GL_P3_Questions_Final.docx

USACE is seeking interested parties to generate ideas and/or participate in public-private partnerships to better maintain Great Lakes navigable waterways in a long-term sustainable manner with reliable public and/or private investment. Improving navigation maintenance throughout the Great Lakes requires dredging of federally authorized channels as well as providing safe, appropriately engineered and environmentally sound methods of placement of dredged sediment. Specifically, USACE is seeking responses to ascertain interest and feasibility of exploring a host of solutions to the following three (3) challenges.

Challenge I: Dredging maintains navigation channels, harbors and ports that are critical to the economic and cultural viability of communities within the Great Lakes region; however, there is a growing backlog of maintenance dredging within the Great Lakes region.

In response to Challenge I:

1. What technologies, techniques and/or methodologies would you apply to maintain federally authorized commercial, low-use commercial and recreation ports at federally authorized depths, without the need to increase federal appropriations?

2. Given that USACE currently dredges only a portion of the 135 federally authorized harbors on the Great Lakes at current federally appropriated funding levels, what ideas do you have to help increase the amount of dredging the Corps can accomplish annually to include more harbors and deeper channels without increasing federal appropriations?

3. What method would you use for placement of dredged materials, assuming sediment quality variability, reduction of open lake placement and reduction of placement in confined disposal facilities, without increasing federal appropriations currently applied to Great Lakes dredging and sediment placement/management?

4. Which harbors would you deepen and why?

Challenge II: Dredged material is generally treated as a waste product; which may be used as a valuable resource with many potential benefits.

In response to Challenge II:

1. Do you have any potentially economically viable ideas for converting chemicals or other materials in dredged sediments into commodities that could be reused in industrial processes?

2. For the dredged sediments that are generally suitable for residential or commercial use, do you have any potentially economically viable ideas for reusing or recycling the materials thereby greatly reducing or eliminating the need for disposal or placement?

Challenge III: USACE is currently responsible for the operation of 20 Confined Disposal Facilities (CDFs) in the Great Lakes region. CDFs' capacities are steadily decreasing and will eventually become unusable as an alternative for disposal of dredged material. The cost to create new CDFs for disposal of dredged material is high. Extending the operational life of the existing system and facilities could potentially be more cost effective, and filled CDFs may also have potential uses.

In response to Challenge III:

1. What ideas do you have that would limit use of and/or extend the life of existing CDFs, without the need to increase federal appropriations?

2. What commercial real estate or other business opportunities do you believe exist with respect to the CDFs within the Great Lakes?

3. Which CDF or group of CDFs do you believe should receive investment for the benefit of the community and why (e.g. - real estate developments, mining for soils, community parks and/or any other innovative/creative uses?

4. What technologies, techniques and/or methodologies would you apply to dispose of the dredged materials to limit use and extend the life of existing CDFs, without the need to increase federal appropriations?

General Questions:

1. What specific investments do you believe should be made within the Great Lakes navigation infrastructure system and how would your prioritize those investments?

2. What would you do to improve the maritime transportation system's physical infrastructure on the Great Lakes to support regional and national economic growth and prosperity, and ensure current and future North American economic competitiveness and productivity?

3. Which ports or group(s) of ports would you consider to have the most potential for investing in the maritime navigation system physical infrastructure and why?

4. How would you aggregate the issues of invasive species, the benefits of intermodal facilities at ports, and dredging and sediment management to develop a partnership assuming operations and maintenance (O&M) appropriations continue at historical levels?

Each of these factors affects the maritime transportation system on the Great Lakes:

a) Invasive species are an ecosystem factor that can cause great damage to multi-billion dollar fishing and recreational boating and cruise-line industries.

b) Containerization of ports may provide increased transportation capabilities and could attract more commerce to those ports with intermodal facilities.

c) Dredging of channels and harbors provides a stable mode of transporting raw materials and manufactured goods through one of the least expenses modes, i.e., shipping.

d) Sediment placement and management affect the maritime transportation system as necessary processes to accomplish dredging, because without placement opportunities, dredging cannot occur in a sustainable manner.

5. Are you most interested in one specific challenge, a combination or all of the challenges? If combination, which ones specifically? How would you combine these challenges to structure a profitable business arrangement?

6. Are you most interested in a specific geographic location of the Great Lakes, a combination or all, and why?

7. Are you interested in teaming with other private organizations? If so, are you interested in listing your name as an interested party?

8. Do you have any additional comments, questions or concerns?

To the extent permitted by law and regulation and that the information designated as confidential is not a matter of public record or otherwise disclosed by those with a right to disclose, we will hold the information so submitted as confidential.