Posted on August 25, 2016
By Larry Limpf, Press Publications
Local, state and federal officials lauded the opening Monday of the Great Lakes Dredged Material Center for Innovation, saying the facility represents a milestone in the re-use of material that would otherwise be deposited in Lake Erie.
Paul Toth, president and chief executive officer of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, said it was time to think differently about the nearly 1 million cubic yards of material dredged annually from the shipping channel at the Port of Toledo.
“The Center for Innovation will help us to better understand how to derive value from the material so it can be used to enhance the region in a sustainable manner,” he said.
The center is located on Summit Street in north Toledo. It includes four cells to be filled with dredged material and used for agricultural field testing. There is also an “edge-of-field” treatment system research area, a blended soil production area and a barge mooring area.
A new access road and other infrastructure to support other projects are planned.
The Toledo Harbor Sediment Management & Use Plan includes project proposals that can be implemented by the center, officials said.
According to the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, the Toledo Harbor receives more sediment than any other Great Lakes harbor. Toledo Harbor dredging is the largest annual dredging project of any Great Lakes port, both in terms of cost and quantity dredged. Toledo Harbor dredging alone constitutes 25 percent of the total dredging in the Great Lakes.
“This pilot project is an example of the type of public-private partnership that will help us eliminate the open lake disposal of dredge material by 2020. Over the next four years, Ohio will be making a concerted effort to look for and develop beneficial use projects like this one for dredged material and sediment,” Craig Butler, Director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson said the center will give officials the means to better manage “source water challenges of Lake Erie in a more comprehensive manner.”
State Senator Randy Gardner (R-Bowling Green) helped secure a $10 million grant through the state’s Healthy Lake Initiative to provide funding for the center.
Source: Press Publications
