Page 31 - Port of Baltimore March April 2013
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March/April 2013
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The Port of Baltimore
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The MPA has been working with the
Army Corps of Engineers and repre-
sentatives from Cecil County to find an
appropriate site for dredged material.
One option is reactivating an old site
known as Pierce Creek, dating back
to the mid-1990s, but the site would
require remediation to address ground-
water contamination. Another existing
site, Courthouse Point, dates back to the
1930s and raises similar issues.
The MPA will continue to work with
the community while keeping the
channels — both for shipping and
communication — open.
expected to pass this year and should include approval for the
Mid-Bay Island Restoration Project and an expansion of Poplar
Island.
Protecting the bay is of the utmost importance, and the MPA
ensures that all containment facilities undergo rigorous testing.
“We design a site to fit into the area with minimal negative impact
and, if possible, to enhance the bay,” Hamons said.
In addition, the MPA’s open, honest approach with the com-
munities involved has helped stem any public opposition. Indeed,
communities welcome the MPA’s ability to clean up damaged land
and restore native environments.
When first proposed, Hart-Miller Island was a contentious
idea, one that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hamons
points out that Hart-Miller took 14 years to win approval, whereas
Masonville Cove, which just opened a public-access, 11-acre wa-
terfront nature area with fishing and kayaking piers, was approved
in just six years. When finished, the Masonville Cove nature area
will stretch across 50 acres.
“The perception has changed due to our outreach program and
the fact that we work very closely with citizens,” Hamons said.
“They get everything we get; they see everything we see. We pay
a lot of attention to being a good neighbor and taking care of the
bay. We have a good program going and we’ve established that,
if you work with people and build trust and they are part of the
decisions, that’s the best way to go forward. It really is the only
way to do it.”
INNOVATIVE IDEAS FOR DISPOSAL
The MPA, hoping to find even more innovative ways to dispose of
dredged material, has undertaken some demonstration projects,
such as reusing it to manufacture aggregate. But the cost of extra
steps needed to render the material usable is prohibitive.
“We know lightweight aggregate can be made of Baltimore
Harbor material, and it’s a good lightweight aggregate,” Hamons
said, “But can we come up with a proposal that would be
cost-effective?”
The Port has also considered using the material to fill aban-
doned mines. But protecting groundwater becomes an issue, and
even more prohibitive are the transportation costs — about $60
a yard to get the material from the low-lying Port to the mountain
regions.
Still, Hamons and the MPA welcome all types of ideas. “We
always evaluate them because you can’t afford to miss something
that would work well,” he said. “We have people who monitor this
on a worldwide basis. If somebody comes up with an idea, we’re
looking to borrow it.”
KATHY BERGREN SMITH
