State & Local Government

Ports & Waterways Experience

As global trade and ship sizes increase, ports and associated businesses must strengthen infrastructure, expand operations, and redevelop waterfront property. Cost-effective port redevelopment, dredged material placement, and contaminated sediment management are more imperative than ever. Environmental regulations have become a key piece in the puzzle of maintaining sustainable yet productive ports and waterways.

Conceptual Studies of Barren Island for Potential Beneficial Use and Habitat Restoration, Maryland Port Authority (MPA), Chesapeake Bay, MD. WESTON provided a multi-faceted conceptual study of a potential sediment placement site and habitat restoration at Barren Island.

The placement of dredge materials within the Chesapeake Bay is a continuous and challenging problem for the MPA as current placement sites are quickly reaching capacity. In response to this problem, MPA is considering a number of sites within the Bay to serve as placement sites, but with the added intent of beneficial reuse and habitat restoration. WESTON was engaged in May 2001 through Maryland Environmental Services, under contract to MPA, to perform a conceptual level study of one potential site, Barren Island. WESTON was chosen due to our involvement in other beneficial reuse studies in the Bay area.

Barren Island is home to a large wildlife population, and habitat restoration along with sediment placement must be accomplished in a manner that will not destroy this habitat but instead enhance the locale. WESTON performed the conceptual studies for this potential placement site in six stages: Stage One was the documentation of existing environmental conditions by reconnaissance site visits and literature research; Stage Two was the Geotechnical Literature Search and Boring Plan; Stage Three was the Geotechnical Field Work; Stage Four was the Preliminary Coastal Engineering Analysis; Stage Five was the Hydrodynamic Modeling Study; and Stage Six was the Dredge Engineering and Cost Analysis.

A Consolidated Conceptual Study Report was prepared by WESTON incorporating the results from each of these tasks and a decision regarding the future use of this island was made using the data provided.

East Bay Shoreline Protection, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas General Land Office, Chambers County, TX. Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge is located along the northern shoreline of East Bay, which is part of the greater Galveston Bay system in southeast Texas. The entire north shoreline of East Bay is experiencing significant erosion due to wind-driven waves that have left much of the shoreline with erosive bluffs and patchy remnants of intertidal wetlands. Erosion protection is needed along the refuge shoreline to reduce the 3- to 5-foot-per-year erosion rate and reestablish lost wetland habitat.

WESTON provided comprehensive technical services and project management to the Texas General Land Office (GLO) for an erosion response along 9,250 feet of shoreline at the refuge. GLO collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to perform the work under the Texas Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA). WESTON performed a comprehensive review of existing data, including historical tide and meteorological data; hydrographic and LSLS surveys; geotechnical investigation; and wave analysis. WESTON also prepared a comprehensive Alternatives Analysis comparing various options for providing erosion protection for the 2-mile reach along the Refuge shoreline. Construction procedures and detailed cost estimates for each alternative were also included in the analysis. In addition, WESTON submitted a Preliminary Engineering Report that outlined the results of the Alternatives Analysis and presented the recommended alternative – a continuous sill breakwater, and prepared and submitted Section 10/24 permit applications to the Galveston District U.S. Corps of Engineers.

Bay Harbor Geotechnical Investigation, Texas General Land Office, Galveston Island, TX. Bay Harbor is a subdivision on the west end of Galveston Island, approximately 3 miles east of San Luis Pass. The subdivision has a small harbor for residential use and a dredged channel to allow boat traffic to reach deeper water in the bay. The channel experiences shoaling resulting from longshore currents in Galveston Bay and is in need of maintenance dredging to maintain a navigable channel to the bay.

Several subdivisions on the west end of Galveston Island are working in partnership with the Texas General Land Office (GLO) under the Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA) to provide beach nourishment to the gulf shoreline of Galveston Island. The planned maintenance dredging of the Bay Harbor channel is a potential source of beach-quality sand for future nourishment projects. WESTON was retained to perform a geotechnical investigation to assess the suitability of the dredged material as a source of sand for future beach nourishment projects and, if the material is a potential nourishment source, to estimate the quantity of suitable material in the channel. WESTON performed a geotechnical sample collection and analysis to assess whether dredfed material from planned maintenance dredging at the subdivision would be suitable for beach nourishment, and determine the quantity of nourishment material available in the channel.

Island and Coastal Ecosystem Restoration, East and West Grand Terre Islands, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), Barataria Bay, LA. WESTON provided engineering, design, and environmental services to support Louisiana’s Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Project, established to sustain a coastal ecosystem that supports and protects the environment, economy, and culture of southern Louisiana. On East and West Grand Terre Islands, WESTON developed alternatives for beach nourishment, dune restoration, inter-tidal marsh creation, and wave protection for cultural resources.

Project objectives included restoring East Grand Terre by creating 74 acres of dune and 212 acres of marsh habitat, restoring West Grand Terre by creating 40 acres of dune, and developing wave protection for historic Fort Livingston. Project scope included surveying, geotechnical investigations, aerial photography, dredging alternatives review, hydrodynamic modeling, preliminary engineering/feasibility study, permit applications, final plans, and specifications.

