Great Lakes Dredged Material Management Marie T. Strum, P.E. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers March 14, 2013 US Army Corps of Engineers
Great Lakes Dredging where we stand Backlog and impacts to shipping Low Lake Levels Dredged Material Management Strategies
Silver Bay Grand Marais Taconite Chippewa Harbor Lake Superior A non-linear navigation system with 60 federal commercial projects and 80 federal shallow draft/recreational projects Two Harbors Eagle Harbor Lac La Belle Knife River Duluth- Superior Port Wing Cornucopia La Pointe Bayfield Keweenaw Waterway Grand Traverse Bay Big Bay Little Lake Whitefish Point Harbor Presque Isle Grand Marais Soo Locks MI Marquette Little Bay de noc Manistique St. Marys River Channels in Straits of Mackinac Detour Les Cheneaux Island Grays Reef Mackinac Island St. James Mackinac City Cheboygan CANADA WI Cedar River Menominee Oconto Pensaukee Washington Island Sturgeon Bay Leland Hammond Bay Inland Route Petoskey Charlevoix Alpena Ogdensburg Morristown Commercial Recreational IL Big Suamico Green Bay Two Rivers Manitowoc Sheboygan Port Washington Milwaukee Kenosha Waukegan Chicago Harbor Chicago River Algoma Kewaunee Lake Michigan Greilickville Frankfort Harrisville Arcadia Au Sable Harbor Portage Lake Tawas Bay Manistee Point Lookout Port Austin Ludington Harbor Beach Pentwater Saginaw Port Sanilac White Lake Muskegon Grand River Grand Haven Holland Saugatuck South Haven St. Joseph St. Joseph River New Buffalo Michigan City MI OH IN Lexington Black River Pine River St. Clair River Belle River Clinton River Lake St. Clair Rouge River Detroit River Monroe Bolles Harbor Niagara River PA Ontario NY Cape Vincent Sackets Harbor Port Ontario Oswego 3
Great Lakes Dredging 140 Federal Projects - 60 Commercial, 80 Recreational; over 600 miles of maintained navigation channels Some harbors require annual dredging, some every 2 years and most require dredging less frequently 3.3 million cubic yards must be dredged annually from 20-30 projects; 30,000 800,000 CY per harbor. Low water levels are exacerbating the dredging backlog problems 4
Great Lakes Dredging Funding $41M in GL dredging has a return on investment of $335M, an 8:1 BCR! GL Dredging Challenges: 140 Individually authorized harbors; vast majority <10M tons 90% of tonnage is within system movements: US-US or US-Canada Small dredging volumes, short season lead to higher dredging cost Yet Economic Benefits of dredging are still very high! Dredging is essential to maintaining a viable system, contributing to national economy, manufacturing jobs, reliable source of energy for electrical demand Under funding for years has grown the dredging backlog. Groundings are increasing; two commercial harbors currently closed Low water levels causing many shipping problems 5
Port Name 0 0.5-foot 1-foot 1.5-foot 2-foot 2.5-foot 3-foot 3.5-foot 4-foot 4.5-foot 5-foot Alpena Harbor, MI $0 $ 128,081 $ 285,136 $ 479,800 $ 708,107 $ 985,923 $ 1,305,610 $ 1,808,404 $ 2,357,557 $ 3,007,043 $ 3,719,434 Ashland Harbor $0 $ 10,877 $ 22,737 $ 35,383 $ 48,940 $ 63,668 $ 80,055 $ 99,085 $ 121,288 $ 153,823 $ 176,832 Ashtabula Harbor, OH $0 $ 257,300 $ 725,310 $ 1,390,723 $ 2,320,610 $ 3,592,998 $ 5,237,800 $ 7,148,653 $ 9,268,615 $ 11,611,451 $ 14,204,283 Buffalo Harbor, NY $0 $ 60,078 $ 158,691 $ 316,502 $ 521,107 $ 774,736 $ 1,077,886 $ 1,423,472 $ 1,820,596 $ 2,274,188 $ 2,790,132 Burns Harbor, IN $0 $ 292,569 $1,064,396 $ 2,009,678 $ 3,074,805 $ 4,306,563 $ 5,643,649 $ 7,081,398 $ 8,622,738 $ 10,307,549 $ 12,079,166 Calumet Harbor and River, IL & IN $0 $ 309,970 $ 767,894 $ 1,411,467 $ 2,272,204 $ 3,301,321 $ 4,470,398 $ 6,052,681 $ 7,782,336 $ 9,677,598 $ 11,738,403 Channels in Lake St. Clair $0 $ - $1,619,169 $ 4,766,311 $ 9,497,674 $ 16,156,539 $ 24,552,306 $ 34,243,431 $ 45,064,157 $ 57,274,240 $ 70,980,752 Charlevoix Harbor $0 $ 5,326 $ 15,026 $ 39,245 $ 86,459 $ 161,497 $ 270,112 $ 446,407 $ 683,105 $ 980,481 $ 1,342,246 Cheboygan Harbor, MI $0 $ 12,328 $ 32,576 $ 63,633 $ 105,916 $ 164,815 $ 240,478 $ 329,541 $ 433,641 $ 550,724 $ 673,792 Cleveland Harbor, OH $0 $ 1,549,715 $3,323,303 $ 5,343,754 $ 7,571,798 $ 10,106,811 $ 13,030,293 $ 16,316,976 $ 19,931,903 $ 23,836,998 $ 28,040,763 Conneaut Harbor, OH $0 $ 4,241 $ 573,049 $ 1,559,176 $ 2,815,600 $ 4,281,048 $ 5,805,817 $ 7,510,666 $ 9,335,664 $ 11,311,958 $ 13,402,222 Detroit Port, MI $0 $ 782,131 $1,657,576 $ 2,600,301 $ 3,614,719 $ 4,707,733 $ 5,883,090 $ 7,146,996 $ 8,506,166 $ 9,982,751 $ 11,595,849 Detroit River Channel $0 $ 49,250 $1,116,887 $ 3,639,779 $ 7,724,124 $ 13,419,113 $ 21,620,882 $ 31,237,998 $ 42,129,236 $ 54,047,133 $ 67,991,190 Duluth - Superior $0 $ 1,931,123 $4,649,752 $ 8,324,403 $ 12,991,484 $ 18,509,659 $ 24,624,681 $ 31,360,574 $ 38,732,070 $ 46,824,960 $ 55,719,916 Duluth Harbor, MN $0 $ 1,405,501 $3,264,033 $ 5,589,748 $ 8,338,587 $ 11,400,462 $ 14,665,318 $ 18,179,918 $ 21,996,514 $ 26,175,291 $ 30,786,499 Dunkirk Harbor, NY $0 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - Erie Harbor, PA $0 $ 92,009 $ 219,154 $ 384,123 $ 580,682 $ 787,513 $ 1,017,874 $ 1,256,662 $ 1,516,625 $ 1,785,048 $ 2,075,155 Fairport Harbor, OH $0 $ 156,911 $ 343,308 $ 559,060 $ 822,682 $ 1,136,301 $ 1,486,648 $ 1,900,599 $ 2,363,436 $ 2,875,332 $ 3,442,433 GL System $0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Grand Haven Harbor $0 $ 205,913 $ 490,166 $ 809,972 $ 1,203,785 $ 1,622,372 $ 2,140,040 $ 2,788,223 $ 3,529,236 $ 4,369,274 $ 5,355,726 Green Bay Harbor $0 $ 211,991 $ 467,043 $ 771,609 $ 1,129,263 $ 1,537,657 $ 2,001,981 $ 2,538,641 $ 3,157,497 $ 3,855,397 $ 4,651,261 Harbor Beach Harbor, MI $0 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 257 $ 1,523 Holland Harbor, MI $0 $ 48,158 $ 102,598 $ 165,626 $ 239,570 $ 323,944 $ 421,380 $ 532,313 $ 660,525 $ 808,732 $ 1,018,398 Huron Harbor, OH $0 $ 34,344 $ 80,734 $ 145,941 $ 272,207 $ 425,739 $ 561,666 $ 718,681 $ 905,854 $ 1,118,895 $ 1,346,197 Indiana Harbor, IN $0 $ 1,140,279 $2,697,027 $ 4,401,306 $ 6,188,537 $ 8,033,810 $ 9,960,173 $ 12,004,349 $ 14,193,048 $ 16,472,902 $ 18,872,902 Lorain Harbor, OH $0 $ 433,475 $1,451,742 $ 2,980,376 $ 4,774,452 $ 6,758,958 $ 8,884,431 $ 11,180,380 $ 13,564,255 $ 16,017,693 $ 18,613,471 Ludington Harbor, MI $0 $ 144,711 $ 309,984 $ 500,201 $ 733,996 $ 1,287,500 $ 2,420,605 $ 4,594,143 $ 6,043,724 $ 8,361,901 $ 10,475,073 Manistee Harbor, MI $0 $ 64,680 $ 131,987 $ 194,513 $ 264,008 $ 342,351 $ 430,638 $ 513,539 $ 613,891 $ 730,607 $ 871,626 6
Dredging Funding Trends 2007-2013 70.0 60.0 FY12 National Provisions ARRA (Stimulus) Dredging Funding (millions of dollars) 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 $40 M Annual Reqm t L. Superior Regional Provisions Michigan Regional Provisions Commercial Regional Provisions Energy & Water Adds President's Budget 0.0 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13
