• Topographic and Bathymetric Survey
• Accelerated Interagency Coordination and Environmental Permitting
• Coordination with DCR and USACE for Beneficial Reuse of Dredge Sediments
Challenge
GZA was retained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to permit the placement of up to 250,000 cubic yards of dredge spoils at DCR’s Plum Island Reservation property along the Merrimack River in Newburyport, MA. The project site area consisted of an eroded dune system that has experienced upwards of 400 feet of erosion over the past eight years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is undertaking a project to dredge the Merrimack River navigational channel. The USACE will place approximately 125,000 cubic yards of dredged material at Plum Island Reservation with remainder of sediments originally proposed to be deposited nearshore.
Solution
GZA performed survey, developed permit drawings for the placement of dredge spoils as beneficial use/beach nourishment. GZA expedited environmental permits including an Environmental Notification Form with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, Notice of Intent with the Conservation Commission, Massachusetts Endangered Species Act Review, and Chapter 91 Permit with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) Waterways Regulation Program and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP), 401 Water Quality Certificate Program.
Throughout the project GZA coordinated with landowners adjacent to the project work site, the City of Newburyport, the Merrimack River Beach Alliance (MRBA), MADEP, Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (CZM), USACE and the DCR.
Benefit
The beneficial placement of dredge sediments provides immediate relief to ongoing significant erosion at Plum Island. Approximately 250,000 cubic yards of dredge sediments is beneficially reused as beach nourishment fill.