GIWW Meetings Start This Week in Bradenton and Venice

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, has opened a public comment period to gather information to define issues and concerns associated with the operations and maintenance dredging of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), including those related to placement locations for dredged material.

USACE is preparing a Dredge Readiness and Operation Plan (DROP) for the GIWW, and is also preparing for an upcoming project to conduct maintenance dredging of the GIWW near Venice, Fla.

The proposed DROP will outline maintenance dredging priorities within the 160-mile GIWW over the next 10-15 years, including the 2018 dredging project near Venice.

USACE will host two public scoping meetings to give the public an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed plan.

The meetings will take place as follows:

• January 24, Braden River Library Branch in Bradenton, FL;
• January 25, Venice Community Center in Venice, FL.

The proposed work near Venice would involve maintenance dredging around a 5-mile stretch of the GIWW south of Venice Inlet and include areas within the inlet.

Over time, coastal changes have resulted in significant shoaling and sediment deposits within the waterway, and maintaining long-term navigation requires removal of these sediments.

Depending on the quality of sediment, dredged material will be used by beneficial reuse projects such as beach nourishment or ecological restoration, placed in nearshore areas, or placed in an approved upland placement area.

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