Recovered Dredged Material Could Support Future County Projects
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. — Wicomico County officials last Wednesday announced a major milestone in the county’s dredge management program, highlighting potential new uses for recovered dredged material.
The county has recovered and relocated 110,000 cubic yards of dredged material to county-owned property as part of the program. Acting Public Works Director Adam Corey said the location provides easy access for future projects.
“We own the parcels here and behind us, and as you can see in the back, will be the tip of the landfill up there. The nice thing about this particular stockpile is this really, really easy access for us.”
With the dredged material located only a few thousand feet from the landfill, Corey said the county can reduce costs by trucking the material for use as landfill cover. Officials are also exploring other ways to reuse it.
“We are entering into the Wood Vault pilot study program with Rez Sediment 360 and the University of Maryland to try to work on a project for some beneficial reuse at our old borrow pit mine that’s around the corner from the landfill as well,” Corey said.
Some residents have expressed concerns that dredged material could be toxic. WMDT reported earlier this year that the county tested the material and found no harmful contaminants.
County Executive Julie Giordano said the county is committed to ensuring the material is safe before putting it to use.
“We don’t want people to feel any sort of way about dredge, that it is nasty or toxic or whatever else, and so we would never put anything out in the environment that would be detrimental to anything. But we do have projects where beneficial reuse of dredge is going to be vital.”
Corey said the material can also be used for marsh restoration and shoreline stabilization because the port dredged sediment does not contain high concentrations of harmful chemicals.
“You can use it for marsh shoreline stabilization, things like that. I mean, there’s been many, many things built out of dredge on the Chesapeake Bay,” Corey said.
