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Federal Agency Team Improves Dredged Materials Management

Release Date: 08/14/2003
Contact Information:

John Millet, 202 564-7842 / millett.john@epa.gov

(08/14/03) Under a renewed charter, the National Dredging Team (NDT) was charged with implementing “Dredged Material Management Action Agenda for the Next Decade.” The NDT is comprised of representatives from EPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maritime Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Navy. The new action agenda contains 22 recommendations that address regional sediment management, beneficial use of dredged material, strengthening Regional Dredging Teams (RDTs) and emerging issues. Specifically, EPA is seeking to accelerate regional sediment management at the watershed level, and the Corps will emphasize the beneficial use of dredged material by working closely with RDTs and local planning groups. The dredging of several hundred million cubic yards of sediment each year is critical for maintaining the nation’s navigation system for commercial shipping and national defense. Appropriate reuse and disposal of this dredged material is critical for protecting the nation’s coastal and ocean resources. The NDT was established in 1995 to promote national and regional consistency on dredging issues and to provide a mechanism for issue resolution and information exchange among federal, state, and local agencies and stakeholders. The NDT’s new action agenda builds upon the recommendations in the December 1994 Interagency Report to the Secretary of Transportation, “The Dredging Process in the United States: An Action Plan for Improvement.” For more information, go to: https://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/ndt/.