Dredging management

Dredging management requires that the port industry incorporate environmental risk assessment and management into the planning and execution of dredging activities. An informed understanding of the environment potentially affected by dredging and the relocation of dredged material is essential to effective environmental management.

The assessment and management of environmental impacts of dredging programs involves applying risk evaluation, monitoring and adaptive management approaches.

Dredging management describes the:

• management processes
• regulatory processes
• the actions of port authorities to apply their Environmental Code of Practice for Dredging and Dredged Material Management.

The code of practice, published by Ports Australia, sets out a series of environmental principles that Australian ports follow when undertaking dredging and when reusing, relocating or disposing of dredged material.

To provide a structured approach to describing the functions of dredging management the operating principle for management of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) known as Plan, Do, Check and Act (PDCA) is used.

The PDCA approach to management is used in a Standard related to dredging, Environmental Management (AS/NZS ISO 14001:2016).

The management approach of PDCA involves following these 4 steps:

Plan

Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the organisation's policy.

Do

Implement the processes.

Check

Monitor and measure processes against policy, objectives, targets, legal and other requirements, and report the results.

Act

Take actions to continually improve performance of the management system

Read more about the dredging management activities.