The Hancock County Board of Supervisors and Diamondhead Property Owners Association have filed an application for a wetlands permit with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources requesting authorization to excavate and dredge accreted sediment in Devil’s Elbow, an oxbow of Rotten Bayou, in Diamondhead.
Accelerated sedimentation, due to a lack of upland Best Management Practices, has made the waterway no longer navigable at the project location.
The applicants propose to remove approximately 36,000 cubic yards of material from the project site. The proposed dredge area is 1,560 feet in length by 200 feet in width with existing depths ranging between 0 to -11 feet below Mean Low Water (MLW). The area would be dredged to a maximum depth of -8 feet below MLW in order to align with natural channel depths upstream and downstream of the accumulated sediment.
A total of 0.87 acre of vegetated wetlands exist within the dredge area and would be impacted by the project. The applicants will be required to relocate the impacted vegetation.
The applicants intend to utilize a beneficial use site for dredged material disposal if one becomes available. The applicants do not propose compensatory mitigation because the project is intended to restore historic flows and improve water quality within Rotten Bayou. In addition to the proposed dredging and disposal, the applicants intend to implement a Sedimentation and Erosion Remediation and Maintenance Plan within the City of Diamondhead to control the source of sediment to Devil’s Elbow.
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Press Release, May 21, 2013