(a)
Water areas may be diked, filled, or dredged when consistent with a certified port master plan only for the following:
(1)
Construction, deepening, widening, lengthening, or maintenance of ship channel approaches, ship channels, turning basins, berthing areas, and facilities that are required for the safety and the accommodation of commerce and vessels to be served by port facilities.
(2)
New or expanded facilities or waterfront land for port-related facilities.
(3)
New or expanded commercial fishing facilities or recreational boating facilities.
(4)
Incidental public service purposes, including, but not limited to, burying cables or pipes or inspection of piers and maintenance of existing intake and outfall lines.
(5)
Mineral extraction, including sand for restoring beaches, except in biologically sensitive areas.
(6)
Restoration purposes or creation of new habitat areas.
(7)
Nature study, mariculture, or similar resource-dependent activities.
(8)
Minor fill for improving shoreline appearance or public access to the water.
(b)
The design and location of new or expanded facilities shall, to the extent practicable, take advantage of existing water depths, water circulation, siltation patterns, and means available to reduce controllable sedimentation so as to diminish the need for future dredging.
(c)
Dredging shall be planned, scheduled, and carried out to minimize disruption to fish and bird breeding and migrations, marine habitats, and water circulation. Bottom sediments or sediment elutriate shall be analyzed for toxicants prior to dredging or mining, and where water quality standards are met, dredge spoils may be deposited in open coastal water sites designated to minimize potential adverse impacts on marine organisms, or in confined coastal waters designated as fill sites by the master plan where the spoil can be isolated and contained, or in fill basins on upland sites. Dredge material shall not be transported from coastal waters into estuarine or fresh water areas for disposal.
(d)
For water areas to be diked, filled, or dredged, the commission shall balance and consider socioeconomic and environmental factors.