Chippewa Harbor Silver Bay Grand Marais Taconite Lake Superior Two Harbors Eagle Harbor Lac La Belle Knife River Grand Traverse Bay Cornucopia Keweenaw La Pointe Duluth- Waterway Superior Bayfield Big Bay Port Wing Presque Isle 8 WI Commercial Recreational FY13 PB Funded Dredging IL FY13 Hurricane Sandy Dredging FY13 Unbudgeted Dredging Need MI Marquette Little Bay de noc Cedar River Menominee Oconto Pensaukee Big Suamico Green Bay Two Rivers Manitowoc Sheboygan Port Washington Milwaukee Kenosha Waukegan Chicago Harbor Chicago River Calumet Lake Michigan Little Lake Whitefish Point Harbor Grand Marais Soo Locks St. Marys River Channels in Straits of Mackinac Detour Manistique Les Cheneaux Island Grays Reef Mackinac Island St. James Mackinac City Cheboygan Hammond Bay Petoskey Washington Inland Route Island Charlevoix Leland Alpena Sturgeon Bay Black River Harbor Algoma Greilickville Frankfort Harrisville Kewaunee Arcadia Au Sable Harbor Portage Lake Tawas Bay Manistee Point Lookout Port Austin Ludington Harbor Beach Pentwater Saginaw White Lake Muskegon Grand River Grand Haven Holland Saugatuck South Haven St. Joseph St. Joseph River New Buffalo Michigan City MI OH IN Port Sanilac Lexington Black River St. Clair River Pine River Belle River Clinton River Lake St. Clair Rouge River Detroit River Monroe Bolles Harbor CANADA Ontario Ogdensburg Morristown Cape Vincent Sackets Harbor Port Ontario Oswego NY PA
Great Lakes Water Levels 9
Water Levels on Great Lakes All the Great Lakes are below their long term averages. Lake Michigan-Huron set new monthly record low levels in December and January and an all-time low in January. Levels on Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron have been below average for over 14 years, the longest stretch in their recorded histories. Lake Erie has dropped two feet in the past year and had no seasonal rise in 2012 - first time the lake had no seasonal rise. The most probable forecast shows Lake Michigan-Huron 2-6 above record lows over the next six months. Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron are expected to be 11 and 15 inches below chart datum, respectively, at the open of the 2013 navigation season March 25. 10
Period of Record Water Levels (1918 2012) meters 184.0 183.8 183.6 183.4 183.2 Lake Superior feet 603.6 603.1 602.6 602.1 601.6 601.1 183.0 182.8 600.6 600.1 599.6 182.6 1918 1922 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 599.1 177.6 177.4 177.2 177.0 176.8 176.6 176.4 176.2 176.0 175.8 175.6 Lake Michigan-Huron 582.5 581.5 580.5 579.5 578.5 577.5 576.5 175.4 1918 1922 1926 1930 1934 1938 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 575.5 11
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Dredged Material Management 13
Current Dredged Material Placement Methods Open Water Placement Beach Nourishment / Near Shore Placement Upland Placement Often employed in harbors without nearby open-water placement sites Common placement sites include brownfield sites, farm fields, construction sites, reclaimed mines Confined Disposal Facilities There are currently 20 active CDFs on the Great Lakes Existing CDFs are over 80% full 14
Current Dredged Material Placement Methods Percent of Harbors Employing Each Method Percent of Volume of Material Employing Each Method Lake Superior Ontonagon MI St. Marys River WI Near Shore CDF Open Water Upland Menominee Sturgeon Bay Kewaunee Green Bay Manitowoc Sheboygan Port Washington Milwaukee IL Kenosha Waukegan Calumet Indiana Harbor Lake Michigan IN Frankfort Manistee Ludington Muskegon Grand Haven Holland St. Joseph New Buffalo Saginaw MI Alpena Rouge River Detroit River OH Lake St. Clair Monroe Harbor Beach St. Clair River CANADA Dunkirk Erie PA Ontario Oswego Rochester Buffalo NY 15
DMM Historical Perspective Dredged material nearly exclusively disposed via open water placement 1960 45 Great Lakes CDFs constructed and/or operated by USACE at a cost of $900M (2009 dollars) 1970 1980 1990 2000 Execute sustainable DMM solutions 16
