ERP - Environmental Risk Professionals

Underground Utilities

Underground utilities, such as pipelines carrying natural gas, crude oil, other refined petroleum products, and water and sewer pipes could be impacted during dredging operations. An accidental puncture could cause the release of toxic gases, crude oil, petroleum products, water, or sewage and contaminate surface water bodies, sediments, soils, or groundwater resulting in clean-up costs, natural resource damages, bodily injury, and third-party property damage claims.

Sediments and Contaminated Materials

During dredging, containment measures must be employed to prevent sediment migration or contaminant releases. Equipment malfunction, loss of collected material being transported to the surface, overflow of dredged material from transport vessels, or storm activity during dredging can release sediments or contaminated materials. These releases could result in impacts on marine life and coastal habitats and degradation of water quality downstream.

Dewatering

Dredged sediments and materials are typically placed at another location on land for dewatering. Stockpiling of sediments could lead to run-off of fine-grained soil particles in surface run-off, which can impair the proper functioning of stormwater drainage systems, cause ecological damage to surface water bodies and cause adjacent property damage. Unknown contaminated sediments could be collected during dredging and spread on land. Dewatering of contaminated sediments requires proper containment on land and treatment of removed water. Improper procedures or containment can cause additional environmental risks.

Waste Management and Disposal

Wastes generated from dredging operations may include contaminated water removed from dredged materials, sediments and other debris, and equipment oils or fluids from the dredging machinery. Waste generators must determine if their wastes are hazardous and require special disposal or recycling procedures. Improper segregation and disposal of contaminated or regulated wastes or misdelivery of unidentified contaminated wastes can lead to environmental liability.

Equipment and Fuel Releases

Heavy equipment and portable refueling tanks may be present during dredging activities. Air emissions can be generated from diesel-powered equipment. Releases of fuels, lubricant oils, and chemicals resulting from accidental spills, leaks, or vandalism can discharge pollutants into surface water, soil, or groundwater, requiring cleanup.

Fire and Suppression Hazards

Fire is a common incidence on a dredge. Fuels or hydraulic oils on the dredging equipment can leak, and firefighting solutions such as water or foam could create contaminated run-off, resulting in environmental cleanup and tort liability.

Sediment Transport and Disposal

Dewatered sediments and debris, whether contaminated or not, can be transported to a treatment, storage, and disposal facility or a site for fill. Transporting, loading, and unloading of these materials requires proper containment measures to prevent fugitive air emissions and migration of contaminants and particulates in stormwater. An accident or upset with a truck carrying sediments could result in environmental risks during transport.

Contracting operations completed “by or on behalf of” the insured

Contracting operations performed at a jobsite

Third-party claims for bodily injury and property damage

Third-party claims for cleanup

Defense of third-party claims

Natural resource damage

Sudden and accidental coverage for owned/leased location

First and third-party transportation pollution liability

Loading and unloading

First-party emergency response costs

Non-owned disposal sites

Silt & sedimentation

Civil fines and penalties

Mold, legionella, bacteria, and fungi

Claims Scenarios & Examples

A dredging contractor punctured a submerged propane pipeline resulting in an explosion and fire. The barge used for the dredging work also experienced a diesel fuel spill. Roughly 1,600 gallons of diesel fuel and 680 gallons of diesel fuel and water mixture were removed. The shipping channel had to be closed for several days, and the contractor was responsible for the emergency response costs, cleanup costs, and business interruption claims that were filed.

A dredging contractor used suction to remove contaminated sediments from the base of a waterway. The piping attachment on the pump broke and spilled contaminated sediments back into the waterway, allowing contaminated sediments to spread over a wider area and impact the water quality of the drinking water intake downstream. The water treatment facility had to implement additional measures to treat the water. The contractor faced third-party claims and additional costs as they had to dredge a larger area of contamination.

After the first phase of a large waterway dredging project, a pipe became disconnected and released dredging material over 18 acres of wetlands and vegetation. It was discovered that the disconnect happened because the contractor failed to open all chambers in a weir. It took several hours to stop the spill. Various freshwater plants and trees were killed in the three-foot-high flood. The state’s inland navigation district sued the dredging company for the damages it caused and the costs for the cleanup and restoration of the wetland.

While dredging in a river bank, the contractor accidentally hit a sewer pipeline, and sewage spilled throughout the waterway. The water quality was impacted, and a tubing operation had to be closed for several days. Fishers and tubers in the river during the spill filed bodily injury claims, and the tubing operator filed for business interruption.

To help increase the waterway’s depth, a dredging contractor excavated sediments from the area. The sediments were, in turn, spread onto nearby land to increase the grade. After the work was done, it was found that the sediments had been contaminated with high levels of heavy metals. The landowner sued the contractor for cleanup costs.

After completing dredging work, soils contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) were dewatered and placed in covered dump trucks for transport to an appropriate landfill. The rear dump gates of one of the trucks were unknowingly ajar and spilled soil during transport. The road had to be closed for several hours, and the dredging contractor was responsible for emergency hazmat cleanup of the soil.

A dredging company discharged oil into navigable waters and along nearby shorelines, violating the Clean Water Act. The EPA conducted investigations, and the company faced probation and a fine of up to $200,000.

Contractors

Dredging Contracting

Environmental Exposures May Include: