The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday the designation of a long-term disposal site for sediment dredged from harbors and navigation channels in the Rhode Island region.
EPA’s action requires the disposal site to be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure protection of human health and environmental quality in the Rhode Island Sound, and dredged material will continue to be evaluated prior to permitting for disposal at the site.
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“EPA has worked closely with the public and interested parties to ensure that we are protecting the ecological health of Rhode Island sound, while also establishing a much needed long-term disposal site for sediment dredged in that area,” stated Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA’s New England regional office.
The Rhode Island Sound Disposal Site, which is one square nautical mile in size, is approximately nine nautical miles south of Point Judith and 6.5 nautical miles due east of Block Island. It is the same location selected for short-term use by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to receive dredged material from the Providence River and Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project.
Congress authorizes the Corps to select disposal sites for short-term, limited use. EPA is authorized to make long-term site designations, subject to ongoing monitoring requirements to ensure the sites remain environmentally sound.
EPA’s designation of the disposal site makes it available for approximately 20 years of dredged material disposal once the sediment is determined to be suitable for ocean disposal under federal criteria.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement and other related information is available at: http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/ridredge/index.html . The decision is available at the Federal Register web site at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2004/December/Day-16/w27439.htm. Also, copies of the study, site monitoring plans and management plans are available at local town libraries in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
