Federal officials are seeking to expand an ocean dumping site for dredge spoils off Eureka, Calif., and one future plan includes using a location near the shore for disposal to help buffer the coastline from sea-level rise.
Each year an estimated 1 million cubic yards of nontoxic sediment is dredged from Humboldt Bay and dumped about three miles offshore to clear the way for recreational boats and commercial vessels, including oil tankers.
Jennifer Kalt, director of the advocacy and education group Humboldt Baykeeper, said scientists have been advocating for placing sand closer to shore rather than hauling it out to the ocean to counteract erosion that happens on the north and south spits of the bay.
“Local experts have been advocating for this for years—it’s good that the EPA is nally listening,” Kalt wrote in an email.
