POPLAR ISLAND ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION PROJECT: THE ROLE OF STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIP IN IMPLEMENTATION

摘要

Providing safe passage to the Port of Baltimore includes maintenance of an extensive infrastructure system consisting, in part, of approximately 130 miles (209 kilometers) of navigation channels. Annual maintenance includes approximately 3.2 million cubic yards (2.4 million cubic meters) of dredged material from navigation channels in Maryland Waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Meeting the placement need for such a large volume of material in the Baltimore/DC metropolitan area presents unique environmental, engineering, institutional, and social challenges. The Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project exemplifies the partnering approach instrumental in meeting these challenges. The Project utilizes material dredged from Chesapeake Bay navigation channels to provide environmental benefits (wetland and upland remote island habitat), environmental education for the public, and enhancement of recreational activities, and is made possible by the exhaustive stakeholder outreach efforts of the USACE, Baltimore District and the Maryland Port Administration (MPA). These efforts are vested in a unique approach to partnering with stakeholders (citizens, NGOs, federal and state regulatory and resource management agencies, maritime and business interests, and local governments) that initiated and allows for continued Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project success. The process relies on stakeholder-based committees to provide input regarding viable options for managing the material dredged from the Chesapeake Bay. Options explored by the committees are reviewed and ranked by a panel of scientific experts (the Bay Enhancement Working Group) with members from academia, federal and state regulatory and resource management agencies, citizens' groups, and other vested interest groups (i.e. watermen, etc.). Outreach begins at the project concept level. The Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project is just beginning to provide its potential benefits to the environment and local communities, and continued partnering with stakeholders will be instrumental in the continued success of the Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project and other dredged material related projects in the region.