USACE Oakland Inner and Outer Harbor OM Dredging_Tier 1 Evaluation FY2022 episode_DMMO Serial Number 22-020.pdf

D R E D G E D M A T E R I A L M A N A G E M E N T O F F I C E

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, WTR-8

75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105-3919

San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission

375 Beale Street, Suite 510 San Francisco, CA 94105

San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1400

Oakland, CA 94612-1413

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division San Francisco District

450 Golden Gate Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102-3404

California State Lands Commission

100 Howe Avenue, Suite 100-South Sacramento, CA 95835-8202

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

TO: Tessa Beach, Chris Eng, Jason Emmons, Ed Keller DATE: March 25, 2022

FROM: Jessica Vargas, Chair, Dredged Material Management Office

SUBJECT: USACE Maintenance Dredging; Oakland Inner and Outer Harbor Channels, Tier 1 Evaluation for 2022 Episode; DMMO Serial Number: 22-020

At the meeting on March 23, 2022, the Dredged Material Management Office (DMMO) reviewed and discussed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) request for a Tier I exclusion from testing for the approximately 1,275,778 cubic yards of sediment currently available and proposed to be dredged to an authorized depth of -50 feet mean lower low water, plus an over-depth allowance of 2 feet, from the Oakland Inner and Outer Harbor Channels during the 2022 maintenance dredging episode. The request for a DMMO decision is contained in the report entitled, “Oakland Harbor, 2022 Maintenance Dredging, Tier 1 Evaluation,” dated March 16, 2022, prepared by USACE.

The members of the DMMO have determined that a Tier I exclusion from testing is appropriate for the sediment proposed for dredging from the Oakland Inner and Outer Harbor Channels. The characterization of the material for the Tier I decision is contained in the report prepared by ADH Environmental, entitled, “Oakland Inner and Outer Harbor Channels 2017 Operations and Maintenance Dredging Sampling and Analysis Report, Revised Final,” dated February 2018. All sediment is suitable for unconfined aquatic placement at an in-Bay disposal site, such as the Alcatraz Disposal Site (SF-11), and the San Francisco Deep Ocean Disposal Site (SF-DODS).

All sediment has also been determined suitable for placement as cover material at beneficial reuse sites, with the exception of material from Sampling Area 9 (Reach 10, Stations 96+00 to 111+00). Sediment from Sampling Area 9 has been determined suitable for placement as foundation material at the Montezuma Wetlands Restoration Project site.

Please note that this memorandum does not constitute an authorization to proceed with your dredge project. You must first obtain all appropriate authorizations and provide all appropriate notifications.

Sincerely, Jessica Vargas Chair, Dredged Material Management Office

Copies Furnished:

US EPA, San Francisco, CA, Attn: Jennifer Siu (Siu.Jennifer@epa.gov) CA BCDC, San Francisco, CA, Attn: Brenda Goeden (brenda.goeden@bcdc.ca.gov) CA RWQCB, Oakland, CA, Attn: Lindsay Whalin (Lindsay.Whalin@waterboards.ca.gov) CA SLC, Sacramento, CA, Attn: Marlene Schroeder (marlene.schroeder@slc.ca.gov) CA DFW, Santa Rosa, CA, Attn: Arn Aarreberg (Arn.Aarreberg@wildlife.ca.gov) US NMFS, Santa Rosa, CA, Attn: Sara Azat (sara.azat@noaa.gov) US FWS, Sacramento, CA, Attn: Kim Squires (kim_squires@fws.gov)