Confined Disposal Facilities: a solution for contaminated sediments

Confined Disposal Facilities are an important solution for managing contaminated sediments that cannot be sufficiently cleaned for re-use.

Dredged material disposal

The appropriate disposal of dredged material from navigation, maintenance and remediation projects is almost always an important issue when determining the feasibility of a project. This is true of clean as well as contaminated dredged material. While many methods exist to clean contaminated materials, sometimes it is not possible to clean them sufficiently for reuse.

Clean vs unclean dredged material

Most dredged materials are clean. However, in projects where dredged material is contaminated and cannot be cleaned, this material poses an unacceptable risk to the surrounding waters and land. In these cases, finding a suitable site for placing dredged materials is a crucial part of the management of a dredging project and needs to be planned well in advance of the start of the project.

Confined Disposal Facilities

A Confined Disposal Facility, sometimes called a confined placement facility, is an area specifically designed for the containment of contaminated dredged material that provides control of potential releases of contaminants to the environment.
Dikes or other structures may be used to isolate dredged material both in upland and aquatic Confined Disposal Facilities. The main, basic objective for a Confined Disposal Facility is to retain dredge material solids which are not clean and allow the discharge of clean process water from the confined area. This maximises the amount of solids that can be stored and the lifetime of the storage facility.

Subjects

Environment

Articles

Some Proven Benefits of Polymer Use in the Treatment of Sediments in Recent Dredging Projects

To show the success of polymer use in highly contaminated areas, two recent projects are presented: at Port-La-Forêt harbour in La Forêt-Fouesnant, France and at the Kishon River seven kilometres downstream from Haifa, Israel.

DOWNLOAD PDF Document | 1,66 MB

Randle Reef Sediment Remediation: Current Status of Construction and Next Steps

Randle Reef at Hamilton Harbour, an Area of Concern (AOC), is the largest site in Canada contaminated with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). A collaboration of municipal and federal entities is working on remediation measures.

DOWNLOAD PDF Document | 1,36 MB

Dredging and Disposal at Lough Foyle, Northern Ireland

Is it possible for an in-site disposal area to be environmentally and economically preferable to an offshore disposal site? Real-time monitoring says yes, there are numerous benefits to the disposal of dredged material in-site.

DOWNLOAD PDF Document | 2,33 MB

Masonville Dredged Material Containment Facility: Environmental Planning, Compliance and Compensatory Mitigation

Planning a new confined disposal facility at the Baltimore, Maryland, Harbor was easy, but building it required extensive permits, environmental licenses and collaboration with the public, other stakeholders and regulatory agencies.

DOWNLOAD PDF Document | 475,08 KB

Confined Disposal Facilities

“Facts About Confined Disposal Facilities” describes the special closed areas that prevent contaminated sediments from being released into the environment.

DOWNLOAD PDF Document | 1,67 MB

Publications

Dredging for Sustainable Infrastructure

The book Dredging for Sustainable Infrastructure gives state-of-the-art guidance on how to design, implement and manage a water infrastructure project with a dredging component to project owners, regulators, consultants, designers and contractors.

Long Term Management of Confined Disposal Facilities for Dredged Material

During the latter part of the 20th century it became clear that another approach should be found for handling contaminated dredged material. Up to then it was common practise to dispose dredged material at sea or use it to raise the land or as fertilizer on land.