CRS-57 



especially serious in coastal areas of Louisiana. 39 / Third, dredged material 

 disposal in or adjacent to wetlands can affect their environment. Moreover, if 

 the spoil comes from an established channel or a channel that is downstream 

 from industry or large-scale agriculture, it may contain a variety of contam- 

 inants that can further alter the quality of the wetlands as habitat. 



In areas along the Gulf Coast, two of the most common reasons for dredging 

 are to lay oil and gas pipelines and to site drill rigs and production plat- 

 forms. Dredged channels provide the least expensive form of access. The 

 material removed to lay the pipe or create a channel is sidecast, creating 

 fills along both sides of the channel that protect it from the natural flow 

 and flood patterns in the adjacent wetlands. 40/ 



Draining 



Wetlands are drained to convert them to other uses. Drainage is usually 

 undertaken by diking a wetland area to seal it from surrounding areas, then 

 pumping or draining the water out so the soil can dry. Large tracts in the 

 Lower Mississippi River drainage and along the North Carolina coast have been 



39 / Wicker, Karen M. Habitat Degradation and Management Alternatives in 

 St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. In Proceedings: Seventh Annual Coastal Society 

 Conference. Bethesda, Maryland, in press, p. 4. 



40 / Two publications contain considerable information on the impacts of 

 dredging in wetlands: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research 

 and Development. Impacts of Construction Activities in Wetlands of the United 

 States. EPA/600/13-76-045. Prepared by Rezneat M. Darnell. Springfield, 

 National Technical Information Service, 1976. 392 p. and U.S Department of 

 the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services. 

 Impacts of Navigational Dredging of Fish and Wildlife: A Literature Review. 

 FWS/OBS-80/70. Prepared by Kenneth Allen and Joe Hardy. Washington, U.S. Govt. 

 Print. Off., 1980. 81 p. 



