MSE Walls and Dams

Information request from Maryland: We have been approached by an owner and their consultant to consider the use of an MSE wall to raise an existing earthen embankment. MSE is proposed because this is a dredged material containment facility (DMCF) and there is a need for more storage volume, but lateral expansion is not practical due to encroachment on the river/other harbor facilities. Subsurface conditions are poor (weak compressible soils). The concept is to have a "normal" earthfill upstream shell, an impervious "core" of some sort, and a very steep downstream MSE "shell". While USACE does not recognize these DMCF structures as dams, in Maryland we regulate them as dams if there is a potential landward breach hazard. There are some decent case histories notably, Cherry Island Landfill in Delaware and ICOLD Bulletin 89. I am wondering if anyone has experience with MSE applications in dams, any lessons learned, critical design requirements, would you even consider this?

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