In 2001, Maryland passed the Dredged Material Management Act and defined Maryland’s “Beneficial Uses” of dredged material, including marsh enhancement, beach nourishment, shoreline stabilization, and island restoration. These beneficial uses can increase shoreline and community resilience while dramatically reducing the financial costs of dredged material disposal and coastal restoration projects. For beneficial use projects to occur, dredging and restoration projects must be aligned in space and time, and the dredged material must be suitable per the Maryland Department of the Environment guidelines for the given restoration project. Watershed and Climate Services (WCS) is pursuing the following opportunities to better align dredging and restoration to realize those benefits.

BUILD tool

The key to implementing beneficial use projects is ensuring that restoration and dredging projects spatially align. BUILD, or “Beneficial Use: Identifying Locations for Dredge”, is an ArcGIS layer available in the Maryland Coastal Atlas that enables the spatial identification of beneficial use of dredged material opportunities. BUILD allows project planners to proactively identify sources of dredged material to place in restoration projects, or vice versa. Learn more about BUILD through the associated user manual or contact Maggie Cavey at [email protected].

DNR Policy & Upcoming Guidance

The Department is actively developing a comprehensive Beneficial Use policy to standardize and advance how dredged material is utilized on DNR-managed lands. Because this initiative involves complex site management and careful coordination across multiple state and federal frameworks, the policy is currently in a rigorous development phase.

To support local planners and partners working on projects outside of state lands, we are also actively drafting the Maryland Beneficial Use Project Playbook. Once finalized, this guide will provide a practical, step-by-step roadmap to successfully take your projects from conception to construction. Our ultimate goal with this upcoming Playbook is to support your local efforts, eliminate the guesswork, and empower Maryland communities to actually get more beneficial use projects on the ground—transforming dredged sediment from a disposal problem into a coastal resilience solution.

Please check back for updates on the official release of both the internal DNR policy and the community Playbook!

Demonstration projects

Watershed and Climate Services believes in the value of beneficially using dredged material. Through our integrated programs, we are demonstrating the environmental, societal, and financial benefits of incorporating dredged material into shoreline restoration projects. To learn more about successful beneficial use projects we have supported or to discuss potential demonstration opportunities in your community, please contact the DNR BU Coordinator, Maggie Cavey, at [email protected].

Research

Elevation enhancement, also known as thin-layer placement, is a beneficial use technique that applies shallow lifts of dredged sediment to subsiding marshes to restore elevation without burying vegetation. This helps the marsh combat processes such as sea level rise, erosion, and subsidence. Though elevation enhancement has been used for decades in southern states such as Louisiana, the technique is continually being refined and monitored for best practices in the Mid-Atlantic region.

 

To better understand the practice of elevation enhancement, the Maryland Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR-MD) was one of eight Reserves across the country that participated in a NERRS Science Collaborative Project on Thin-Layer Placement. The study helped identify the impacts of dredged material depth and quality on the response of marshes to elevation enhancement. Results from the study have helped to inform elevation enhancement best-management practices across the country. Several products were developed including a guidance document for thin layer sediment placement as a strategy to enhance tidal marsh resilience to sea level rise, a journal article titled “Evaluating Thin-Layer Sediment Placement as a Tool for Enhancing Tidal Marsh Resilience: a Coordinated Experiment Across Eight US National Estuarine Research Reserves” and a story map suitable for k-12 students.

To learn more about the Science Collaborative project and the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Maryland, contact Rebecca Swerida at [email protected] or 410-260-8722.

Funding and Technical Support: Grants Gateway

The Department provides a single point of entry through the Watershed and Climate Services Grants Gateway for organizations seeking technical and financial assistance to restore local waterways, increase resilience to climate impacts, and strengthen local economies.

NEW! Beneficial Use (BU) Funding Opportunity
Starting in the CY2026/FY2027 grant cycle, the Grants Gateway features a dedicated Beneficial Use (BU) funding opportunity. This opportunity supports the assessment, programmatic planning, design, and permitting of localized projects that treat dredged sediment as a resource for community protection and ecological uplift.

• Eligible Activities: Technical feasibility, concept design, and permitting for nature-based techniques such as thin-layer placement (marsh nourishment), living shorelines, and island restoration.
• Submission Deadline: September 18 (Note: This deadline is intentionally aligned with the Waterway Improvement Fund to help communities synchronize their navigation dredging with restoration placement).
• How to Apply: Visit the Grants Gateway Portal to read the full solicitation, review applicant eligibility, and submit your proposal.

Before You Apply: Navigating the regulatory requirements for dredged material can be complex. We strongly encourage prospective applicants to contact the DNR BU Coordinator, Maggie Cavey, at [email protected] for early coordination and technical assistance before drafting your proposal.