SWG-1998-01818 - Port of Houston Authority (PHA) - Harris County

Full Public Notice    Project Plans

The PHA has requested an amendment to Department of the Army (DA) Permit No. SWG-1998-01818, which authorized construction and maintenance of the Bayport Ship Channel Container/Cruise Terminal.  The applicant proposes to use hydraulic pipeline dredges to deepen the currently authorized ship berths located adjacent to the BSCCT Wharfs Nos. 1 – 7.  The berths are located between the wharfs and the Bayport Ship Channel, and extend from Corps Stations 50+00 to 123+53.  The seven berths are authorized at a width of 225 ft.  They are proposed to be deepened from the currently authorized depth of -40 ft. Mean Low Tide (MLT) plus 1 ft. of advance maintenance and 1 ft. of allowable overdepth, to the proposed depth of -45 ft. MLT plus 2 ft. of advance maintenance and 2 ft. of allowable overdepth.  Berths 3, 4, and 5 have been dredged to the currently permitted depth of -40 ft MLT + 1 ft + 1 ft.  Berths 1, 2, 6, and 7 have not been constructed.  The proposed project would convert approximately 38.4 acres of previously disturbed, unvegetated bottom benthic habitat, or bay bottom previously authorized to be deepened, to deeper-water benthic habitat.  Approximately 1,231,000 cubic yards (CY) of new work (construction) dredged material would be placed in the following existing dredged material placement areas (PAs) and beneficial use of dredged material sites (BUS):  PA 14, PA 15, PA 14/15 Connection, Marsh Cells M-5/6, M-7/8/9, and M-10, Mid Bay PA, and the PHA’s BSCCT Intermodal Yard/Upland PA 2.  The dredged material would consist of clay, sand, and other unconsolidated, silty materials.  New work dredged material generated from the construction of the proposed project, where feasible, would be incorporated with that of other existing projects to construct PA or BUS base levees and/or stockpiled for future levee raising/reinforcement.  The applicant also proposes to perform periodic maintenance dredging of the deepened berths with hydraulic pipeline dredges and/or mechanical dredges.  The estimated annual shoaling rate of the proposed deepened berths would be 63,400 CY.  The deepened berths are expected to be dredged every two years, which is the dredging frequency of the current berths.  Maintenance dredged material would be placed in PA 14, PA 15, PA 14/15 Connection, Marsh Cells M-5/6, M-7/8/9, and M-10, Mid Bay PA, and the PHA’s BSCCT Intermodal Yard/Upland PA 2.  The applicant acknowledges and agrees with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) 300 mg/liter limit for total suspended solids in the return waters from the PAs.