Posted on September 26, 2025
By Natalie Jones
Dredge Wire Note: Issue of Mechanical v Hydraulic Dredging Methods
The planned $1 billion Sparrows Point container ship terminal at Baltimore County’s Tradepoint Atlantic is moving closer to final federal permit approval, but some residents are still voicing concerns about the dredging needed to make the project a reality.
After a two-year, multi-agency review and permitting process, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a final environmental impact statement outlining potential impacts of the terminal project, marking a turning point before a final permit decision. To allow larger ships access to the new terminal at Coke Point, the existing Sparrows Point channel must be widened and deepened. Tradepoint plans to dredge about 4.2 million cubic yards from the Patapsco River to build the terminal.
Storage of that dredged material has sparked environmental concerns. Last year, officials considered reopening Hart-Miller Island as a disposal area for dredged sediments, which were used to create the island years ago. That plan was scrapped, and the material is now proposed to be placed at a new facility, existing state containment sites and an offshore disposal site in the Atlantic Ocean.
Three Baltimore County residents are urging Tradepoint to use hydraulic dredging — a process that mixes water with dredged material and pumps it through a pipeline — instead of mechanical dredging, which uses a clamshell bucket to scoop sediment onto a barge. Russell Donnelly, a Sparrows Point resident and environmental advocate, compared hydraulic dredging to “sucking a milkshake through a straw.” “They have the money to do it cleanly, they have the money to do it [responsibly]. They have the money for that,” Keith Taylor, president of the Sparrows Point North Point Historical Society, said Thursday. “Why would they take that risk when they know they can do it a cleaner way?”
Taylor and Donnelly said they do not oppose the progress being made at Tradepoint, pointing out that it will boost revenues and bring jobs to the area, but they worry about dredging disturbing contaminants from the days of Bethlehem Steel. The use of mechanical dredging would allow Tradepoint to avoid higher water use, larger containment needs and the longer drying time required for hydraulic dredging, according to the final environmental impact statement.
“We have been extremely transparent and communicative since we announced this project and have worked diligently with stakeholders to address all issues and questions that were received. This process has yielded a project that safeguards our waterways and environment using established and approved dredging practices within the Baltimore Harbor,” a Tradepoint spokesperson said in a statement.
The record of decision, a final decision document, is expected to be issued within 30 days. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026 and conclude by early 2028, according to Tradepoint officials.
