Charleston District is leading the development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the operation and maintenance of Charleston Harbor. This effort supports the 2020 South Atlantic Regional Biological Opinion (SARBO) and covers key activities such as dredging, relocation trawling, bed leveling, surveying, and dredged material management—ensuring navigation safety and environmental compliance.

Charleston Harbor’s EIS is authorized under the authority of federal navigation and environmental compliance laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and associated Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations. It will evaluate the environmental impacts of long-term O&M activities and guide future decision-making to support commercial navigation, local industry, and ecological stewardship.

Though focused on Charleston, this EIS is part of a regional initiative across the South Atlantic Division. Shared regional content will promote consistency and efficiency, while Charleston-specific analysis will address local environmental conditions. Charleston District’s work ensures both regional alignment and local accountability.

Charleston District, will host one in-person and two virtual public meetings to discuss the development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Charleston Harbor. The recently published Notice of Intent can be found here: Notice of Intent.

The primary purpose of these meetings is to engage with the community regarding the long-term strategy for maintaining safe, efficient navigation in Charleston’s federal harbor channel. The EIS will evaluate the reasonably foreseeable impacts to the environment related to proposed updates to operation and maintenance (O&M) dredging and associated activities. Staff expect updates to O&M activities to improve operational flexibility by updating avoidance and minimization measures, including adjusting the timing of dredging operations. This EIS will not consider or assess any changes in channel dimensions, dredged material volumes, or dredged material placement options.

The scoping comment period ends June 29, 2026. There are four options available for the public to submit formal comments:

1. By email to CESAC-CHOMEIS@usace.army.mil, 2.) On the website at https://sardn-eis-sardn.hub.arcgis.com/, 3.) At the public meetings, or 4.) By U.S. mail: Attention: Erica Fritz, Planning, USACE Charleston District, 69A Hagood Avenue, Charleston, SC 29403.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is completing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Charleston Harbor navigation projects to evaluate impacts associated with changing the timing of dredging from current environmental windows to timing based on risk assessment and adaptive project management. This is related to the implementation of the 2020 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) South Atlantic Regional Biological Opinion (SARBO) that removed the previous windows to balance risk to multiple threatened and endangered species. The EIS will provide a robust, quantitative analysis of the interactions between dredging and affected resources. During the development of the reports, we will provide several opportunities to learn more about the projects and engage with the development of the documents through webinars, public meetings, and a public comment period. To get the latest information on the EIS development process and opportunities to review and provide comments, please go to the following page:

Click to visit our interactive Charleston Harbor website to learn about our next public engagements and how you can stay informed and get involved.