423 
THE NEED FOR CONSIDERATION OF "SPECIAL CARE“ MEASURES 
VOLUMES OF DREDGED MATERIAL 
It is estimated that member nations of IAPH must dredge millions of cubic 
yards of sediment from their ports and harbors each year in order to keep 
them safely open to ships of commerce whose cargoes are vital to the main- 
tenance of healthy economies. For example, according to a study by Arthur 
D. Little, Inc. (1974) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was expected to 
dredge on the order of 450 million cu yd annually for the years 1974 and 
1976. Of the total volume, some 315 million cu yd, or about 70 percent, 
would be generated by maintenance dredging activities in existing water- 
ways, and about 140 million cu yd, or 30 percent, would result from so- 
called "new work" dredging. These figures may be taken as generally typi- 
cal of Corps’ annual maintenance and new work dredging operations during 
the 1970s. Significant year-to-year differences in dredging operations are 
accounted for by variations in new work quantities. According to the U. S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (1976), the volumes of dredged material 
discharged in the ocean annually are on the order of 90 to 100 million cu 
yd. Thus, of the about 450 million cu yd projected annual dredging only 
about 20 to 22 percent is presently disposed in the ocean. 
Estimating from extant plans for harbor deepening and expansion known to 
the IAPH, there is every likelihood that the volumes of dredged material to 
be disposed by one ineans or another and in one place or another will in- 
crease in the future. Plans to modify ports and harbors to safely accommo- 
date deep-draft vessels carrying coal, grain, petroleum, and liquid natural 
gas will necessitate the dredging of millions of cu yd of new material. It 
is inevitable, therefore, that the need for maintenance dredging will also 
increase. There can be little doubt, then, that maintenance dredging will 
continue. 
Although it is not expected that environmental regulations will be ignored, 
Pequegnat et al. (1978) have stated in regard to the need for dredging 
