BPC Submits Letter of Support for Coastal Conservancy’s Beneficial Use Pilot Program Proposal

On February 9, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) opened solicitation for proposals for the beneficial use of dredged material pilot program pursuant to Section 1122 of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016. Under the program, ten pilot project sites will be selected to maximize the beneficial placement of dredged material from federal and non-federal navigation channels. At the request of the California State Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy), BPC submitted a comment letter in support of the Conservancy’s proposal entitled, Resilient San Francisco Bay Project. The Resilient San Francisco Bay Project proposes to cost-share a regional effort to use 1.5 million cubic yards of dredged material from the Oakland Harbor, Richmond Harbor, Pinole Shoal, and Redwood City Harbor to support one to four tidal wetland restoration sites around San Francisco Bay: Montezuma, Cullinan Ranch, Bel Marin Keys Unit V, and Eden Landing. Provided that the pilot program does not reduce or remove any funding from the Corps’ Operations and Maintenance budget, BPC is in full support of this effort to increase the beneficial use of dredged material in San Francisco Bay to restore aquatic ecosystem habitats and increase shoreline resilience. BPC will continue to monitor the implementation of Section 1122 and keep its members apprised of any updates.