Explanation of Indicator
Currently, there are fifteen Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Sites
(ODMDS) off the Florida coast. These sites are areas that have been
set aside as receptor sites for dredge material from channel dredge
projects. Four of these sites have been permanently designated by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the remainder
have been temporarily designated pending the outcome of future studies.
The EPA refers to these sites as interim-designated or interim-approved.
At least fifteen interim-designated sites have been closed, including
sites off Key West and Tampa Harbor. Many of these closed sites were
heavily used; for example, the Tampa Harbor sites received 101,570,000
cubic yards of material between 1956 and 1985. Sites outside state
waters are outside the permitting authority of the Florida Department
of Environmental Protection unless use of the site will affect a coastal
resource. Sites within state waters are treated like any proposed
open-water disposal site regardless of the site's status with EPA.
This is an important indicator because these fill materials are considered a state resource that has the potential to be used for renourishment of Florida's beaches. Monitoring of the amount of material disposed of offshore should be conducted.
Data Characteristics
SOURCE
The volume of disposed material in the ODMDS is monitored by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers and the disposal sites are designed by the EPA.
Information on disposal sites may be obtained from Gary Collins at EPA
Region IV, Wetlands and Coastal Programs Section, Coastal Programs Unit,
345 Courtland Street N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30365, or at (404) 347-1740.
The contacts at the Army Corps of Engineers are Mark Wolff,
Jacksonville District, P.O. Box 4970, CESAJ-CO-ON, Jacksonville,
Florida 32232-0019, or at (904) 791-1131 and Susan Rees, Mobile
District, Post Office Box 2288, PD-EC, Mobile, Alabama 36628-0001,
or at (205) 690-2724.
ACQUISITION
The volume of material which is disposed of in designated sites
is monitored during the dredging operation, and data are available
upon completion of each project. The data on the amount of disposed
material can be obtained from the Corps of Engineers after the
post-construction survey. There are no costs associated with
obtaining this information.
COLLECTION
Information on the amount of disposed material is available after
each post-construction survey or can be collected annually on each
of the designated or interim-designated disposal sites statewide.
Data Limitations
This is a weak environmental indicator because data cannot be
obtained regarding the total acreage of submerged lands affected.
Furthermore, the quality and accessibility of the data for each
site vary considerably; the figures should therefore be treated
as approximations.
Data Analysis
The recorded volumes vary considerably. Disposal volumes range from a
low of 247,000 cubic yards in 1952 to a high of 4,247,000 cubic yards in 1990.
Year Volume Year Volume Cubic Yards Cubic Yards (Millions) (Millions) 1952 0.247 1975 3.826 1953 0.444 1976 4.159 1954 0.749 1977 0.078 1956 0.198 1978 1.786 1960 2.047 1979 0.084 1961 0.747 1980 2.480 1962 0.012 1981* 2.142 1963 1.158 1983 1.044 1965 0.758 1984 0.917 1966 0.074 1985* 3.084 1967 0.442 1986 0.352 1968 0.760 1987 2.064 1969 0.962 1988 0.385 1972* 2.007 1989 0.533 1974 0.962 1990* 4.247 * 1981 includes data from the two previous years. 1972, 1985, & 1990 include data from the previous year.