Placement of dredged material in rivers, lakes, estuaries, or oceans via pipeline or surface release from hopper dredges or barges, without confinement. Typical coastal habitats include beaches, marshes, rocky shores, bottom sediments, mudflats, and the water itself. An organism’s habitat provides all of the basic requirements for the maintenance of life. The specific area or environment in which a particular type of plant or animal lives. Dredging is also conducted for construction purposes, for mining, and for environmental cleanup and enhancement. “Dredging” is the term given to removal by digging, gathering, or pulling out materials from the bed to deepen waterways and to create harbors, channels, and berths.

Underwater excavation is called dredging. The term “sediment” refers to material on the bed of a water body prior to the dredging process. The term “dredged material” refers to material which has been dredged from a water body and disposed in a disposal site. Material excavated from fresh, estuarine, or ocean waters. Contaminated sediment or contaminated dredged material:Ĭontaminated sediments or contaminated dredged materials are defined as those that may cause an unacceptable adverse effect on human health or the environment. Other terms used for CDFs that appear in the literature include “confined disposal area,” “confined disposal site,” and “dredged material containment area.” Contaminant:Ī chemical or biological substance in a form that can be incorporated into, onto, or be ingested by or harm aquatic organisms, consumers of aquatic organisms, or users of the aquatic environment. Confined disposal facility (CDF):Īn engineered structure for containment of dredged material consisting of dikes or other structures that enclose a disposal area above any adjacent water surface, isolating the dredged material from adjacent waters during placement. Placement or use of dredged material as resource materials in productive ways, which provide environmental, economic, or social benefits.

To dredge up