Cleveland Harbor Dredged Material Management Plan (Environmental Impact Statement)

Annually, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges on average 330,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Cuyahoga River and for the last decade deposits that material in the Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) 10B adjacent to Burke Lakefront Airport. If 330,000 cubic yards is difficult to conceptualize, think of it equivalent to the football field of Cleveland Brown’s Stadium stacked to the lip of the stadium edge with sediment.

There have been five such CDFs constructed and essentially ‘filled’ with sediment ‘not suitable of open-lake disposal’ in that last four decades, and the most recent facility,10B is reaching capacity sooner than was originally expected.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Corps of Engineers is, “to give notice of intent to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP)” which is schedule to be released in June of 2007 followed by a final report January 2008.

Although no recommendations have been officially put forth, two sites (2 and 3) north of Cleveland Harbor’s break wall on the east and west of the river seem to be the most promising and the in-line with the most recent Lakefront Plan.

Under the law, 100 percent of federal funds will be used for any approved plan, as long as the plan is the least expensive of the proposed and environmentally-sound options. Any alternative, more expensive plan will only receive 75 percent federal funding and local ‘sponsors’ will be required to make up the difference as well as pay for 10 percent of maintenance cost after construction.

No formal future meetings are required by law for the EIS, however Corps representatives offered to hold more public meeting before the June 2007 draft deadline.

Schedule for Environmental Impact Statement meetings, drafts and reviews

June 2006 – Issue Resolution Conference
January 2008 – Agency and Public
June 2006 – EIS Public Scoping Meeting
September 2006 – Public Information Meeting
December 2006 – Alternative Formulation Briefing
January 2007 – Independent Technical
June 2007 – Agency and Public Review of DMMP/DEIS.
September 2007 – Final DMMP/DEIS completed
November 2007—Independent Technical
January 2008 – Final DMMP/FEIS

*More public meetings may be schedule between September 2006 and June 2007.

DMMP Planning Process

The DMMP study is designed to: “Develop a 20-year strategy for providing viable dredged material placement alternatives … (and) to conduct dredged material placement in the most economically and environmentally sound manner, and maximize the use of dredged material as a beneficial resource.”

Key assumptions regarding dredging and disposal at Cleveland Harbor

• Annually more than 300,000 cubic yards of dredged material needs to be managed in order to keep the river commercially viable
• A site to contain dredged material will be needed for the federal government (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) to continue to dredge the river
• Dredged material is not and will not be suitable (in the near future) for open-lake disposal
• Industry will remain using the river for commerce therefore dredging will need to continue
• Burke Lakefront Airport will remain in its current location

Planning Process for the DMMP

The DMMP and EIS will follow a planning process that includes:

• Identify specific problems and opportunities regarding the DMMP
• Inventory and forecast conditions surrounding the DMMP
• Formulate alternative plans
• Evaluate effect of alternative plans
• Compare alternative plans
• Select recommended plan

Potential CDF sites

There are eight potential locations that are being assessed, click here for a map