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c. Funding of National Marine and Fisheries Service to assist the 

 Beneficial Uses Group in the development of design criteria and 

 parameters for constructing ecological functioning marshes; and 



d. Construction of a five acre oyster reef with Houston Lighting and 

 Power under an Environmental Protection Agency grant in order 

 to determine large-scale feasibility using non-native material for 

 clutch. (This is also a Coastal America Project and a Galveston 

 Bay National Estuary Program Action Plan Demonstration Project.) 



4. The plan addresses on the priority concerns identified by the Galveston 

 Bay National Estuary Program - loss of wetland habitat. 



It is most noteworthy that the Interagency Coordination Team has determined 

 that its disposal plan, if properly implemented and managed, can actually achieve a 

 net positive environmental effect for Galveston Bay. 



CONCLUSION 



Dredged material disposal is a serious concern for public ports whose task it is 

 to create jobs and facilitate international trade and thus augment the economy, while 

 remaining environmentally sensitive. What has been done in the planning phases for 

 the Houston Ship Channel project is a bright ray of hope. The Beneficial Uses Group 

 plan will have to undergo formal public and agency scrutiny through the NEPA 

 process. In its current form, however, the Beneficial Uses Group's recommended plan 

 has taken into consideration all of the public's ideas for beneficial uses in a unique and 

 unprecedented approach. 



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