Posted on June 5, 2026
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — The US Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District is kicking off an Environmental Impact Statement that could change Operations and Maintenance Dredging and Placement Activities in the Charleston Harbor.
Charleston Harbor is one of the deepest ports on the East Coast at 52 feet deep. Keeping it that way takes constant work; now the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is asking for the community’s input on how to maintain it.
It is launching an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate proposed changes to how and when they dredge Charleston Harbor.
Right now, the Corps says it dredges millions of cubic yards of sediment every year to keep the channel at its authorized depth.
“It’s just like an underwater highway, so keeping those channels open and flowing is what our mission is,” Jacob Kyzar, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Charleston District, said.
Current environmental protections include time-of-year restrictions on dredging operations, speed restrictions, and overflow restrictions. This study could update those measures using the best available science, giving the Corps greater flexibility to respond when the channel needs maintenance.
“We constantly monitor the conditions of the channel. We do quarterly surveys with a hydrographic survey boat, and they tell us if we’re starting to see the channel conditions starting to deteriorate,” Kyzar said.
The Corps has identified four action alternatives — plus a No Action option:
- Alternative 1 expands the existing winter-focused dredging window.
- Alternative 2 re-examines species-specific risks to Charleston Harbor while maintaining a similar number of available dredging days.
- Alternative 3 expands the number of available dredging days, restricting operations only during times of highest risk to species.
- Alternative 4 replaces fixed dredging windows entirely with adaptive management.
The Army Corps must evaluate environmental impacts, consider alternatives and engage the public before making major changes.
“We don’t know what we don’t know, and so we’re looking for the public to come and provide their input. If they see things or know of things that we’re not considering or we should consider, we want to have that recorded,” Kyzar said.
An in-person public scoping meeting will be held on June 10 at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Marine Resources Research Institute Auditorium, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Two virtual public meetings will also be held on June 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m and June 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
For more information on the project and meetings, click here.
For the SIG-Charleston Harbor O&M Notice of Intent (NOI) by Live 5 News