Current Dredged Material Management Conditions DREDGED MATERIAL MANAGEMENT STATUS MINNESOTA Grand Marias Two Harbors Duluth Superior Ashland Lake Superior Keweenaw Waterway Ontonagon Presque Isle Marquette Grand Marias Channel in Straits of Mackinac St. Marys River Critical Dredged Material Management issues could severely restrict channel availability within 5 years Pressing Dredged Material Management issues could severely restrict channel availability within 10 years. No pressing issues within next 10 years; continue to work on long range planning such as DMMPs. Little Bay de Noc Grays Reef Cheboygan WISCONSIN Menominee Charlevoix Alpena Frankfort ANNUAL DREDGING REQUIREMENT (CY) 800K 100K 250K Green Bay Manitowoc Sheboygan Port Washington Milwaukee Kenosha Waukegan Chicago River & Harbor Kewaunee Lake Michigan Manistee Ludington Muskegon Harbor Holland St. Joseph Harbor MICHIGAN Grand Haven Saginaw Rouge River Detroit River Monroe St. Clair River Harbor Beach Channels in Lake St. Clair CANADA Lake Ontario PENNSYLVANIA NEW YORK Calumet 50K 95K INDIANA <50K ILLINIOS Toledo OHIO 17
1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 Raised Berms +500,000 CY Duluth Harbor CDF Capacity Raised Berms +250,000 CY Mineland Reclama6on +30,000 CY Remaining Capacity Cubic Yards 200,000 0-200,000 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018-400,000-600,000 21 st Avenue Site- 75 acres, 800k CY capacity Pursuit of Open Water Placement - testing ongoing Mineland Reclamation - pilot study, 30,000 CY Exterior Berm Raising performed in 1990s - increased capacity by 750k CY Fill Management - Interior berm raising, pond excavation, construction of MSE Wall/ Intermediate Offloading Platform ongoing
Duluth- Superior Harbor 21 st. Ave West Channel Duluth Area Office 600 Lake Ave South, Duluth, MN 55802 Erie Pier 40 th Ave Superior, WI
Duluth-Superior Hbr 21 st Avenue Pilot Project: Potential for three years placement of suitable dredged material Pilot to demonstrate and monitor placement, dispersion, plant growth, etc. Basis for pursuing similar sites of interest w/in the harbor
Green Bay Cat Islands Funded by GLRI and E&W Provide for 2.35M cy of disposal capacity Provide significant reduction in M/D costs Restores over 1400 acres of habitat
Cat Island Chain - 1965 BUILDING STRONG
Lower Green Bay, 2008
Cat Island Chain Restoration Capacities West 630,000 Central 720,000 East 1,000,000
Cat Island Construction Jan 2013
Dredged Material Management Initiatives Initiatives underway to reduce requirements/increase efficiencies: Leverage EPA funding from Legacy Act and GLRI (both dredging and dredged material management) Work with states and local sponsors on finding beneficial uses of dredged material and reuse for CDF material road construction material, env restoration Work with states on acceptability of testing protocols for open lake placement Partnering with agencies, ports, harbor users 26
27 BUILDING STRONG
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Current Dredged Material Placement Methods by State 29
Summary Relying on new CDF construction, in general, is not viable; Recognize that state and local governments must be active participants in search for new solutions to dredged material disposal and placement needs. Strategies 1. Extend CDF Life through Fill Management 2. Create CDF Capacity through Beneficial Reuse and Use 3. Reduce Material Entering Federally Maintained Navigation Channels 4. Engage State Agencies in Solutions to participate in studies or expert elicitation to improve basis for environmental dredging windows 5. Reinforce the Federal Standard for open-lake placement to maintain efficiency of the Crops dredging program while protecting the environment. 6. Foster Partnership with USEPA to Leverage Funding for Projects Supporting Environmental Goals and Navigation Benefits 30