II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2482

To amend the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 

to prohibit the dumping of dredged material in certain bodies of water. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 1, 2004

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL

To amend the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries 

Act of 1972 to prohibit the dumping of dredged material 

in certain bodies of water.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Long Island Sound 

5 Protection Act’’. 
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•S 2482 IS 

1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DUMPING OF DREDGED MATE2 RIAL. 

3 Section 106 of the Marine Protection, Research, and 

4 Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1416) is amended by 

5 striking subsection (f) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON DUMPING OF DREDGED MATE7 RIAL.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) COVERED BODY OF WATER.—The 

10 term ‘covered body of water’ means— 

11 ‘‘(i) Long Island Sound; 

12 ‘‘(ii) Fisher’s Island Sound; 

13 ‘‘(iii) Block Island Sound; 

14 ‘‘(iv) Peconic Bay; and 

15 ‘‘(v) any harbor or tributary of a body 

16 of water described in any of clauses (i) 

17 through (iv). 

18 ‘‘(B) COVERED PROJECT.—The term ‘cov19 ered project’ means— 

20 ‘‘(i) any Federal dredging project (or 

21 any project conducted for a Federal agency 

22 pursuant to Federal authorization); 

23 ‘‘(ii) a dredging project carried out by 

24 a non-Federal entity that results in the 

25 production of more than 25,000 cubic 

26 yards of dredged material; and 
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1 ‘‘(iii) any of 2 or more dredging 

2 projects carried out by 1 or more non-Fed3 eral entities in a covered body of water, si4 multaneously or sequentially within a 180-

5 day period, that result, in the aggregate, in 

6 the production of more than 25,000 cubic 

7 yards of dredged material. 

8 ‘‘(C) PLAN.—The term ‘plan’ means the 

9 dredged material management plan required 

10 under paragraph (5). 

11 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—No dredged material from 

12 any covered project shall be dumped, or transported 

13 for the purpose of dumping, into any covered body 

14 of water unless and until the dredged material is de15 termined by the Administrator— 

16 ‘‘(A) to have, or to cause (including 

17 through bioaccumulation), concentrations of 

18 chemical constituents that are not greater than 

19 those concentrations present in the water col20 umn, sediments, and biota of areas proximate 

21 to, but unaffected by, the proposed disposal 

22 site; and 

23 ‘‘(B) to meet all requirements under this 

24 title (including the trace contaminant provision 

25 under section 227.6 of title 40, Code of Federal 
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1 Regulations (or a successor regulation), and re2 quirements under other regulations promul3 gated under section 108). 

4 ‘‘(3) DESIGNATION OF SITES.—No dredged ma5 terial shall be dumped, or transported for the pur6 pose of dumping, into any covered body of water ex7 cept— 

8 ‘‘(A) at a site designated by the Adminis9 trator in accordance with section 102(c); and 

10 ‘‘(B) upon a determination by the Admin11 istrator, following approval of the plan required 

12 under paragraph (5)(F), that no feasible alter13 native to ocean disposal, including sediment re14 mediation, beneficial reuse, and land-based al15 ternatives, is available prior to the time of des16 ignation. 

17 ‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (B), this title applies to each cov20 ered body of water. 

21 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—No waiver under sec22 tion 103(d) shall be available for the dumping 

23 of dredged material in any covered body of 

24 water.
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1 ‘‘(5) DREDGED MATERIAL MANAGEMENT

2 PLAN.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before designation of 

4 any dredged material disposal site in a covered 

5 body of water, the Secretary and the Adminis6 trator, in consultation with the United States 

7 Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine 

8 Fisheries Service, the United States Coast 

9 Guard, and the States of Connecticut and New 

10 York, shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) develop a dredged material man12 agement plan for the management of all 

13 dredged sediment in the covered bodies of 

14 water; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) submit the plan to Congress and 

16 the Governors of the States of Connecticut 

17 and New York. 

