These new silt control rules are more trouble than they're worth

I've been running dredges for over a decade, and the rules keep piling up. Now every project needs these fancy silt curtains to keep the water clear. Last month, we lost three days because the curtains ripped in a strong tide. We had to stop digging and patch them up twice a day. It's adding so much time and cost to the job. I feel like we're fighting the equipment more than doing actual work.

3 comments

3 Comments

taragibson1mo ago

Wow, I used to think those rules were silly, but your story changes my mind.

jade8851mo agoTop Commenter

Yeah... it's wild how a single story can flip your view. I used to roll my eyes at workplace safety drills... till a friend described a fire evacuation that saved lives. Suddenly those tedious practices make sense... they're born from past near-misses. It's all about the context we don't see. Makes you wonder what other rules have scary stories behind them...

marywood20d ago

I get what you mean about rules having scary stories behind them, but sometimes the rules themselves cause more danger. When we're forced to use gear that fails in normal conditions, like those silt curtains ripping, it puts my crew in a bad spot. We're stuck doing risky patch jobs in strong currents instead of controlled dredging. The rules sound good on paper but the real world is messy, and they don't always make us safer.