But supporters of the project argued that most of the mud brought into the county will be uncontaminated. And even the contaminated soil will contain fewer poisons than some of the mud found in the nearby Suisun Marsh, they say. Moreover, it will be buried under a layer of clean mud. And it also will be monitored by a cadre of regulators for levels of contamination before it is shipped by barge to Montezuma Slough. The project still requires approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Fish and Game.
Proponents hope to have all of the necessary approvals by year's end.
To compensate it for receiving the muck, Solano County will be paid millions of dollars and experience the renaissance of some important delta habitat. Some of the mud will be used to restore wetlands at Montezuma Slough and some for levee repairs in other parts of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The project also is an important one for the regional economy. Ports, harbors and channels throughout the region, including the Sacramento River Deep Water Channel, the San Joaquin River Channel leading to the Port of Stockton, the Port of Oakland and the Port of San Francisco, must continually be dredged. Tighter environmental regulations prohibit the dumping of these spoils in the bay or the ocean.