Sediment Monitoring at EPA - New Jersey - EPA Sediment...Benthic Macroinvertebrates Toxicity...

OVERVIEW OF EPA SEDIMENT MONITORING ACTIVITIES

DARVENE ADAMS

USEPA-REGION 2

EDISON, NJ

Dredging program content supplied by Mark Reiss, USEPA-Region 2 Clean Water Division

NJ Water Monitoring Council Meeting

September 21, 2016

NATIONAL AQUATIC RESOURCE SURVEYS (NARS)

COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS BETWEEN EPA, STATES, AND TRIBES DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE

QUALITY OF THE NATION'S COASTAL WATERS, LAKES AND RESERVOIRS, RIVERS AND

STREAMS, AND WETLANDS USING A STATISTICAL SURVEY DESIGN.

NATIONAL AQUATIC RESOURCE SURVEYS (NARS)

• SNAPSHOT OF THE OVERALL CONDITION OF THE NATION’S WATER

• SAMPLE SITES SELECTED AT RANDOM

• USE STANDARDIZED FIELD AND LAB METHODS

• 5-YEAR CYCLE

NARS QUESTIONS

• WHAT PERCENT OF WATERS SUPPORT HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS AND RECREATION?

• WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS?

• IS WATER QUALITY IMPROVING OR GETTING WORSE?

• ARE INVESTMENTS IN IMPROVING WATER QUALITY FOCUSED APPROPRIATELY?

NARS SCHEDULE

Field Year Survey

2007 National Lakes Assessment

2008 - 2009 National Rivers & Streams Assessment

2010 National Coastal Condition Assessment

2011 National Wetland Condition Assessment

2012 National Lakes Assessment

2013 - 2014 National Rivers & Streams Assessment

2015 National Coastal Condition Assessment

2016 National Wetland Condition Assessment

2017 National Lakes Assessment

2018-2019 National Rivers & Streams Assessment

2020 National Coastal Condition Assessment

2021 National Wetland Condition Assessment

NARS SEDIMENT

Chemistry Biological Other

Lakes Mercury Benthic Macroinvertebrates Sediment diatoms

Rivers Benthic Macroinvertebrates Stream bed sediments

Streams Benthic Macroinvertebrates Stream bed sediments

Wetlands Soil Chemistry (metals) Sediment Enzymes

Coastal Chemistry (metals/PCBs/PAHs/Pest.) Benthic Macroinvertebrates Toxicity

REGIONAL SEDIMENT MONITORING

• REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (REMAP)

• NY/NJ HARBOR 1993/4, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013

• COHANSEY/MAURICE/SALEM 1999

• BARNEGAT BAY 2001

• POST-SSS

• REMAP 2013, WWTP SEDIMENT SAMPLING

• DREDGING AND HARS MONITORING

• SUPERFUND

REMAP AND POST SSS

• STRATIFIED STATISTICAL DESIGN

• ESTIMATES FOR ENTIRE HARBOR

AND INDIVIDUAL SUB-BASINS

• 30 STATIONS PER SUB-BASIN; 5

SUB-BASINS

• Van VEEN SAMPLER; TOP 2cm for

chemistry and toxicity, entire grab

for benthos

USES OF REMAP DATA

• STATUS ESTIMATES WITH

CONFIDENCE

• TRENDS ANALYSIS

• PRIORITIZATION OF PROBLEMS

• ASSOCIATION OF BIOLOGICAL

PROBLEMS WITH SPECIFIC

CONTAMINANTS

REGION 2 DREDGING AND MONITORING PROGRAM

MONITORING AT THE HISTORIC AREA REMEDIATION SITE (HARS)

THE PORT OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY

400 km of channels

3-5 Million yd3/year

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY HARBOR

• PAHS, DIOXIN, DDT, PCBS, METALS CO-VARY

• PORT FACILITIES ARE LOCATED IN SHALLOWEST, MOST CONTAMINATED PART

OF THE ESTUARY

HISTORIC AREA REMEDIATION SITE

(16 NM2 AREA AROUND MUD DUMP SITE)

• SIGNIFICANT FRACTION OF NY/NJ HARBOR DREDGED

MATERIAL IS MANAGED AT THE HARS.

• MOSTLY DEEPENING AND SANDY MATERIAL FROM APPROACH

CHANNELS (E.G., AMBROSE AND SANDY HOOK CHANNELS)

• GOAL OF HARS IS REMEDIATION OF TOXICITY AND ELEVATED

TISSUE RESIDUES FROM HISTORIC OCEAN DISPOSAL VIA 1-M

CAP USING CLEANER DREDGED MATERIAL.

• REQUIRES PRECISE PLACEMENT OF MATERIAL, INTENSIVE

SURVEILLANCE OF DISPOSAL CONTRACTORS AND

RIGOROUS POST CAP MONITORING.

COMMON MONITORING TECHNIQUES

• MULTIBEAM BATHYMETRY/ SIDE SCAN SONAR/SUB BOTTOM PROFILING

• SEDIMENT PROFILE IMAGING

• SAMPLING

• PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

• SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY

• BENTHIC COMMUNITY ANALYSIS

• TOXICITY BIOASSAYS

• TISSUE RESIDUES

• VIDEO VIA SLED OR ROV

# # # # # # # # #

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# # # # # # # # #

# # # # # # # # #

# # # # # # # # #

# # # # # # # # #

# # # # # # # # #

RS-98

PST-98

135 trips

485 ,00 0 cy

117 trips354,000 cy

KVK II, II197 trips

594,000 cy

RS-99

BMT-99

33 trips

129,000 cy

BMC-00

PST-99

CDF - "Red Clay"378 trips

1,284,800 cy

PST - 00

KVK II, I

r

r

RR

KVK area 3

r

RRAK

PAB - 00

~327 tr ips

~850,000 cy

RS - 00

~21 trips

~55,000 cy

KVK II, Area 6 03

PA PE/PN

PA BERTHS 02

KVK II, Area 5 03

ERBI 02

BMT 02

RS 02

PST 02

RS 02

RH 01

PA 01PST 01

IMTT 01

KVK II, Area 7 02

KVK Area 8 2003

#

#

4000 0 4000 8000 Feet

N

MULTIBEAM BATHYMETRYFootprints linked to individual projects – assists in directed monitoring

SEDIMENT PROFILE IMAGERY (SPI)

• OBTAINS DIGITAL PHOTO OF SEDIMENT-WATER INTERFACE

• EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMY ALLOWS INTENSIVE SAMPLING

• CONFIRM EXTENT OF SPREAD OF MATERIAL

• SEMI QUANTITATIVE

• USEFUL FOR DIRECTING ADDITIONAL SAMPLING EFFORT

SEDIMENT PROFILE IMAGERY EXAMPLES

• GRAIN SIZE/NEAR SURFACE

STRATIGRAPHY

• REDOX DISCONTINUITIES

• BENTHIC STATUS

• ORGANISM-SEDIMENT INDICES

• RECRUITMENT AND

SUCCESSION

RESOURCES

• AMBIENT

• NARS: HTTPS://WWW.EPA.GOV/NATIONAL-AQUATIC-RESOURCE-SURVEYS

• REMAP: HTTPS://ARCHIVE.EPA.GOV/EMAP/ARCHIVE-EMAP/WEB/HTML/INDEX-171.HTML

• DREDGING: HTTPS://WWW.EPA.GOV/OCEAN-DUMPING/MANAGING-OCEAN-DUMPING-EPA-REGION-2

• SUPERFUND: HTTPS://WWW.EPA.GOV/SUPERFUND/SUPERFUND-CONTAMINATED-SEDIMENTS