INTRODUCTION
Purpose and Plan Content
In 1979 the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) completed
a Dredged Material Management Plan for the Columbia River Estuary.
The purpose of the plan was to establish policies and standards
for regulating dredging and disposal in the estuary and to identify
an adequate number of sites with sufficient capacity to meet
projected disposal needs over a 20-year period. The original
plan identified 98 dredged material sites located in Oregon and
Washington, established priorities for their use, and recommended
techniques for their protection and control. The sites were then
protected through the comprehensive plans of Oregon and through
the Shoreline Management Master Programs of the Washington jurisdictions.
In 1986, CREST reevaluated and updated the plan to produce the
Columbia River Estuary Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP).
Since 1986, there have been changes
in the dredged material disposal needs, limitations, and opportunities
in the Columbia River estuary. Some identified sites are now
developed with permanent structures in place. Other sites have
received more material than was outlined in the DMMP, are currently
at capacity, are no longer used or are not practical for dredged
material placement. In addition, opportunities for beneficial
use of dredged material need to be incorporated into the DMMP.
Furthermore, an analysis and update of the dredged material disposal
site inventory is necessary to ensure the adequacy of identified
dredged material disposal sites for any future construction and
maintenance activities. Updating the policies and disposal site
inventory to reflect the changes that have occurred over the
past 14 years will ensure that the DMMP remains useful.
The purpose of this revised DMMP is
to refine the dredging and disposal policies and to inventory
an adequate number of disposal sites with sufficient capacity
to accommodate projected disposal needs for at least a 5-year
period. Many of the inventoried sites provide for disposal over
a much longer timeframe. The Plan is designed to be incorporated
into local comprehensive plans in Oregon and shoreline management
master programs in Washington to update these documents with
respect to changes in disposal needs and regulatory policies.
The plan recognizes that the vast majority
of dredging and disposal policies in the estuary are related
to the Federal deep draft navigation channel. The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers completed a Dredged Material Management Plan (USACE
1998) for channel maintenance in 1998. That plan identified dredged
material disposal needs for a 20-year period. The updated site
inventory incorporates Corps disposal sites identified in their
DMMP.
The plan also accounts for the disposal
needs of local dredging projects. These projects include the
dredging of entrance channels as well as commercial and recreational
boat basins by local Port authorities.
The Plan is also intended to serve
as a guide to dredging project proponents and regulatory agencies
in planning and reviewing dredging projects. In order to be useful,
it focuses on disposal sites that are both in the proximity of
dredging areas and appear approvable under existing regulatory
and zoning requirements. In this way, the plan can be used to
expedite the dredging project proponents' search for appropriate
disposal sites and regulatory agencies' permit review process.
The Plan is not intended to be an exhaustive
list of all possible disposal sites and, therefore it includes
a procedure for the designation of new sites. Also, the Plan
does not guarantee site availability. In some cases designated
sites are privately owned and their use will require owner approval.
The Plan does not obviate the need to obtain dredging and disposal
permits. In all cases, use of a site for dredged material disposal
will have to conform to local, state, and federal regulatory
requirements.
