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The Great Lakes Navigation System is an economically critical waterway. To maintain safe and navigable waterways, approximately 3–5 million yd³ (2.3–3.8 million m³) of sediments are dredged annually.
The US Army Corps of Engineers and others now recognize that beneficial use of these sediments can achieve positive economic, environmental, and social outcomes.
However, historically less than 25% of dredged sediments have been beneficially used in the nearshore environment.
Improvements are needed in dredged material management practices in the Great Lakes to achieve the goal of using 70% of dredged sediments beneficially by 2030.
Therefore, to overcome these challenges the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center has released a report that reviews beneficial use of dredged material projects with the goal of improving and in-creasing beneficial-use-placement practices in the Great Lakes.