By Lisa Baron, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “World Class New York District Harbor Estuary”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New ity of New York and New Jersey have deepened York District and its regional partners are actively more than 35 miles of shipping channels to accom- committed to achieving the vision of a “World Class modate the large container ships that dominate Harbor Estuary”. worldwide shipping today. These improvements This vision balances the economic revitalization of will keep the Port of New York and New Jersey com- the Port of New York and New Jersey with ecosystem petitive and viable, particularly with the expansion restoration and critical infrastructure protection. of the Panama Canal scheduled to be completed Over the years, the District and The Port Author- by 2014.

32 August 2012 boatingonthehudson.com The Port of New York and New Jersey the shoreline at Plumb Beach, New York capture additional opportunities to ben- is a key regional and national economic to protect the essential transportation eficially use sand from Ambrose Channel engine providing about 280,000 total infrastructure of the Belt Parkway and and the Federal Naviga- jobs in NY and NJ, nearly $11.6 billion in sewer infrastructure; cap and close the tion Channel and continue advancing personal income, more than $37.1 billion Confined Disposal Facility additional restoration opportunities in business income and almost $5.2 bil- in New Jersey; and continue capping throughout the estuary while saving lion in tax revenues while serving 35 per- the HARS. new mobilization costs for equipment cent of the U.S. population. The integration of these individual prior to project completion. To date, the NY/NJ Harbor Deepening programs and projects leverages autho- The success of this beneficial use ini- Project has beneficially used more than rizations and funding sources while tiative is due to strong partnerships 60 million cubic yards of sediment, which reducing costs during construction and and consensus goals within the region. includes constructing over 100 acres of saving tax payers dollars (e.g., reduced These strong partnerships and the tidal marsh, establishing offshore reefs, mobilization costs and sharing of sand steadfast commitment of many federal, nourishing beaches, capping landfills and placement/pipeline infrastructure). In state and local partners resulted in effi- Brownfields, and capping the Dredged addition, ecological and regional ben- cient coordination to develop complex Material Historic Area Remediation Site efits are maximized from marsh island plans and specifications, approval of (HARS) off the coast of , New restoration and the creation of coastal technical reports, execution of funding Jersey. wetlands which help stabilize and pro- agreements, secure federal and non- As the Project nears comple- federal funds and issuance of tion in 2014, over 3.6 million permits which were essential cubic yards of high quality for program execution. sand are being dredged from The Port Authority of New Ambrose Channel, which will Balancing Economic York & New Jersey, New York provide the 50-ft pathway State Department of Environ- from the ocean to Port Eliza- mental Conservation, New beth and Newark by Decem- Revitalization and York City Department of Envi- ber 2012. ronmental Protection and New Maximizing the beneficial York City Department of Parks use of dredged material has a Sustainable & Recreation provided signifi- been the policy at the New cant non-federal funds serving York District, since the incep- Environment in one as non-federal sponsors. Other tion of the Harbor Deepening important partners include Project. the National Park Service, NY/ A recent New York District of the World’s Most NJ Harbor Estuary Program, effort - the NY&NJ Harbor / National Resources Conserva- Jamaica Bay Multi-Project tion Service and many other Initiative - exemplifies this Urbanized Estuaries stakeholders. policy in the effort to use as Regional partnerships within much of the sand dredged to the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary are remediate, restore and protect the harbor tect the shoreline, provide important fundamental to advancing estuary. habitat and improve water and sedi- restoration at a time when funding is This Initiative represents an innova- ment quality. limited. The leveraging of non-federal tive business approach consistent with “The Army Corps has a strong com- funds has resulted in the implemen- the goals of the Army Corps’ Civil Works mitment along with our partners and tation of key priority projects for the Transformation, utilizing integrated water stakeholders to restore critical habitat region outlined in the USACE Hudson- resource management, collaboration and within Jamaica Bay, maintain the eco- Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Resto- partnering to meet the challenges of fed- logical integrity of the NY/NJ Harbor ration Plan (CRP), the Department of eral and local constrained budgets, criti- Estuary, with the economic benefits of Interior Secretary Salazar’s and New York cal infrastructure needs and the societal deepening the Port of New York and City Mayor Bloomberg’s joint strategy to goal of ecosystem restoration. New Jersey,” said Col. John R. Boulé II, restore Jamaica Bay, NYC’s Comprehen- The goal is to utilize dredged material the Army Corps’ New York District Com- sive Waterfront Plan, NYC Vision 2020 from both the Harbor Deepening Proj- mander. The region continues to work and PlaNYC. Furthermore, this initiative ect’s Ambrose Channel and the Opera- together to achieve our vision of a advances many restoration targets and tion and Maintenance of the Jamaica Bay, “World Class Harbor Estuary” for future goals outlined in the CRP, which when New York Federal Navigation Channel to: generations. implemented, will advance the region’s advance three critical marsh island resto- The District will continue to work with vision of a “World Class Harbor Estuary.” ration projects in Jamaica Bay to restore its dredging contractors and partners to more than 75 acres of wetlands; stabilize

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