The Port of Lake Charles has an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to restore local wetlands and battered marshes by using dredged materials from the Calcasieu Ship Channel. The port proposed to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) that this intergovernmental agreement be considered a Beneficial Environmental Project (BEP) under LDEQ regulations. The port has now received approval to do so.

The port says notes various benefits from combining the BEP with the IGA. First, by using material dredged from the ship channel, the capacity of the upland disposal sites is saved for future use. Second, restoring wetlands will assist in offsetting coastal erosion and provide additional hurricane protection. Finally, the project will assist in maintaining authorized ship channel dimensions and smooth channel operation.

The BEP project allows local entities resolving an LDEQ violation or penalty assessment through a settlement to use the port’s BEP as a means of insuring that local funds will be spent in the region on projects with local benefits.

"We are taking another critical step to rebuild our coast and protect our citizens and our infrastructure," said Port Executive Director Bill Rase. "Using this dredge material is one of the fastest and most economical ways to restore our coastal wetlands."

The port is the designated sponsor or "caretaker" of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, acting on behalf of the state. This means the port is responsible to find proper disposal for the sediment dredged from the channel.

Finding proper disposal sites for the dredged material can be difficult. In the course of a year the material amounts to approximately 4 million cubic yards, which could build a hill approximately 15 to 20 ft. high, compromising 300 acres. Traditionally, this material has been deposited in upland sites along the channel. The funding that may be provided by the BEP will allow much of the dredged material to be used to build marsh, using local dollars on local projects that benefit southwest Louisiana.

Redwood City Completes Phase One Channel Deepening

Phase 1 of critically needed maintenance dredging of the Redwood City Harbor and Channel was completed last week, giving the Port of Redwood City a channel depth of 28 feet. The $12.8 million project was supervised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Phase 2, which will restore the channel to it authorized depth of 30 feet, is scheduled to occur in mid-2015.

The last time the channel was dredged to its authorized depth was December 2009. Since then, areas of the channel have silted in. The port has been working with the Corps to perform the dredging in order to increase allowable draft for ships. The current channel depth limitation for navigation of minus 22 feet was causing extra costs and logistics problems for cargo shippers.

"Increasing the depth of the channel by 6 feet will mean that the cargo carrying capacity of the ships calling at the port will increase 10,000 to 12,000 tons per ship," said Executive Director Michael Giari.

Redwood City port cargo volume has increased steadily since 2009, last year reaching 1.8 million metric tons. Much of the cargo consists of building materials such as aggregates and cement for the construction projects in the Redwood City area and Silicon Valley.