The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is preparing a dredged material management plan (DMMP) for the existing 40-foot deep Lower Willamette River navigation channel. The DMMP will be a 20-year plan for managing material dredged from the channel to maintain its authorized depth and provide safe navigation. The federal navigation channel in the Willamette stretches from the Broadway Bridge in Portland downstream to the Columbia River.
The Willamette’s channel was last maintained by the Corps in 1997. Historically, the Corps dredged between 500,000 to 750,000 cubic yards of sediment from the channel every three to five years. However, the Corps deferred channel maintenance when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed the Portland Harbor as a Superfund site in December 2000. The DMMP will provide a plan for managing dredged material in a least-cost, technically feasible manner that meets all federal environmental laws. Its development is being closely coordinated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assure consistency with the Portland Harbor Superfund process.
As the non-federal sponsor of the Lower Willamette River navigation channel, the Port of Portland is obligated to provide the lands, easements, and rights-of-way identified in the DMMP for upland disposal of dredged material by the Corps.
Also acting in its role as non-federal sponsor, the Port has agreed to assist the Corps in disseminating information about the DMMP by hosting this website. Information will be added as the DMMP study progresses, along with links to the Corps' own website for official documents.