Developing a Los Angeles Region Dredged Material Management Plan: A Coordinated Effort

An estimated 2.5 million cubic meters of contaminated sediments will need to be dredged from Los Angeles Region Harbors over the next five years. Currently there is a lack of a long-term strategy for management of contaminated sediments in the region and a lack of identified disposal alternatives making permitting of dredging projects with contaminated sediments difficult. A regional task force (Los Angeles Region Contaminated Sediment Task Force or CSTF) was formed in 1995 by the California legislature and tasked with developing a long-term management strategy for the disposal of contaminated dredged sediments. In support of this goal the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is undertaking a Feasibility Study to develop a Regional Dredged Material Management Plan that will recommend a coordinated and managed approach to disposal of contaminated sediments.