Page 60: of Marine News Magazine (November 2012)

Summer has come and gone. So has hurricane SANDY. The latter event brought rain, ß ooding, destruction and misery to the greater NY/NJ waterfront, and beyond. Well before that, however, the Robbins Reef Yacht Club in New JerseyÕs Newark Bay within the Port of New York/ New Jersey was reporting upbeat conditions. ÒWe saw a signiÞ cant increase in boating activity this summer because our members were able to access us with ease,Ó said Jim Hickey, Commodore of the Robbins Reef Yacht Club. In existence for over a century, those conditions werenÕt always the case. Natural mud build up in the bay severely restricted boating access and business was suffering. Fortunately, the club was able to maintenance dredge their waterways and dispose the mud that was shown to be contaminated within the Newark Bay ConÞ ned Disposal Facility (CDF), an affordable and environmentally safe, man-made underground pit in Newark Bay. After Þ fteen years of use, the Newark Bay CDF was closed this summer after it reached its capacity. The site will be monitored by the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey for the next decade. CONFINED DISPOSAL FACILITIES A ConÞ ned Disposal Facility (CDF) or ConÞ ned Aquatic Disposal Site (CAD) is designed and constructed to securely store contaminated dredged materials. A CDF can be constructed on land, along shorelines, and under water below the water bottom, depending on the regionÕs land availability. The Newark Bay facilityÕs success demonstrates that CDFs can be an affordable and environmentally safe method for the marine support industry to dispose of contaminated dredged materials. CDFÕs are particularly important in the NY/NJ region because the port and marine support industry contributes approximately $54 billion to the regionÕs economy and is a source of thousands of jobs. ÒIf there wasnÕt a CDF, it would be highly unlikely that a small club like ours would be able to afford other dredging disposal methods,Ó said Hickey. Separately, Steve Kalil, President of Caddell Dry Dock & Repair, Staten Island, New York said his business located on the Kill van Kull is in the same boat, ÒWithout the CDF I might have had to Dredging Smart Dredging Smart ConÞ ned Disposal F ConÞ ned Disposal F acilities acilitiesIn Hurricane SANDY?s roiled aftermath, NJ Port?s dredged materials management method becomes even more important. By JoAnne Castagna, Ed.D. November 201260 MNMNNov2012 Layout 50-65.indd 60MNNov2012 Layout 50-65.indd 6011/6/2012 4:23:25 PM11/6/2012 4:23:25 PM