The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Station Fort Macon is a 22.6-acre complex located along Bogue Banks at the entrance to Morehead City Harbor in Carteret County, North Carolina. Maintenance dredging of the USCG station entrance channel and basin was needed to enable the USCG to complete its many missions, including safeguarding navigational interests, protecting coastline from pollution and marine accidents, and enforcing the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
ANAMAR was contracted by USACE Wilmington District to evaluate the suitability of approximately 75,000 cubic yards of dredged material from the station basin for disposal at the Morehead City Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS). The purpose of this project was to assist USACE in confirming that the material to be dredged conforms to ocean disposal regulations in Section 103 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (MPRSA; 33 U.S.C. §§1401–1445) and has not significantly changed since the previous sampling and analysis in 2006.
ANAMAR worked closely with USACE to design a sampling and analysis scheme, perform sample collection, subcontract laboratory analyses, and prepare final report deliverables. ANAMAR performed the field effort in January 2012 using a Petite Ponar® grab sampler and a 25-foot sampling vessel. ANAMAR reviewed all data and produced a report summarizing the results of the physical and chemical analysis of samples of the material proposed for dredging and ocean disposal. Along with physical analysis, chemical analytical groups consisted of metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons, total organic carbon, organotins, pesticides, PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and dioxins/furans. The sediment evaluation report was finalized by ANAMAR in June 2012 for use by USACE to confirm the suitability of the dredged material for disposal at the Morehead City ODMDS.