WESTON performed the planning elements of the project that included the development of work plans, a reconnaissance study, the collection and correlation of existing data, preparation of a feasibility study, development and evaluation of alternative plans, coordination with regulatory agencies, the development of evaluation and performance metrics, and selection of a preferred plan. The work scope included data collection and field investigations; modeling; CADD/GIS; coastal engineering and design; and value engineering.

Rockport Beach Park Nourishment Project, Rockport Beach Park, Texas General Land Office, Coastal Projects Division, Aransas County, TX. The Rockport Beach Park is located on the Aransas Bay shoreline in the City of Rockport. The beach is manmade and approximately one mile in length. The Park has suffered slow but persistent erosion resulting in an average shoreline retreat rate of 3 to 8 feet per year. The restoration of the Beach Park includes the nourishment of beach by using quality sand from an upland source, creation of a low lying dune along the landward boundary of the beach; installation of dune vegetative plants along the dune to reduce the loss of sand due to wind and to trap sand and propagate dune growth.

WESTON provided construction management and oversight for the nourishment of the beach, including preparation of plans and bid documents, assistance to the Texas General Land Office (GLO) during the bidding process, and construction phase engineering services. WESTON assisted the GLO in the selection of the general contractor and assured compliance between construction and the design specs through daily quality control reports. Pre-construction and post-construction surveys were conducted to verify that the project was constructed within the specified tolerances and to quantify in-place volume of sand. WESTON also worked with sand and dune vegetation vendors to ensure the quality of the materials for use on the project.

Environmental Call-In Services Provide Environmental Support, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. WESTON has successfully provided environmental call-in services to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for over 10 years.

WESTON currently provides environmental services on a "call-in" to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Projects performed to date include work at Port Newark, Elizabeth Port Authority Marine Terminal, Newark Airport, JFK International Airport, Goethals Bridge, George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, and PATH.

These projects varied in nature and included remedial investigations, groundwater quality modeling, compliance audits, ecological risk assessment, regulatory (NJDEP/NYSDEC) reporting, and asbestos monitoring. WESTON also attends and participates in numerous project meetings and presentations involving the evaluation of new sediment/water/groundwater pumping technology, groundwater treatment systems, and deicing technologies as they may be applied at Port Authority sites in New Jersey and New York and has provided input on dredging issues and technology to key Port Authority personnel.

On one project, WESTON prepared an environmental assessment report and cost estimate for the Port Authority to perform limited remediation of potentially contaminated sediments associated with Sherman Creek in upper Manhattan. The Sherman Creek site was a brownfield redevelopment project that was being spearheaded by the Port Authority’s Economic Redevelopment Department on behalf of the Manhattan Borough President’s Office.

WESTON has routinely prepared and implemented work plans for remedial investigations and baseline investigations of the Port Newark and Elizabeth Port Authority Marine Terminal sites. These investigations are performed prior to new tenants occupying and after tenants have vacated Port Authority sites and involve sampling/analysis, and evaluation of sediments, soil, and groundwater, diurnal tidal studies, and contaminate migration studies.

At another site, WESTON prepared a groundwater reclassification petition for submission to NJDEP for Newark Airport to reclassify groundwater from Class IIA to IIB. This project involved compiling extensive quantities of groundwater data, statistical analysis, and contamination plume modeling in a tidally-influenced aquifer.

Evaluation of PHA’s Stormwater Quality Management Programs, Port Authority of Houston, Houston, TX. The Port Authority of Houston (PHA) is a quasi-governmental entity responsible for shipping activities in the Houston metropolitan area. PHA’s facilities, including container terminals, container marshaling areas, warehouse facilities, maintenance areas, and extensive roadways, are located in coastal areas of Galveston Bay and the Houston.

PHA’s facilities encompass over 8,000 acres of coastal and near coastal land. On average, more than 26 million tons of cargo is unloaded from ships for transport by truck and rail each year. In light of new regulatory emphasis on wet weather pollution sources, and to ensure that PHA stormwater management activities are as effective as possible, PHA retained WESTON to evaluate its stormwater management programs.

WESTON conducted comprehensive interviews and field inspections on existing PHA practices and procedures regarding stormwater sampling, pollution prevention techniques, and best management practices (BMPs). WESTON also observed PHA’s stormwater monitoring techniques. WESTON’s report evaluated current stormwater monitoring techniques; compared PHA stormwater data with data contained in the EPA’s Nationwide Urban Runoff Program (NURP) study report; and provided over 50 specific, implementable recommendations to improve stormwater pollution prevention activities at all PHA facilities.

As a result of WESTON’s recommendations, PHA was able to implement suggestions that enhanced its stormwater pollution prevention activities, improved stormwater monitoring programs, provided more representative stormwater monitoring data, and increased favorable visibility of PHA in the water quality management community of the Galveston Bay region.

Click here for more information on WESTON's Ports & Waterways services