Hudson River Dredging Project

The IDR proposes a schedule for Phase 1 of dredging from May 2007 to the end of October, 2007, six days a week, 24 hours a day. The seventh day would be for equipment maintenance and repair. Within Phase 1, there would be at least one month of dredging at the full rate anticipated for Phase 2. This would serve to test that all systems are able to handle that level of dredging.
The dredging is proposed to occur in five-acre increments. Once a five-acre area has been
completed, 40 samples would be taken within that area to determine whether it is meeting the residuals of less than one ppm. If not, that area will be re-dredged and re-tested to see if the PCB level can be reduced to the <1ppm level. If the <1ppm level cannot be attained, there may be capping or backfilling of clean material instead of additional dredging in the same location.
There may be up to seven mechanical dredges in total. Mechanical dredging is especially good for areas with significant debris on the river bottom, as in the area under consideration. There may be a need at some point for some small hydraulic dredges in shallow places in the Hudson, but this isn’t expected to be necessary most of the time.
The mechanical dredges that are proposed to be used are controlled by GPS and laser, so the depth and location of dredging will be extremely precise. The Phase 1 Dredge Area Delineation report was describes in detail the areas targeted for Phase 1 Dredging.
Up to 12 barges are proposed to be in operation; one tugboat or fewer per barge will also be used. 134,000-186,000 cubic yards of backfill may be needed during Phase 1. The habitat restoration section of the IDR addresses what would be used to replace habitat where needed. Any water used in the facility or that might have come into contact with PCBs will go through a water treatment process before being released into the river. There will be one fully loaded 81-car train approximately every other day (4 per week) leaving the facility. There is a need to maintain through-boating for recreational boats. The Canal Corporation, GEand EPA are discussing that as an important issue, but have not yet determined how they will manage this. The inference that through-traffic could be shut down could be as damaging as the reality in terms of deterring recreational boats from choosing to go through this area.
The monitoring plan is still being developed. It will describe the many types of monitoring that will be implemented. Preliminary noise and light analysis schematics have been included in the IDR.
In Phase 1, it is expected that 390,000 tons of processed material will be transported off-site. The purpose of Phase 1 is to determine the effectiveness of the remediation steps (for example: will they meet all requirements?), and to provide project mangers a period in which to make systems adjustments as necessary prior to Phase 2.

From Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site Community Advisory Group - Aug 31, 2005 Waterford

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