Current state of practice of nearshore nourishment by the United States Army Corps of Engineers

Abstract

This US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) special report prepared by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, provides an overview of the current state of practice for nearshore nourishment with dredged sediment. This special report was completed with responses and input from professionals across the dredging and placement teams from each of the USACE Coastal and Great Lakes districts, providing comprehensive overviews of the decision trees these districts utilize in the placement of their dredged sediment. This report describes the general practice of nearshore nourishment, the impediments and concerns faced by nearshore nourishment projects, and the practical methods utilized by the Coastal and Great Lakes districts for their nearshore nourishment projects. Understanding the current state of practice, along with the general and specific impediments the districts face, enables further research in and development of best practices for use across the USACE and better communication of the practice to other stakeholders.

Development and testing of the Sediment Distribution Pipe (SDP) : a pragmatic tool for wetland nourishment

“…Traditionally, wetland restoration has been expensive due to the logistics associated with obtaining suitable material, transporting the material to the wetland site, and placing without causing adverse environmental effects. Since the mid-1980s, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has promoted beneficial use (BU) of dredged material (DM), which involves productive reuse of DM as a resource to benefit the environment (Walker et al 2022) ], Dredging Operation Technical Support, and Regional Sediment Management) have promoted active BU, including wetland restoration. Use of DM to restore wetlands offers a cost-effective approach as the USACE is mandated to maintain many coastal waterways given its federal authority to provide coastal navigation, aligned with national security.…”