleanup work, dredged material planning, harbor and waterfront planning, and watershed planning. The Secretary must talk with interested federal agencies, States, and Indian tribes and allow public comment. The Secretary must study whether an underwater confined disposal site that could hold up to 250,000 cubic yards can be built and used in the Port of New York‑New Jersey and must send the study results and any recommendations to Congress. The Secretary must also develop tributary sediment transport models for major rivers flowing to Great Lakes harbors, using prior data, and report to Congress by December 31, 2003. The Secretary must make a plan to repeatedly map coastlines that are changing quickly, including those in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions. Funding authorized: $5,000,000 per year for fiscal years 1998–2001 to carry out these duties; an extra $5,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2002–2012 for the Great Lakes models; and an extra $10,000,000 for coastal mapping in Alaska, Hawaii, and territories/possessions, to remain available until spent. Great Lakes States: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.