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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District is beginning preparation of a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document to address maintenance dredging of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) in Manatee County, Florida.
The GIWW Project from the Caloosahatchee River to the Anclote River was originally authorized by Chapter 19 of the River and Harbors Act of 1945 (PL 79-14) in accordance with House Document Number 371, 76th Congress.
Congressional authorization directed the Corps to construct and maintain the GIWW channel to a depth of nine feet plus two feet of over depth Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW). \
The purpose of the project is to provide safe navigation within the federal channel through the removal of shoaling (i.e., accumulated sediments in the channel) to maintain the authorized depth.
The NEPA analysis will evaluate maintenance dredging Cuts M-4, M-5, M-12, M- 13, and M-14 within the GIWW channel between Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay.
Analyses will also consider proposed placement of the dredged material in existing sites, such as Egmont Key nearshore placement area as well as other potential beneficial use of dredged material opportunities, such as placement in an existing dredge hole adjacent to the channel, near Cut M-5 and Long Pass Inlet which could promote the re-establishment of seagrass.