Dredging plan to be aired at meeting
EAST CHICAGO -- Residents seeking an independent analysis of the proposed dredging of the Indiana Harbor and Shipping Canal can attend an upcoming meeting of the Technical Outreach Services for Communities (TOSC) group.Members of the East Chicago Waterway Management District said they invited the TOSC group to conduct its public review at their next meeting. However, the Michigan State University-affiliated group opted to conduct its own meeting at 5:30 p.m. June 2 at the East Chicago Public Library, 2401 E. Columbus Drive.
Dr. Danny Reible, professor of chemical engineering at Louisiana State University, will be among those providing information and answering questions on the mechanical dredging methods the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to use to remove sediments from the harbor and canal.Key issues to be addressed at the TOSC meeting include whether the project should be characterized as an environmental or navigational dredging and the merits and possible pitfalls of mechanical versus hydraulic dredging methods.The meeting will also address whether the Corps of Engineers has produced adequate data to support its plans.The Corps is continuing with plans to use a mechanical (clamshell) dredging, although hydraulic dredging to unload sediments from a barge and transfer the material to the Confined Disposal Facility is currently being evaluated.Hydraulic unloading is potentially cheaper, clean and safer than mechanical unloading, according to the Corps' April 2004 project update newsletter.Corps of Engineers representative Bill White said Thursday that a bulge has developed along the southeast section of the waterway's sheet piling wall near Indianapolis Boulevard. There are five or six stress points along 1,300 linear feet of the wall, White said.A structural solution will be needed to correct the problem, which is under regular monitoring, White said. It's possible corrosion of the metal wall occurred over several decades.Another obstacle to the project is the discovery of four pipes in different locations, 27 to 32 feet below the floor of the waterway. It's unknown where the pipes originated or what their purpose was and whether they'll need to be removed to accommodate the dredging.
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