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In the USA, the governors of Oregon and Washington formed the Lower Columbia Solutions Group in 2002 to manage sediment in the river, including sediment that has been contaminated by pollution. The group includes 30 local, state and federal stakeholders.

The Port of Astoria has been struggling to keep the riverfront deep enough for boats to moor at its docks since 2001, when tests in the East Mooring Basin showed levels of the banned pesticide DDT (Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane) were higher than the limit for in-water disposal. The Port of Ilwaco, Wash., encountered the same problem with DDT in 2001.

In 2004, Astoria's West Mooring Basin tested above the in-water limits for mercury, DDT and the industrial compound PCB, (polychlorinated biphenyl).Tighter regulations for handling contaminated riverbed material have forced the ports of Astoria and Ilwaco to store some of their dredge material on land instead of pumping it all out into the Columbia River shipping channel as they've done in the past. See: http://www.dailyastorian.com/Main.asp?SectionID=2&ArticleID=56797

All the toxins that the Columbia Solutions Group is concerned about are also present in the sediments currently being dredged from the Yarra…and more...yet the PoMC has been allowed to dump the sludge back in the Bay. So….if it can be stored on land elsewhere in the world, the PoMC just can’t be engaging in “best practice” can it…in spite their claims that they are engaging in best practice?