Amendment_0004_ _Sandy_Hook_Channel_Exclusionary_3-11-15_FINAL_signed.pdf

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION 2

290 BROADWAY

NEW YORK, NY 10007-1866

It!AR11 2015

Oksana Yaremko, Chief Dredged Material Management Section Department of the Army New York District Corps of Engineers Jacob K. Javits Federal Building New York, New York 10278-0090

Dear Ms. Yaremko:

This letter is to provide a review of the Sandy Hook Channel Federal Navigation Project No. 62 with regard to the requirement to perform testing of the dredged material for placement at the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS). As described in your letter, 250,000 CY of material has accumulated and needs to be removed based on the bathymetric survey of September 11, 2014. The Ocean Dumping Regulations 40 CFR 227.13 presents criteria for reviewing existing information to determine whether a proposed dredged material is environmentally acceptable for ocean dumping without further testing. The material to be dredged in this maintenance project is evaluated by using existing information on the physical nature of the sediments and ocean conditions to determine whether it is acceptable for placement at the HARS without testing.

We have reviewed appropriate documents and charts for evaluation ofthe Sandy Hook Channel maintenance dredging project. These documents, which include bathymetric charts, grain size analyses data, and ocean current information, were submitted to us, by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, for our review of the specific area to be dredged for the Sandy Hook Channel dredging. The USACE-NYD bathymetric charts, entitled "Sandy Hook Channel Condition Survey" and dated September 11, 2014, provide a general description of the areas within the channel to be dredged for this project. Recent dredging projects in 2007,2011, and 2013 show a predictable shoaling pattern in two areas, with sands likely replenishing from the Sandy Hook beaches. Our assessment is based on a general review of the overall entire surrounding channel and the grain size analyses from locations of the past shoaled areas and in the current sample area. The grain size data, sampled and analyzed by USACE-NYD, provide grain size distributions at locations throughout the proposed shoaled areas in channel to be dredged. The ocean current information, described in NOAA Tides and Current, Predicted Tidal Current, Sandy Hook Channel, 0.4 mi. W of N Tip, searched on March 3, 2015, provide average predicted current speeds and direction for the Sandy Hook Channel.

The bathymetric charts depict areas within the Sandy Hook Channel, shallower than 35 feet below mean sea level (MSL), that comprise the limits of the planned dredging operations. Grain size analyses of five sampling stations relative to the dredging limits planned for the Sandy Hook

RacycledlRacyclabla • Printed with Vegetable all Based Inks on Recycled Paper (40% Postconsumer)

Channel have been assessed to determine the physical nature of the sediments to be dredged. The sand/gravel measurements in the five sample stations showed project material to be greater than 98 percent sand/gravel. The ocean currents predicted for the Sandy Hook Channel in 2013 estimated flood tide velocities ranging from 1.4 to 3.0 knots and ebb tide velocities ranging from

1.4 to 2.3 knots.

The Sandy Hook Channel is an area that can be characterized as a shallow coastal ocean. Tidal current oscillations bring a continuous, albeit shifting, current condition to the area. Substantial currents prevail twice daily. The sediments are shown to be characterized as having grain sizes greater that silt. The regulations presented in 40 CFR 227.13 provide criteria for determining whether material proposed for dredging is environmentally acceptable for ocean dumping without further testing. 40 CFR 227 .13(b)(1) specifies "Dredged material is composed predominantly of sand, gravel, rock, or any other naturally occurring bottom material with particle sizes larger than silt, and the material is found in areas of high current or wave energy such as streams with large beds loads or coastal areas with shifting bars and channels."

After reviewing the documentation provided and described above, we determine that the sands to be dredged from the Sandy Hook Channel, as specified in the bathymetric maps submitted by the letter dated November 19,2003, meet the requirements of 40 CFR 227.13(b)(I) and are suitable for placement at the HARS without further testing.

If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 212-637-3798 or Alexandre Remnek at 212-637-3774.

Sincerely, 0~~AbP Douglas Pabst, Chief Dredging, Sediments and Oceans Section