ANAMAR was contracted to plan and execute an MPRSA Section 103 evaluation of dredged material intended for ocean disposal to support safe and efficient navigation within the Sabine-Neches Waterway.
Region
Where:
Location:
EPA Region:
Region 6
USACE District:
Galveston
Project Statute
- MPRSA Section 103
Maintenance of the Sabine-Neches Waterway is performed approximately bi-annually with hopper dredges to restore the Sabine Outer Bar and Bank and Jetty Channel and Sabine Pass Channel to project depth. Sampling and analysis of the dredged material was necessary to support this maintenance dredging. Field sampling was conducted in January 2020 and consisted of collecting sediment and water samples for physical, chemical, toxicological, and bioaccumulation analysis.
Areas to be dredged were divided into five project-specific dredged material management units (DMMUs), with three DMMUs within the entrance channel and two more DMMUs within Sabine Pass Channel. Sampling consisted of 2 to 3 sampling stations per DMMU, 6 stations from within two offshore reference areas, and 12 stations within four maintenance ocean dredged material disposal sites (ODMDSs). A water sample was collected from each DMMU and each ODMDS. Sediment samples from each DMMU were composited and homogenized to create one composite per DMMU.
ANAMAR coordinated and directed field operations and worked closely with USACE and EPA during sample collection and laboratory analysis. ANAMAR reviewed all data and produced a report, finalized in August 2020, summarizing the physical, chemical, toxicological, and bioaccumulation analysis results. USACE received concurrence from EPA Region 6 on August 18, 2020, for ocean disposal of the dredged material.
