HB181 • 2026

Dredging; coastal areas, dredged materials required to be beneficially used by persons dredging certain amounts

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Marques
Last action: 2026-02-10
Official status: Enacted
Effective date: 2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

HB181: Rules for Using Dredged Material in Coastal Areas

This law requires people who dredge more than one million cubic yards of material annually from coastal areas to find useful purposes for at least 70 percent of that material.

What This Bill Does

Requires persons dredging over one million cubic yards annually in coastal areas to beneficially use at least 70 percent of the material, subject to exceptions.
Defines 'beneficially used' as productive uses like habitat development, recreation, or industrial projects. It does not include dumping into public waters unless for shoreline restoration or marsh creation.
Directs state agencies to update rules and the Alabama Coastal Area Management Program to follow this law.
States that no money from the State General Fund can be used by a person to pay for costs related to meeting these requirements.

Who It Names or Affects

Persons who dredge more than one million cubic yards of material in coastal areas each year
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Terms To Know

Beneficially Used: Using dredged material for positive purposes like creating wildlife habitats, recreation areas, or industrial uses. It does not mean dumping the material into public waters unless it is part of a shoreline restoration or marsh creation project.
Shoreline Restoration: Placing material on or near an existing shore to fix or protect it, including projects south of Dauphin Island or Fort Morgan Peninsula. This includes living shoreline projects and marsh creation.

Limits and Unknowns

The rule does not apply if federal funds are available for beneficial use when permitted sites with enough capacity exist in the state.
The Governor can pause this law by declaring a state of emergency that specifically mentions this section and sets an end date.
Private individuals cannot file lawsuits against others based on violations of this specific section.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

RBQCRMY-1

R 175

Adopted

Plain English: This amendment requires anyone who dredges more than one million cubic yards of material in Alabama's coastal areas each year to find a productive use for at least 70 percent of that material.

Applies only to people or companies that remove over one million cubic yards of sediment from coastal waters annually.
Requires these dredgers to ensure at least 70% of the removed material is used productively, such as for building wildlife habitats, recreation areas, or industrial projects.
Defines 'beneficial use' to exclude simply dumping material into public water unless it is part of a specific shoreline restoration or marsh creation project.
Sets an effective date of October 1, 2026, and directs state agencies to create rules for enforcing these requirements.

The rule does not apply if federal funds are unavailable or if no approved sites with enough capacity exist in the state.
The Governor can temporarily suspend this requirement by declaring a specific state of emergency that references this law.
State General Fund money cannot be used to pay for costs related to following these new rules.

FKSY355-1

R 209 • Albritton

Adopted

Plain English: This amendment adds a rule stating that the new dredging law cannot be used by outside groups or individuals who are not directly involved to file lawsuits against others.

It prevents third parties from using this section of the bill as legal grounds to sue someone else.

The amendment text only shows a small part of the full law, so it is unclear exactly which specific dredging rules are being discussed.
Because the surrounding context is missing, we cannot explain what happens if this rule does not apply or how 'third party' is defined in other parts of the bill.

Bill History

2026-02-10 Senate
Enacted
2026-02-05 Senate
Signature Requested
2026-02-05 Senate
Delivered to Governor
2026-02-03 House
Marques Concur In and Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 271 (Yeas 100, Nays 0)
2026-02-03 Senate
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 210 (Yeas 33, Nays 0)
2026-02-03 Senate
Albritton motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 209 (Yeas 33, Nays 0)
2026-02-03 Senate
Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 33, Nays 0)
2026-02-03 Senate
Enrolled
2026-02-03 House
Ready to Enroll
2026-02-03 Senate
Albritton 1st Amendment Offered
2026-01-29 Senate
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-01-28 Senate
Reported Out of Committee Second House
2026-01-27 House
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 176 (Yeas 97, Nays 0)
2026-01-27 House
Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 175 (Yeas 98, Nays 0)
2026-01-27 House
Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 99, Nays 0)
2026-01-27 Senate
Pending Committee Action in Second House
2026-01-27 Senate
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on County and Municipal Government
2026-01-27 House
Engrossed
2026-01-27 House
Ways and Means General Fund Engrossed Substitute Offered
2026-01-21 House
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-01-21 House
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
2026-01-14 House
Re-referred to Committee in House of Origin
2026-01-14 House
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-01-14 House
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
2026-01-13 House
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
2026-01-13 House
Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Ports, Waterways and Intermodal Transit

Official Summary Text

This act requires: (1) persons dredging over 1,000,000 cubic yards of material in coastal areas to cause at least 70 percent of the dredged material to be beneficially used, subject to exceptions; and (2) the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to amend their rules, including the Alabama Coastal Area Management Program, to implement this act.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB181 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB181
RBQCRMY-3
By Representatives Marques, Givens, Fidler, Holk-Jones,
Simpson, Brown, Wilcox, Sorrells, Easterbrook, Bracy, Jones,
Clarke, Shirey, Stringer
RFD: Ports, Waterways and Intermodal Transit
First Read: 13-Jan-26
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HB181 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 13-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to dredging; to require persons annually
dredging over 1 million cubic yards of material in coastal
areas to cause at least 70 percent of the dredged material to
be beneficially used, subject to exceptions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) For purposes of this section, the
following terms have the following meanings:
(1) BENEFICIALLY USED. The productive and positive use
of dredged material, including fish and wildlife habitat
development, human recreation, and industrial and commercial
uses. The term does not include the deposition of dredged
material into public waters unless that deposition is part of
a shoreline restoration or marsh creation project.
(2) LIVING SHORELINE. The term as defined in Section
9-7-13.1, Code of Alabama 1975.
(3) MARSH CREATION. The deposition of dredged material
or natural or artificial material into public waters to
establish a wetland, island, or marsh habitat on that site.
(4) PUBLIC WATERS. The term as defined in Section
9-11-80, Code of Alabama 1975.
(5) SHORELINE RESTORATION. The deposition of dredged
material or natural or artificial material directly on or
adjacent to an existing shoreline to restore or preserve the
shoreline and the deposition of such material south of Dauphin
Island or south of the Fort Morgan Peninsula for the
restoration of Dauphin Island or Sand Island. This term
includes a living shoreline project.
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HB181 Enrolled
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includes a living shoreline project.
(b) This section shall apply only in coastal areas.
(c) Any person that dredges more than one million cubic
yards of material in a year shall cause at least 70 percent of
the dredged material to be beneficially used. No funds
appropriated from the State General Fund to a person shall be
used for expenses incurred by the person to comply with the
requirements of this section.
(d) The Alabama Department of Environmental Management
and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources shall adopt rules to implement this section,
including revising the Alabama Coastal Area Management Program
as necessary.
(e) A person shall not be required to comply with
subsection (c):
(1) Except to the extent that federal funds are
available and have been allocated for beneficial use when
permitted and approved beneficial use sites are available in
the state and have a demonstrated capacity for suitable
material; or
(2) If the Governor, by order or proclamation declaring
a state of emergency, specifically references this section and
states that this section shall not be in effect. Such an order
or proclamation shall provide a date on which the order shall
be terminated and no longer in effect.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant
a third party standing to bring a private cause of action
relating to this section.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
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HB181 Enrolled
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Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
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HB181 Enrolled
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1, 2026.
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
House of Representatives
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and
was passed by the House 27-Jan-26, as amended.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 03-Feb-26 Amended and Passed
House 03-Feb-26 Concurred in Senate
Amendment
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