Port of Mobile, Beneficial Re-Use
The Alabama Port Authority’s Upper Mobile Bay Beneficial Use Wetland Creation Project is a planned, large-scale approach to beneficial re-use of dredged material. The 2021 permit application describes placing about 7.26 million cubic meters of dredged material over 20 years across about 1,200 acres (about 486 ha) of intertidal wetland in northern Mobile Bay (USACE, 2021). The implementation proposal expects about 350,000 cubic yards (about 268,000 m3) a year of Port Authority maintenance material to be available (RESTORE Council, n.d.). The project is planned to divert this material from upland containment areas into engineered wetland creation cells, and is intended to support long-term ecosystem restoration. In June 2026 the State of Alabama announced RESTORE Act funding of USD 24 million to construct the first 100-acre cell of the planned 1,200-acre project (Governor of Alabama, 2026).
The engineering and planning framework developed by Moffatt & Nichol (M&N) includes modeling, permitting and phased design. The implementation proposal describes the first 100-acre (about 40 ha) area divided into two 50-acre areas with internal dikes, surrounded by a sand berm with rock riprap revetment (RESTORE Council, n.d.).
As the cells consolidate to intertidal elevation, they are planned to be sculpted into wetland landscapes, including tidal creeks, high- and low-marsh zones, ponds, embayments and scrub-shrub mounds, intended to provide habitat for estuarine species. Environmental compliance documentation was prepared for the whole project footprint. The implementation proposal reported the USACE permit (SAM-2021-00246-DCH) as pending; this is not evidence of a current permit decision (RESTORE Council, n.d.). M&N also prepared a Long-Term Strategic Sediment Placement Plan to guide adaptive placement. The project is intended to link dredging operations directly to habitat creation and coastal resilience.
Transferability
DMC ports with regular maintenance dredging can plan to place suitable material in contained cells that build up into intertidal wetlands, instead of disposing of it. A long-term placement plan matched to the expected yearly dredging volume lets the work proceed in phases as funding allows. Starting with one cell, enclosed by dikes and a protective berm, tests the method before the full site is committed. Environmental approvals should be sought early for the whole footprint.
Sources
All information used for this case study was based on publicly available resources.
- Moffatt & Nichol (2019) Alabama State Port Authority Strategic Plan. Produced for the Alabama State Port Authority. Pp.85.
- Moffatt & Nichol (2022) Net Natural Capital Benefits Analysis Memorandum, Upper Mobile Bay Beneficial Use Wetland Creation Site Project. USACE Mobile District Permit No. SAM-2021-00246-DCH, Mobile, AL.
- Moffatt & Nichol (2023) Dredged Material Management Plan. Produced for the Alabama State Port Authority. Pp. 94.
- United States Army Corp of Engineers Mobile District (USACE) (2019) Mobile Harbor, Mobile, Alabama: Integrated General Reevaluation Report With Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix A, Engineering. pp.1157 (opens in new tab)
- RESTORE Council (n.d.) Upper Mobile Bay Beneficial Use Wetland Creation Site: Implementation Proposal Package. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. (opens in new tab)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mobile District (2021) Public Notice SAM-2021-00246-DCH. 2 December 2021. (opens in new tab)
- Governor of Alabama (2026) Governor Ivey Announces $87 Million in RESTORE Act Funding for Projects in Coastal Alabama. 11 June 2026. (opens in new tab)