18 ‘‘(B) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the 

19 plan shall be— 

20 ‘‘(i) to identify sources, quantities, 

21 and the extent of contamination of dredged 

22 material that requires disposal; 

23 ‘‘(ii) to determine management ac24 tions that are to be taken to reduce sedi-
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1 ment and contaminant loading of dredged 

2 areas; 

3 ‘‘(iii) to thoroughly assess alternative 

4 locations, treatment technologies, and ben5 eficial uses for dredged material; 

6 ‘‘(iv) to ensure that dumping is the 

7 disposal option of last resort for dredged 

8 material and is used only after all other 

9 options have been exhausted; 

10 ‘‘(v) to secure— 

11 ‘‘(I) alternative methods of dis12 posal of dredged materials, including 

13 decontamination technologies; and 

14 ‘‘(II) alternative uses of mate15 rials, including upland disposal, con16 tainment, beach nourishment, marsh 

17 restoration, habitat construction, and 

18 other beneficial reuses; and 

19 ‘‘(vi) to confirm the specific roles of 

20 Federal, State, and local agencies with re21 spect to various aspects of dredged mate22 rial management. 

23 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall in24 clude environmental, economic, and other anal-
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1 ysis required to meet the objectives listed in 

2 subparagraph (B), including— 

3 ‘‘(i) an analysis of strategies to reduce 

4 sediment loading of harbors and navigation 

5 areas; 

6 ‘‘(ii) an analysis of sources of sedi7 ment contamination, including rec8 ommendations for management measures 

9 to limit or reduce those contamination 

10 sources; 

11 ‘‘(iii) an analysis of options for reduc12 ing dredging needs through modification of 

13 navigation strategies; 

14 ‘‘(iv) an analysis of decontamination 

15 technologies, including subsequent alter16 native uses of decontaminated materials 

17 (such as upland disposal, containment, 

18 beach nourishment, marsh restoration, and 

19 habitat construction); and 

20 ‘‘(v) a program for use of alternative 

21 methods of disposal and use of dredged 

22 material, including alternatives to dumping 

23 or dispersal in a covered body of water. 

24 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC INPUT.—The Secretary and 

25 the Administrator shall— 
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1 ‘‘(i) during the development of the 

2 plan, hold in the States of Connecticut and 

3 New York a series of public hearings on 

4 the plan; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) append to the plan a summary of 

6 the public comments received. 

7 ‘‘(E) SUPPORT.—Each of the Federal 

8 agencies referred to in subparagraph (A) shall 

9 provide such staff support and other resources 

10 as are necessary to carry out this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(F) APPROVAL BY CONNECTICUT AND

12 NEW YORK.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

14 days after the date of receipt of the plan, 

15 the Governors of the States of Connecticut 

16 and New York shall notify the Secretary 

17 and the Administrator of whether the 

18 States approve or disapprove the plan. 

19 ‘‘(ii) DUMPING OF DREDGED MATE20 RIAL.—No dredged material from a cov21 ered project may be dumped, or trans22 ported for the purpose of dumping, in any 

23 covered body of water unless the dredged 

24 material— 
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1 ‘‘(I) conforms to a plan that has 

2 been approved by the Governors of the 

3 States of Connecticut and New York; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) is to be dumped in a 

6 dredged material disposal site des7 ignated by the Administrator under 

8 this title. 

9 ‘‘(iii) FINALITY.—No dredged mate10 rial disposal plan shall become final until 

11 the plan has been approved by the States 

12 of Connecticut and New York under clause 

13 (i). 

14 ‘‘(iv) PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED

15 SITES.—No dredged material disposal site 

16 in any covered body of water that was des17 ignated before the date of enactment of 

18 this clause shall be used for dumping of 

19 dredged material from a covered project 

20 until the plan has been approved by the 

21 States of Connecticut and New York under 

22 clause (i). 

23 ‘‘(G) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA24 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 
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1 to carry out this paragraph $5,000,000 for each 

2 of fiscal years 2005 and 2006.’’.

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