Port Dredging

The Guayanilla Port Maintenance Dredging is a project under the Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA). It is located at 550 meters of the PR-127 and 1,400 meters from the PR-2 in the Playa district of the Guayanilla Municipality. As part of the Guayanilla pier, there is a maritime area of 5,625 square meters of a Construction Pier, just adjacent to the Guayanilla Pier. The dredging consists in increasing the Demaco pier area depth to -37 feet in an approximate area of 144,088.7921 square meters (1,249.68 meters long by 109.91 meters wide of the main pier, and an area of 75 meters by 75 meters of the construction pier) by which both are currently at an approximate depth of -25 feet. The Maintenance Dredging Project of the Guayanilla Pier will have an approximate removal of 146,739.24 cubic meters of sediments (191,816 cubic yards). The total cost of the project is approximately from $4 to $9 million (according to the chosen sediment disposal method, environmental assessments and evaluations, control measurements, protection and monitoring of natural resources, and dredging activities).

QCG has participated in the environmental assessment sections of the described project. Part of the evaluations and actions performed by QCG team were:

• Bathymetry – depth study that described the dredging depth as -37 feet.

• Benthic study – description of the project area, marine habitat, and sediment characterization.

• Archeological study – Sub-aquatic archeological Phase 1 study described that no other future archeological studies are needed.

• Declaration of Environmental Impact (DIA, Spanish acronym)– document redaction and evaluation.

• Environmental Recommendation Filling (REA, Spanish acronym) – DIA filling to the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources (DRNA, Spanish acronym).

• Joint Permit – file permit to the US Department of the Army.

• Habitat Characterization – QCG biologist performed campus evaluations and description of the surrounding areas of the Guayanilla pier.