CEAMaS project : Civil Engineering Applications for Marine Sediments

Abstract : Management of dredged sediments is an issue for many European countries. At the same time, there is a concomitant increase in demand for construction materials with regional to sub-regional deficits in suitable sources to supply the market. The use of dredged marine sediments in civil engineering applications could provide potential solutions for both issues, however existing EU legislation for handling dredged material is complex and from a policy perspective, dredged material is dealt at the intersection of EU Water, EU Waste and EU Marine Strategy Framework Directives. Procedures and contaminant thresholds to authorize relocation of these sediments at sea or in land vary considerably from one country to the other and there are no harmonized regulations at EU level. In this context, the CEAMaS project aims to bring about a major improvement regarding the widespread uptake of practices involving the beneficial reuse of dredged marine sediments. This will be accomplished by providing new and enhanced tools, methods, services and detailed knowledge on established and innovative civil engineering applications. Key outputs will be a common European reuse methodology applicable to all ports and sediments backed by a European Resource Centre which will provide the focal point for knowledge capitalization and raising awareness of sediment reuse options. With the support of funding under the INTERREG IVB ERDF programme and with CD2E as