Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company

Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company is an American company providing construction services in dredging and land reclamation, currently the largest such provider in the United States. GLD&D operates primarily in the United States but conducts one-quarter of its business overseas. The company was based in Oak Brook, Illinois, but in October 2020 relocated its corporate headquarters to Houston, Texas.[2]

History

The company was founded in 1890 as the partnership of William A. Lydon & Fred C. Drews and was named Lydon & Drews dredging company. Early projects included the shoreline structures for the Chicago's Columbian Exposition. The company soon had satellite operations throughout the Great Lakes. It was renamed the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company (GLD&D) in 1905. Between 1900 and 1950, GLD&D undertook major projects such as the Sabin Lock, straightening of the Chicago River west of the Chicago Loop, the Michigan Avenue Bridge, foundation landfill and reclamation of the area where the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Soldier Field, Meigs Field and Field Museum of Natural History stand today in Chicago and harbor work for the Naval Station Great Lakes.[4]

Legal controversies

1992 Chicago flood

In 1992, a barge operated by GLD&D was driving new pilings for the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago when it accidentally punched into an unused service tunnel passing beneath the river at that point. The tunnel flooded, in turn flooding the basements of many buildings in downtown Chicago; the event is commonly known as the Chicago Flood. Work on the bridge was actually completed the prior year October, 1991. In February 1992 local cable company technicians discovered the breach and reported it to city officials. GLD&D was never made aware of the breach until April 1992 after severe leakage into the tunnel system had begun.

The work performed on the Kinzie Street Bridge conformed to specifications and did pass City inspection upon completion in 1991.

In the lawsuits that followed Great Lakes was initially found liable but was later cleared after it was revealed that the city was aware the tunnel was leaking before the flood and the city had also not properly maintained the tunnel.[10][11]

In addition the case went the United States Supreme Court in which ruled that since the work was being done by a vessel in navigable waters of the Chicago River, Admiralty law applied and Great Lakes liability was greatly limited.[12]

2008 Liberian tanker collision

In January 2008, GLD&D's 117-foot mechanical dredge 'New York' was struck by a 669-ft Liberian-flagged orange juice tank vessel named the Orange Sun in Newark Bay. Newark Bay had to be closed for five hours by the U.S. Coast Guard until damages to the GLD&D dredge were mitigated. The dredge had begun to take on water and a diving crew was sent in order to make repairs.[13] In December 2009, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a report that blamed the Orange Sun for the accident. The Orange Sun's master had not informed the captain or crew about the ship's tendency to deviate from its course.[14]

2016 Bay Long Oil Spill

On September 5, 2016, a marsh excavator operated by GLD&D tracked over pipeline while performing restoration activities in Bay Long, an active restoration site for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, discharging approximately 5,300 gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and oiling about 200 birds.[15][16]

After the spill, separate criminal cases were brought against GLD&D and the subcontractor that physically caused the spill for violations of the Clean Water Act. The subcontractor pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act on March 18, 2021 in the case brought against him. GLD&D also pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act in the case brought against it and, on June 14, 2022, was sentenced and ordered to pay a $1 million fine.[15][17][16]

2022 Dredging 'Misdump' in the Gulf of Maine

On November 13, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it reached a settlement with GLD&D for violations of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (commonly known as the Ocean Dumping Act) relating to dredging GLD&D was hired to do for the Portsmouth Harbor Federal Navigation Project under authorizations issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[18] The EPA alleged that dredged material was dumped outside the authorized disposal site specified in the project's dredged material permit, located in the Gulf of Maine near Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire.[18] Under the terms of the settlement, GLD&D agreed to pay a penalty of $92,500 and undertake mitigation projects that are estimated to cost more than $100,000 and are designed to prevent future "misdumps."[18]

type	Public
traded as	nasdaq: GLDD Russell 2000 Component
foundation	1890
location city	Houston, Texas
location country	United States
area served	Worldwide
industry	Heavy Construction Contractor
services	Dredging, Land reclamation, Demolition
revenue	$731.41 million USD (2013)
operating income	$51.4 million USD (2013)
net income	$19.9 million USD (2013)‡R1R‡
homepage	http://www.gldd.com