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MR. RALPH HICKS, PORT OF SAN DIEGO 

 CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY 

 HANDLING DREDGED MATERIALS 



Millions of cubic yards of sediments are dredged annually in the United States 

 due to large amount of siltation that occurs in its waters. Fortunately, San 

 Diego Bay does not require annual maintenance dredging. Most areas in 

 San Diego Bay are dredged approximately every ten to twenty years. Because 

 dredging is so infrequent here, sediments, especially at stream and river 

 outfalls, usually contain heavy metals, hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatics, 

 and other industrial contaminants. Industrial contaminants in the sediments 

 vary in levels from low to very high. The constituents in the sediments 

 determine how this dredge spoil material is disposed of. There are numerous 

 options for dredge spoil disposal depending on the existence and level of 

 contaminants. 



Dredge disposal options for materials with no industrial contaminants, or with 

 contaminant levels below those considered hazardous, are numerous and usually 

 inexpensive. Beneficial uses for such sediments include a wide variety of 

 options which utilize the material for some productive purpose. The following 

 is a list of beneficial uses of dredge spoil material containing non-hazardous 

 sediments. 



1. Ocean disposal 



2. Habitat development (wetland, upland, island, aquatic, including lands 

 for migratory and nesting use by water birds, shore birds, water fowl, 

 and other wildlife) 



3. Beach enhancement 



4. Aquaculture 



5. Parks and recreation (commercial and non-commercial) 



6. Agriculture, forestry, and horticulture 



7. Strip mine reclamation and solid waste management 



8. Shoreline stabilization and erosion control 



9. Construction and industrial use (including port development, airports, 

 urban, and residential) 



10. Material transfer (fill, dikes, levees, parking lots, and roads) 



Opportunities for beneficial uses of dredge material appear to be unlimited. 

 The most economically efficient dredge disposal option is ocean disposal. 

 Ocean disposal is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

 EPA, wanting to prevent an ocean superfund site, highly regulates all material 

 that is disposed of at an ocean disposal site. The EPA determines the 

 suitability of dredged material for ocean disposal through chemical, physical, 

 and biological evaluations. Sediment is tested for its persistence, 

 toxicity, and bioaccumulation effects on marine and benthic organisms through 

 bioassays and bioaccumulation testing. There will be no ocean disposal of 

 dredge material that causes an unacceptable bioaccumulation of any potentially 

 harmful constituent. An estimate of costs to perform these tests for proposed 

 disposal of approximately 20,000 cubic yards is $100,000. 



