14.50.630.02 Regulations | Aberdeen Municipal Code

14.50.630.02 Regulations.

1. Dredging and dredge disposal proposals shall utilize the mitigation sequence in Section 14.50.420. Where adverse impacts are unavoidable, a mitigation plan shall be prepared by a qualified professional consistent with the provisions of Section 14.50.430.

2. Dredging shall only be permitted for the following activities:

a. Development of new or expanded moorages or water-dependent industrial or port uses where there are no other feasible alternatives, significant ecological impacts are minimized and mitigation is provided.

b. Development of essential public facilities where no feasible alternative location exists.

c. Maintenance of irrigation reservoirs, drains, canals and ditches for agricultural purposes, when the facility is not already exempt from the SMP.

d. Restoration or enhancement of shoreline ecological functions and processes that benefit water quality or fish and wildlife habitat.

e. Trenching to allow the installation of underground utilities, if no feasible alternative location for the utilities exists and:

(1) Impacts to fish and wildlife habitat are minimized to the maximum extent feasible;

(2) The utility installation does not increase or decrease the natural rate, extent or chance of channel migration; and

(3) Appropriate BMPs are employed to prevent water quality impacts or other environmental degradation.

f. Establishment, expansion, relocation or reconfiguration of navigation channels where necessary to assure the safe and efficient accommodation of existing navigational uses.

g. Maintenance dredging of established navigation channels and basins, so long as the dredging is restricted to the previously dredged or authorized location, depth and width. Such dredging shall be considered an exempt activity so long as it meets the requirements of Section 14.50.730.04.

h. Flood hazard reduction.

3. Applicants must receive all applicable state and federal permits prior to the commencement of any dredging.

4. Dredging shall be prohibited for the primary purpose of obtaining fill material, except when necessary for the restoration of shoreline ecological functions and consistent with the following:

a. Dredge material must be placed waterward of the OHWM.

b. The project must be associated with either an MTCA or CERCLA habitat restoration project or, if the project is approved through a shoreline conditional use permit, the project may be another significant habitat enhancement project.

5. New development shall be sited and designed to avoid or minimize the need for new or maintenance dredging.

1. Dredge material disposal within shoreline jurisdiction may be permitted so long as:

a. Shoreline ecological functions and processes are preserved, restored or enhanced. Factors to consider include surface and groundwater protection, erosion, sedimentation and the impacts of floodwaters or runoff; and

b. The disposal will not negatively affect public or private property.

2. Disposal of dredge material within CMZs is discouraged. In the limited instances where it is allowed, such disposal shall require a shoreline conditional use permit, if this provision is not intended to address the discharge of dredge material into the flowing current of a river or in deep water within the channel where it does not substantially affect the geohydrologic character of the CMZ.

3. Dredge material disposal in open waters may be approved when authorized by the Dredge Material Management Office or other applicable state and federal agencies, which may include the USACE in accordance with Section 10 (Rivers and Harbors Act) and Section 404 (Clean Water Act) permits and the WDFW HPA; and when one (1) of the following conditions applies:

a. Open water disposal at an approved USACE disposal site is the common method for disposal of maintenance dredge materials from navigation channels and basins; or

b. If applicable, the use of dredge material to benefit shoreline resources shall be addressed through the implementation of a regional interagency dredge material management plan or watershed plan.

4. All dredge material disposal on state-owned aquatic lands must comply with the WDNR and the WDFW standards and regulations.

C. Submittal Requirements. A detailed description of the purpose of the proposed dredging and an analysis of compliance with the policies and regulations of the SMP shall be required for all dredging applications. Materials prepared for state or federal permits such as an HPA may be used to support the analysis.