The dredging operation features a 230-ton crane that operates an environmental clam bucket. The bucket is submerged to the bottom of the waterway and then scoops up sediment. The dredged material is then loaded onto a hopper barge for transfer to the Confined Disposal Facility (CDF). [Source: USACE]An environmental clam bucket is used to remove dredged material using a method called mechanical dredging. The dredging area is surrounded by a movable moon pool with an oil boom and an underwater barrier that prevent the migration of any sediment stirred up by dredging. [Source: USACE]Dredged material is emptied from the environmental clam bucket into a hopper barge for transport to the CDF. [Source: USACE]A tugboat pushes a loaded hopper barge from the dredging location to the hydraulic offloading area near the CDF, and then pushes the empty barge back to the dredging location to be reloaded. [Source: USACE]
