The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Philadelphia District has been participating in the national Regional Sediment Management (RSM) and Engineering with Nature (EWN) Programs with considerable lessons learned developed for navigation dredging and placement activities in New Jersey, especially since Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Navigation managers from the Philadelphia District continue to partner with USACE’s Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC), the State of New Jersey, various stakeholders and the dredging industry to utilize EWN and RSM strategies in an innovative regional approach to restore navigation as well as enhance coastal resilience. Over the last decade, beneficial use placements involving shoreline stabilization, habitat creation and marsh rehabilitation have significantly increased in our region, helping to advance practices and policies that keep dredged material in the natural sediment system while enhancing natural infrastructure in the back bays.

The Seven Mile Island Innovation Lab (SMIIL) was created in 2019 by the primary partners of USACE, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and The Wetlands Institute, with goals to advance the science, challenge thinking and promote innovation for dredging and placement practices being implemented in the Philly District’s coastal environment. Technical advancements in design and construction and monitoring continue, but a primary success of these efforts has been a paradigm shift leading to momentum for more beneficial use implementation in other regions of NJ and Delaware including dredging and placement projects at Maurice River, NJ and Salem River, NJ. This presentation will focus on examples of successful dredging and innovative placement projects in coastal NJ, as well as an overview of SMIIL and overarching lessons learned so far from the ongoing work of over 30 different practitioners and researchers working in this forum.

The Network for Engineering With Nature_® (EWN) invites you to the N-EWN Knowledge Series: A Continuing Education Series about Engineering with Nature—Advancing Dredging and Innovative Beneficial Use Practices for More Resilient Systems with Monica Chasten, USACE Philadelphia District, EWN Proving Ground Lead and Dr. Lenore P. Tedesco, Executive Director of The Wetlands Institute. This 1-hour Zoom webinar took place March 21, 2024 at 12:30pm ET.

For previously recorded seminars, please visit the N-EWN Seminars page.