In the mid-1990s, the City of Rye began to seek authority to maintain safe navigation depths within their marina.  Because the basin bottom material contains traces of several pollutants, the dredging had to be managed to limit the environmental impact. Upland placement is not feasible due to the limited availability of space. 

Open water disposal was identified as the most appropriate option.  One requirement of open water placement for slightly contaminated sediments is that the sediment be capped with cleaner material.  The lack of sufficient cap material volume to meet this requirement was the principal obstruction to advancing the project.  In an unprecedented move, OCC brought together regulatory and other dredging project representatives to identify suitable sources of capping material and to develop a comprehensive capping plan.

To insure that the program would be successful, OCC sought and circulated information on all of the western Long Island Sound projects' conditions, constraints, and dredging contractor availability and facilitated the modeling of sediment placement procedures.  The result of the modeling procedures included an improved mathematical model for determining dredged material and cap volume ratios (based on recent dredging research), improved communication within the dredging community, restoration of safe access to the waters of Long Island Sound at project sites and the use of the appropriate environmental protections necessary for preservation of aquatic resources.  It is expected that the program will be applied to future dredging projects authorized in Long Island Sound.