Office of Coastal Management

New DNR regulations on beneficial use of dredged material now effective

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Coastal Management, has announced that new rules on the beneficial use of material dredged in projects requiring a coastal use permit will take affect Tuesday.

The changes include four options for permit applicants involved in coastal projects that include dredging – implementing a project that makes beneficial use of the dredged material, providing for the use of the dredged material on an approved coastal restoration project, using dredged material at another location that creates the same amount of beneficial use, or making a voluntary contribution to the Coastal Resources Trust fund, based on the amount of material dredged.

Beneficial use refers to taking material dredged for a project and using it to provide soil to help build or protect coastal wetlands. The intent of the new rules is to ensure as much material as possible from dredging projects under state regulation is put to that beneficial use.

“We, as a state, have fought long and hard for funding and assistance in our efforts to save the coast,” said Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Scott Angelle. “We do not have resources to waste. These new rules are an appropriate way to make sure we balance development in our coast with maintaining the health of the coastal zone.”

The beneficial use rules apply to any project requiring a state coastal use permit that involves dredging 25,000 cubic yards or more to facilitate the movement or mooring of vessels. The amount of material in eligible projects has amounted to about 3 million cubic yards annually, though only about 22 percent of it was put to beneficial use under the old program.

 “These changes will have two major effects on our coastal efforts,” said Louis Buatt, DNR assistant secretary with the Office of Coastal Management. “It will significantly increase the performance of our beneficial use program, and the framework of the regulations will also better allow for the material, or in-lieu contributions, from several smaller projects to be combined for more comprehensive coastal restoration and protection projects.”

The new rules, with the four options, allow for greater flexibility in cases where obstacles, such as project location or dredged material quality could prevent beneficially using the dredged material.

According to Asst. Sec. Buatt, one of these options would allow for an in-lieu fee payment. The fee amount this fiscal year is $1.05 per cubic yard. The price from the rule is $1 per cubic yard or 1.5% of the average of the 12 monthly postings by the US Dept of Energy of the spot price of West Texas Intermediate from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. This was calculated by the DNR Energy Office at $69.69 per barrel; therefore the price is $1.05 per cubic yard.