Lessons from 29 years of monitoring at the Commencement Bay disposal site
Presentation Abstract
Dredged material disposal in Puget Sound is managed by the Dredged Material Management Program (DMMP), an interagency partnership consisting of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District (USACE), the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 (U.S. EPA). The Commencement Bay non-dispersive aquatic dredged material disposal site in Tacoma, WA, was established in June 1988 by the Puget Sound Dredged Disposal Analysis (PSDDA) program (predecessor of the DMMP), under the dredged material management plan for central Puget Sound sites. The DMMP developed a monitoring framework to assess the physical, chemical, and biological effects of dredged material disposal at Puget Sound non-dispersive aquatic disposal sites and their surrounding environments. In the 29 years since the Commencement Bay disposal site was established, over 8.6 million cubic yards of dredged material has been taken to the site, and the DMMP has conducted 10 environmental monitoring studies to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and to verify that the disposal site was performing as designed. This presentation reviews the monitoring findings at Commencement Bay within the context of the DMMP framework, and explores how the program has adapted over time. As an additional performance evaluation of the disposal site, we have calculated volume weighted mean (VWM) chemical concentrations of dredged material taken to Commencement Bay using disposal volumes and pre-dredging chemistry results to determine how they compare to measurements at the disposal site during corresponding site monitoring events. As the Commencement Bay site moves into its 30th year of operation, the DMMP is evaluating the lessons learned at the site to inform potential refinements to the overall monitoring framework.
Session Title
Posters: Monitoring: Species & Habitats
Conference Track
SSE18: Posters
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE18-96
Start Date
5-4-2018 11:30 AM
End Date
5-4-2018 1:30 PM
Type of Presentation
Poster
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events); posters
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Dredged spoil--Washington (State)--Commencement Bay; Environmental monitoring--Washington (State)--Commencement Bay; Soil pollution--Washington (State)--Commencement Bay; Dredging--Washington (State)--Commencement Bay
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Seattle District; Washington (State). Department of Natural Resources; Washington (State). Department of Ecology; Washington (State). Environmental Protection Section
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Commencement Bay (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Lessons from 29 years of monitoring at the Commencement Bay disposal site
Dredged material disposal in Puget Sound is managed by the Dredged Material Management Program (DMMP), an interagency partnership consisting of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District (USACE), the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 (U.S. EPA). The Commencement Bay non-dispersive aquatic dredged material disposal site in Tacoma, WA, was established in June 1988 by the Puget Sound Dredged Disposal Analysis (PSDDA) program (predecessor of the DMMP), under the dredged material management plan for central Puget Sound sites. The DMMP developed a monitoring framework to assess the physical, chemical, and biological effects of dredged material disposal at Puget Sound non-dispersive aquatic disposal sites and their surrounding environments. In the 29 years since the Commencement Bay disposal site was established, over 8.6 million cubic yards of dredged material has been taken to the site, and the DMMP has conducted 10 environmental monitoring studies to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and to verify that the disposal site was performing as designed. This presentation reviews the monitoring findings at Commencement Bay within the context of the DMMP framework, and explores how the program has adapted over time. As an additional performance evaluation of the disposal site, we have calculated volume weighted mean (VWM) chemical concentrations of dredged material taken to Commencement Bay using disposal volumes and pre-dredging chemistry results to determine how they compare to measurements at the disposal site during corresponding site monitoring events. As the Commencement Bay site moves into its 30th year of operation, the DMMP is evaluating the lessons learned at the site to inform potential refinements to the overall monitoring framework.
