33 U.S.C. § 1272 — Environmental dredging

(a) Navigation projects. When needed to meet the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Secretary, consulting EPA’s Administrator, may remove and remediate contaminated sediment outside and next to a navigation channel as part of operating and maintaining a navigation project. (b) Other projects. (1) The Secretary may remove and remediate contaminated sediment from United States navigable waters for environmental enhancement and better water quality when a non-Federal sponsor requests it and agrees to pay 35 percent of the cost. (2) The Secretary may spend no more than $50 million in one fiscal year under this subsection. (c) Joint plan. The Secretary may act under subsection (b) only under a joint plan made with interested Federal, State, and local officials. The plan must allow public comment, describe the work, state the dredged-material disposal method, state the Secretary’s and sponsors’ roles and responsibilities, and identify funding sources. (d) Disposal costs. Disposal costs for sediment removed under this section shall be shared as a construction cost. (e) No change to other law. This section does not change any person’s rights or responsibilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. (f) Priority work. The Secretary shall prioritize work at Brooklyn Waterfront; Buffalo Harbor and River; Ashtabula River; Mahoning River; Lower Fox River; Passaic River and Newark Bay; Snake Creek in Bixby; and Willamette River, in the States named in the section. (g) Nonprofits. Despite title 42 section 1962d–5b, a project’s non-Federal sponsor may include a nonprofit entity if the affected local government agrees.