The New York/New Jersey Harbor must be regularly dredged to maintain shipping channels and berthing areas for commerce and safe navigation. Ocean disposal of the sediments from this dredging operation has been the primary option for disposal. Revised guidance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-New York District (NYDCOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 (EPA-Region 2) established more-stringent biological and chemical test criteria for the option of ocean disposal. This was published in Draft Regional Guidance for Performing Tests on Dredged Material Proposed for Ocean Disposal (Draft, December 1992). Under these new guidelines, the volume of contaminated dredged material prohibited from ocean disposal has increased to approximately 500,000 cubic yards of material requiring treatment each year. Decontamination technologies were actively investigated by the EPA-Region 2 and the NYDCOE under Section 405 of the Water Resources and Development Act of 1992 authorizing investigations, including testing and demonstration. These technologies were demonstrated to determine their environmental-acceptability and cost-effectiveness. Treatment may require several different procedures before disposal is possible due to the complex nature of the contaminants and their widespread spatial distribution within the harbor.
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