33 USC 1272 – Environmental dredging
(a) Operation and maintenance of navigation projects
Whenever necessary to meet the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.], the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, may remove and remediate, as part of operation and maintenance of a navigation project, contaminated sediments outside the boundaries of and adjacent to the navigation channel.
(b) Nonproject specific
(1) In general
The Secretary may remove and remediate contaminated sediments from the navigable waters of the United States for the purpose of environmental enhancement and water quality improvement if such removal and remediation is requested by a non-Federal sponsor and the sponsor agrees to pay 35 percent of the cost of such removal and remediation.
(2) Maximum amount
The Secretary may not expend more than $50,000,000 in a fiscal year to carry out this subsection.
(c) Joint plan requirement
Terms Used In 33 USC 1272
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- navigable waters: means the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas. See 33 USC 1362
- person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, State, municipality, commission, or political subdivision of a State, or any interstate body. See 33 USC 1362
- pollution: means the man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water. See 33 USC 1362
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. See 33 USC 1362
The Secretary may only remove and remediate contaminated sediments under subsection (b) in accordance with a joint plan developed by the Secretary and interested Federal, State, and local government officials. Such plan must include an opportunity for public comment, a description of the work to be undertaken, the method to be used for dredged material disposal, the roles and responsibilities of the Secretary and non-Federal sponsors, and identification of sources of funding.
(d) Disposal costs
Costs of disposal of contaminated sediments removed under this section shall be a 1 shared as a cost of construction.
(e) Limitation on statutory construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights and responsibilities of any person under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 [42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.].
(f) Priority work
In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall give priority to work in the following areas:
(1) Brooklyn Waterfront, New York.
(2) Buffalo Harbor and River, New York.
(3) Ashtabula River, Ohio.
(4) Mahoning River, Ohio.
(5) Lower Fox River, Wisconsin.
(6) Passaic River and Newark Bay, New Jersey.
(7) Snake Creek, Bixby, Oklahoma.
(8) Willamette River, Oregon.
(g) Nonprofit entities
Notwithstanding section 1962d-5b of title 42, for any project carried out under this section, a non-Federal sponsor may include a nonprofit entity, with the consent of the affected local government.