Tier I ecological evaluation for phase III channel improvements to the John. F. Baldwin ship channel

摘要

To assist the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in determing whether the material from proposed dredging of the John F. Baldwin Ship Channel (JFBSC) is suitable for unrestricted, unconfined open-ocean disposal, Battelle/Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL) prepared this report. Based on these findings, sediments that would be removed during Phase III improvements to the JFBSC fail to meet the three suitability criteria for open-ocean disposal. Firstly, fine-grained sediments comprise a significant fraction of the bottom material in some areas of the channel, and this material is not exposed to high current or wave energy. Dredged material from the JFBSC is not being proposed for beach nourishment; therefore the second criterion is not met. JFBSC sediments do not meet the third criterion because, although they may be substantially similar to substrates at several of the proposed disposal sites, they are from an area that historically has experienced loading of contaminants, which toxicology studies have shown have the potential to result in acute toxicity or significant bioaccumulation.