Dredging 2012 Conference

PIANC USA and COPRI/ASCE are pleased to announce the dates and location for the fourth specialty conference on dredging and dredged material disposal, Dredging 2012. October 22-25 will prove to be an ideal time of year to visit sunny San Diego. The conference hotel was chosen for its prime waterfront spot on lovely San Diego Bay. Located on the city’s prestigious Harbor Island, the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina provides easy access to the San Diego Airport, shopping, dining, and tourist attractions. Newly renovated, the urban resort offers panoramic views of the bay and city skyline, and is complemented by extensive meeting facilities, dedicated service, and award-winning catering. The hotel is LEED-certified, demonstrating a whole-building approach to sustainability in key areas such as sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy performance and climate protection, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The theme of the 2012 conference is “Dredging in the 21st Century – 40 Years of Dredging and Environmental Innovation”.  Since it will have been ten years since the last conference, held in Orlando, FL, in 2002, many new issues have emerged and will be discussed and debated.  The below schedule indicates some of the conference topics, and a “Call for Abstracts” announcement will be advertised in 2011.

Oct 22 -  Monday   

• Training/Specialty Courses
• VIP & Young Professionals Reception; Opening Reception in exhibit hall

Oct 23 - Tuesday  

Plenary Session Opening Speeches (Dredging in the Future)
Technical Sessions (Engineering)  

• State of Engineering Practice
• Technological Applications to Enhance Effectiveness, Efficiency and Productivity
• State of the U.S./International Dredging Industry
• Small versus Large Project
• Dredging Contracting and management Innovations 
• Innovative Approaches to Scope Work and Structure Effective Contracts
• Contracting and Management Innovations
• Growing the USA Dredging Industry
• Environmental Dredging (Remediation/Restoration) – Twenty Years of Trial and Error
• The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
• Ecological Effectiveness
• Case Studies- dedicated sessions as needed
• Safety
• Accident Hazard Analysis, Training and Hazard Risk Management
• Build and Maintain a Culture of Safety
• Current Dredging Research
• Engineering
• Environmental/Risk Reduction
• Operational
• Breakthroughs in Dredging Science/Engineering - Case Studies

Oct 24 -  Wednesday Technical Sessions (Innovations)

• Integrating Dredging Operations with Environmental Restoration
• Dredging and Ecosystem Functions
• Managing Risk and Uncertainty
• Climate Change
• Working with Nature – International Initiative
• Project Objectives in an Ecosystem Context
• Engaging Stakeholders in Delivering Win-Win Solutions
• Case Studies
• Lunch /Speaker
• Sediment Resuspension/Residuals – Have We Learned Anything?
• Advances in Environmental Toxicology, Contaminate Fate and Effects
• Modeling Source and Fate
• Minimizing Resuspension/Residuals
• Sustainable Sediment Management
• Watershed Wide Sediment Budgets
• Beneficial Uses of Dredged Material
• Minimize Dredging

Oct 25 - Thursday Technical Sessions (Users)

• Ports/Navigation – Case Studies (Coastal/Inland)
• Port, Harbor, and Channel Improvement Needs
• Performance of Recent Navigation Project Capital Improvements
• Superfund Potentially Responsible Parties
• Emergency Contracting – Louisiana Oil Protection Berm
• Technical tours in afternoon