Conowingo Capacity Recovery and Innovative & Beneficial Use Pilot Project

AGENDA 6:30 – 6:45 Welcome and

Opening Remarks

6:45 – 7:15 Poster Session

7:15 – 7:30 Questions

Pilot Dredging Project Goals

1) Evaluate feasibility of dredging for sediment management 2) Use Maryland’s Innovative Reuse and Beneficial Use Guidance

Components • Hydraulically dredge approximately 25,000 cubic yards of sediment • Pump sediment from dredging location to staging area • Dewater material at the staging area • Temporarily stockpile material at staging area • Transport material offsite for reuse within 1 year

Conowingo Pilot Project History June 2016: Governor’s Bay Cabinet requests the establishment of the Conowingo Dam Sediment Management Working Group (WG). The purpose of the WG is to accelerate Chesapeake Bay Restoration by identifying cost-effective dredging solutions, including innovative reuse and/or beneficial use for the sediments and associated nutrients behind the Conowingo Dam. August 2016: Maryland Environmental Service (MES) issues a Request for Information (RFI) on the technical feasibility, economic feasibility, environmental benefits or outcomes and other benefits or outcomes related to sediment removal and innovative and/or beneficial reuse of the sediments behind the Conowingo Dam. MES received 13 responses to the RFI, indicating that companies were capable of and interested in doing this work. August 8, 2017: Governor Hogan announces plans for the Pilot Project at the 2nd Conowingo Summit. August 31, 2017: MES issues a Request for Proposals (RFP) to perform a pilot dredging and innovative reuse and/or beneficial use project on approximately 25,000 cubic yards of sediment in the Maryland portion of the Susquehanna River upstream of the Conowingo Dam.

Conowingo Pilot Project History December 8, 2017: Two proposals received in response to the RFP. The technical proposals were evaluated and scored by a 14-member technical evaluation team made up of MES, Anchor QEA (design engineers on project), MD Department of Environment, MD Department of Natural Resources, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, MD Department of Planning, Exelon, and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission. The price proposals were evaluated and scored by MES. December 28, 2017: Northgate-Dutra Joint Venture was selected by the evaluation team based on their combined technical score and price. Northgate-Dutra Joint Venture has a local office in Frederick, Maryland. Their project team is also made up of other firms with Maryland offices, including:

• Chavis Enterprises • Chesapeake Environmental Management • Ecological Restoration & Management • Fredericktowne Labs

• HazTek Incorporated • Lafarge Holcim • Moffatt & Nichol • Stancills, Inc.

Project Location

Staging Area

Pipeline route subject to change

Hydraulic Dredging • Cuts and mixes bottom sediments

and water • A cutterhead uses rotating blades

or teeth to break up or loosen bottom sediments

• Sediment is mixed into a slurry using river water

• Slurry is then pumped through a pipeline by the dredge to the staging area for dewatering

Onsite Slurry and Water Piping

Typical 12” HDPE pipe and connection

Typical earthen cover pipe crossing for foot traffic

Pipelines will be used to transport material from the dredging area in the Susquehanna River to the project staging area and return water to the river

Staging Area • The area where the dredged

material will be dried (dewatered) • Staging area components

• Entrance roadway • Trailers for on-site personnel • Soil and erosion control & security

fencing • Material management equipment • Graded area for material management

and dried material stockpiling • Dredged material slurry transport

pipeline route and water discharge

Material Dewatering Mechanical dewatering includes the use of screens, sand separators, and presses to separate water from sediment

Proposed Schedule

Today

May 2019

Permitting February-May

Contract Award and Notice to Proceed

April-May

Staging Area Construction

May -June And Dredging* 6/30/18-9/28/18

… October June May

*In-water activities do not begin until the closure of fisheries time-of-year restriction, estimated to be June 30

February March April …

Innovative Reuse/ Beneficial Use

(7/1/18-5/16/19) Permit-related public comment period includes: • Public Notice

• Public Meeting

What to Expect

DREDGING STAGING AREA / PIPELINE

HOURS Up to 12 hours per day,

6 days a week

EQUIPMENT Dredge vessel

Small craft (survey, crew) Booster pump(s)

Transport pipeline

All work will conform to local noise ordinances for construction

HOURS Up to 12 hours per day,

6 days a week

EQUIPMENT Dewatering presses

Generators and pumps Front end loader

Haul trucks

TRAFFIC Daily counts will fluctuate during different phases

Traffic routes may vary based on selected reuse options

Innovative Reuse & Beneficial Use of Dredged Material

• Dredged material is a resource with economic value

• MDE Guidance Document identifies opportunities and guidelines for uses

• Innovative Reuse Options • Landfill cover and cap

• Soil and fill material

• Beneficial Uses • Habitat restoration

• Shoreline stabilization

MDE Guidance Document • Transparency

• Clarifies regulations and the approval process

• Regulatory certainty • Clear step-by-step guidance and detailed

flow charts

• Protects human health and the environment

• Recycling and resource recovery • Opportunities for dredged material to be

a useful product

Regulatory Process • Joint State/Federal Permit Application (JPA)

• Evaluates impacts to floodplains, waterways, or wetlands

• Required for all dredging projects

• Includes a mandatory 30-day public notice and public comment period prior to permit issuance

Permit Required Agency Status Joint Permit Application (JPA) US Army Corps of Engineers and

Maryland Department of the Environment Initiated

Endangered Species Consultation

US Fish and Wildlife Service Complete

Historic Properties Consultation Maryland Historic Trust Complete

Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species Consultation

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Initiated

Dam Operations (Environmental Assessment)

Exelon and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Initiated

Harford County Coordination • Focuses on land-based activities

• Forest impacts • Sediment and erosion control • Stormwater

• Tandem coordination with Maryland Department of the Environment

Approval Required Department Status Forest Conservation Planning and Zoning Initiated

Grading/Sediment and Erosion Control

Public Works & Harford County Soil Conservation District

Initiated

Stormwater Public Works & Maryland Department of the Environment

Initiated