Page 63: of Marine News Magazine (November 2012)

STEWARDSHIP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT , TOO Joseph Seebode, deputy district engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, was the District?s Regulatory Chief when the CDF received its permit said, ?The successful closing of this CDF opens up possibilities for the port?s future. The CDF proved to be an innovative, economically ef cient and safe way to store contaminated dredged material in one of the largest metropolitan regions in the country.? An added bene t is the port?s water quality has, and continues to improve. ?Our dredging activities are not only providing navigation bene ts, but we are also removing sources of contamination, which is improving the overall quality of the estuary.? Steven Schumach, regulatory project manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District said, ?The Newark Bay CDF contains contaminated mud from 47 projects, keeping this pollution out of our estuary.? In the future there are expectations that there will be removal of long term contamination from several highly polluted areas of the port that include the Lower Passaic River, Newtown Creek and Gowanus Canal. Col. John Boulé, now retired, who was the commander of New York District at the time of the CDF?s closing said,?Removing this contaminated mud would have a tremendous positive impact on the ecology of the estuary and CDFs should be considered as an option for containing this material.? LOOKING AHEADJohn Tavolaro, deputy chief, Operations Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, has been involved with the Newark Bay CDF since its inception says, ?As we look into dredged material MN 63www.marinelink.com MNNov2012 Layout 50-65.indd 63MNNov2012 Layout 50-65.indd 6311/7/2012 11:45:17 AM11/7/2012 11:45:17 AM