U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) expressed the need to responsibly dispose of dredge material during a recent hearing in Washington.
Britt told the chief of engineering for the Army Corps of Engineers she would not give up on efforts to ensure better management of a project currently underway at the Port of Mobile.
Britt has pushed for provisions in legislation to require no less than 70% of dredge material to be used for beneficial purposes. She said it is possible to widen, deepen and maintain the Port of Mobile while preserving natural resources.
"It is imperative," said Britt. "This dredge material could be used for habitat restoration, for beach nourishment, for wetland creation, and I am not going to move off of that. So, we have to make sure that we are good stewards of the natural resources that the good Lord has given us, and we can do both of these things at the same time."
SEE ALSO: Watch: Shocking video of Mobile Bay dredging causes outrage, concern
After over a year of calls to stop mud dumping in the Mobile Bay, Britt said the delays are unacceptable. She said it's time to figure out a path forward and speed up the permitting process and get rid of "overburdensome reviews."
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. William "Butch" Graham, Jr., told Britt operations off Dauphin Island are "exemplary."
"What Mobile's District is doing with a programmatic agreement, so that we can get that all up-front on the permitting and that is – we treat the clean sand, clean silt as a resource for the environment and in terms of the beach protection as well," Graham said.
Britt responded, "Let's work together. I am absolutely not going to back off of this and believe that we can do both things."
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