Agricultural Development and Land Improvement with Dredged Material: Fid-Bau Portal

Agricultural Development and Land Improvement with Dredged Material

C. R. Lee / J. W. Simmers

Each year it becomes more difficult to locate suitable areas for the disposal of dredged material. The Dredged Material Research Program (DMRP) explored productive uses of dredged material, which included agricultural land enhancement, surface mine reclamation, sanitary landfill cover, and landfill and construction material. This paper will discuss the reuse of dredged material in agricultural land enhancement, for surface mine land reclamation, and as landfill cover. The potential benefits are extensive and include increased areas for disposal sites, increased storage capacity of existing confined disposal sites, and the reduction in the need for building expensive additional confined disposal sites. Supplemental benefits are the enhancement for marginal agricultural land and reclamation of acid surface mine lands. The potential for reuse of dred material exists. Appropriate guidance is needed on environmentally wise management strategies for the safe reuse of comtaminated dredged material. There are still questions on contaminant mobility from dredged material into the environment that need to be addressed prior to the actual implementation of management strategies for the safe reuse of slightly contaminated dredged material.