Link to a list of our current members and sponsors   here

The Sediment Management Work Group (the "SMWG") has two membership classifications as described below:

General Membership 

Members of the SMWG are expected to share information on existing sediment management projects (to the extent not precluded by legal proceedings or privilege) and to participate in the advancement of the Mission Statement of the SMWG. The dues for General Members are $15,000 annually. "Owner/operators" and "potentially responsible parties" who are facing sediment management issues will greatly benefit from participation in this organization. Meetings of the Members of the SMWG are conducted semi-annually. General Members participate in as many of the SMWG initiatives as they are interested and benefit from the ongoing dissemination of information and reports on new sediment developments, technology transfer and precedent. In addition, the SMWG’s semi-annual meetings have been universally touted by our Members as valuable and informative opportunities for detailed updates on key sediment sites and issues, technology transfer and for strategic discussions on critical current and future sediment management issues.

All Members are encouraged to participate in monthly conference calls to discuss SMWG participation in sediment-related activities.  For organizations particularly focused on sediment participation offers an excellent opportunity to become immersed in the issues on a frequent and ongoing basis. Members have the opportunity to meet in person 1-2 times per year, typically in conjunction with the SMWG Spring Member Meeting and Fall Member Meeting and Sponsor Forum and other national sediment event of some significance. The Members that participate in the conference calls and at the semi-annual meetings, plan and execute the strategies and initiatives of the organization. Members have often commented that they have greatly benefited from their participation on the calls and in the meetings because of their regular involvement in discussions on critical sediment management issues as well as from the strong professional relationships they have developed with each other.

Many of our members have independently undertaken research studies, projects and review of sediment management issues in great detail which are being shared with our membership. These efforts can provide a tremendous efficiency in accelerating the learning curve on sediment management issues, not to mention the potential time and cost savings. If your organization faces the prospect of even one potential sediment site, the information, ideas and strategic options available to you from membership in the SMWG will recoup many dividends for your organization.

Associate Membership

Our Associate membership class was established in order to permit governmental PRPs, industry and trade associations and research organizations who wished to become involved and informed on sediment issues the opportunity to do so, and as a method of broadening the scope of the dissemination of the SMWG’s message. Our Associate Members include governmental PRPs, such as the Army and Navy, as well as several industry and trade associations and research organizations.

If you are interested in joining the SMWG as a General or Associate Member, please fill out the  Member Registration Form  included with the 2022 SMWG Membership Letter and mail it to us with your dues check (if applicable) as indicated on the form.

Ports Membership

In 2017 we added a category for Ports.  Dues for ports are $5,000 per year, although Ports are also eligible to join as full Members.  Although most SMWG activities are open to Port Members, only full Members are entitled to participate in the monthly Member calls and full voting rights in our organization.  If you are interested in joining the SMWG as a Port Member, please fill out the registration form included with the January 2022 Port Invitation Letter and mail it to us with your dues check as indicated on the form.

Sponsor

Our Sponsor program was established in 2002 to open up new opportunities for collaboration between our members and the environmental consultants and contractors with detailed experience in this area.  The annual sponsorship fee is $5,000.  SMWG Sponsors have unique opportunities to interact with the SMWG Membership, including opportunities to participate in technical sessions.  The SMWG hosts an annual "Sponsor Forum".  The inaugural Sponsor Forum was conducted in conjunction with the Members' Fall Meeting in October, 2002.  The Forum included a full day of presentations by our Sponsors, followed by a reception, was enthusiastically received.  The Sponsor Forum was expanded to 1-1/2 days in the Fall of 2003, based on the success of the 2002 Forum.  The 2004 Members' Fall Meeting combined the Sponsor Forum with a Technology Transfer Workshop with EPA Region 10 in Seattle, Washington.  The Sponsor Forum is a technical session that provides an excellent opportunity for our Sponsors to showcase their expertise and to provide valuable information about their respective activities and knowledge of critical sediment management issues to the SMWG Members. The SMWG Members benefit from these presentations and this technology exchange.  Additionally, the SMWG hosts a reception for Members and Sponsors as part of the annual Sponsor Forum, which provides additional opportunities to exchange ideas and highlight expertise on sediment management issues. The 2012 Sponsor Forum was held May 16-17, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey and included platform presentations, a platform session and a tour of the Passaic River Phase I Dredging Project.  In the evening, Members and Sponsors enjoyed a dinner cruise in New York Harbor.  As part of the 2013 Fall Sponsor Forum in Syracuse, NY, we toured Honeywell's Onondaga Lake sediment remediation project. In April 2018, we are hosting a symposium in San Diego with presenters from the U.S. Navy.

As part of the SMWG’s Education/Outreach initiatives/activities, the SMWG has participated in planning and has cosponsored several multi-day national workshops/conferences with the U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; co-sponsored the well-attended “Sediment Remediation Training Course: How Do You Select And Design Options?”; participated on the Steering Committee for the 4th through 12th International Remediation of Contaminated Sediment Conferences sponsored by Battelle; and participates in various technical conferences. In 2011, the SMWG collaborated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a workshop, "Working Toward A New Contaminated Sediment Site Paradigm," which challenged workshop participants to develop ways within the existing Superfund framework (i.e., CERCLA and the NCP) to achieve better results at contaminated sediment sites in one-half the time and at one-half the cost.  Other SMWG activities include Site Tours, Sediment Symposiums, and Technology Transfer Conferences.  Sponsors also are invited to participate in SMWG Member/Sponsor topical conference calls, conducted periodically, and receive electronic copies of "Sediment Alerts" sent to the Members with timely news of relevant new developments in the sediment management arena.

If you are interested in joining the SMWG as a Sponsor, please fill out the  Registration Form  and mail it to us with your dues check as indicated on the form.  Click on the link to the January 2022 Sponsor Invitation Letter for additional information.

Significant work will be required in 2019-2020 and thereafter to continue pressing for national implementation of an appropriate risk-management decision-making framework, including follow-up on the U.S. EPA Sediment Guidance, encouragement of training and application of U.S. EPA’s Guidance, continuing discussions with U.S. EPA and other stakeholders, and continuing to serve as a catalyst for new sediment management ideas.

Broad-based support of the initiatives of the SMWG is important to strengthen the impact of our message. In 2019 and 2020, we will need your support more than ever as remedial decisions are to be reached at other significant sites and implementation of those decisions recently made will begin. The extremely expensive cost of addressing contaminated sediments as evidenced by the estimated costs in the Lower Passaic River Proposed Plan (estimated by Region 2 to be $1.7 billion, but which many experts believe is substantially understated), the anticipated remedy for the Willamette River (Portland Harbor) (is expected to cost over $1 billion), the Gowanus Canal ROD ($305 million) and the Lower Duwamish ROD ($342 million), underscore the need for continued coordinated and cooperative action by potentially responsible parties. Your active involvement in the SMWG would be an excellent way to help shape the future of this important issue.
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The SMWG will continue to be of critical importance to parties wishing to address contaminated sediment management issues in a technically and scientifically sound manner.  For more information about joining the SMWG, please contact the Group's Coordinating Director, Steven C. Nadeau, Honigman LLP, 660 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226, phone (313) 465-7492 or  Send Steve an e-mail.