Expiration date: 12/29/2017
The applicant, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has requested Department of the Army (DA) authorization to deepen Berth 94 and a portion of Berth 96 from their currently authorized depth of 40 feet below the plane of mean low water (MLW) with a two foot allowable overdepth, to 50 feet below the plane of MLW with a two foot allowable overdepth. The proposed dredging area is approximately 110 feet wide by approximately 1,380 feet long. Approximately 18,000 cubic yards (CY) of Holocene sediments would be dredged using a closed (environmental) bucket and placed in sealed bottom scows without barge overflow. This material would be allowed to settle in scows for a minimum of 24 hours prior to pumping off of decant water, which would be discharged back to the bay at the dredge site. The material would then be amended with a minimum of 8% Portland cement for use as structural fill, landfill cover, or other state-approved beneficial/acceptable use. Approximately 27,000 CY of Pleistocene red-brown clay would be removed after dredging of Holocene sediment is complete, to achieve the proposed depth, including overdepth dredging. This material would be dredged using a “hard digging bucket” and barge overflow would be authorized. The red-brown clay would then be transported, without being amended, for use as structural fill, landfill cover, or other beneficial/acceptable use. The purpose of the proposed work is to provide adequate water depths for mooring of larger, deeper draft vessels that are able to access Port Elizabeth because of the increased navigational clearance of the Bayonne Bridge. The proposed work supports the work of the Harbor Deepening Program.