Erie Pier Dredge Material Beneficial Use Study Final Report February 25, 2013

Abstract

A two-year (2011-2012) study was undertaken by the University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) to conduct lab and field demonstrations – as well as concurrent testing and monitoring – related to the beneficial use of federal navigation channel dredge material removed from the Duluth-Superior Harbor and stored at the Erie Pier facility in Duluth, MN. Much of the groundwork for the 2011-2012 study was done in prior years, but especially in 2009 and 2010, through ongoing collaborative efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Detroit District, its Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, MS, its Duluth Area Office, and public and private entities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Examples of the latter include: the Duluth Seaway Port Authority; the Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council (DSMIC); the Harbor Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC) and its members; city, county and state officials and agency personnel; engineering firms and contractors; and Minnesota taconite mining operations.