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Gowanus Canal Site *206624* IJ GE I Consultants Geotechnical Environ me n tal Water Reso urces Ecological Surface Sediment Sampling Plan Gowanus Canal Site Brooklyn, New York Submitted to: Submitted by: National Grid USA GEl Consultants, Inc. 287 l'viaspeth A venue 455 Winding Brook Drive Brooklyn, NY 11211 Glastonbmy, CT 06033 860-368-5300 September 2010 093010-2-1201 SURFACE SEDIMENT SAMPLING PLAN NATIONAL GRID GOWANUS CANAL SITE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 2010 Introduction The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is currently performing a Remedial Investigation (RI) on the Gowanus Canal Superfund Site in Brooklyn, New York. The purpose of this RI is to provide an informational foundation for developing, evaluating, and selecting a remedy to eliminate, reduce, or manage risks to human health and the environment associated with the Canal. The USEPA’s Gowanus Canal Draft Final Phase 3 RI Technical Approach and Scope (USEPA 2010) provides the basis for surface sediment sampling activities taking place during the summer of 2010. National Grid, represented by GEI Consultants Inc. (GEI), has identified and outlined additional investigations that are being proposed to supplement USEPA’s field efforts and provide additional data to further assess water quality, sediment quality, sediment toxicity, and benthic surveys of Gowanus Canal. These proposed investigations are presented in the following Surface Sediment Sampling Plan. Supplemental Field Investigations Building upon a preliminary RI for Gowanus Canal (GEI 2009a), National Grid previously recommended studies needed to fill information gaps for completing the human health and ecological risk assessment portions of the RI (GEI 2009b). National Grid has also reviewed USEPA (2010) which was provided on May 12, 2010. However, the USEPA studies do not address all of the data gaps necessary to evaluate potential human health or ecological risks from exposure to surface sediments in the Canal. Per the Administrative Order of Consent (AOC) between National Grid and USEPA, National Grid has identified several surface sediment investigations that are needed to supplement USEPA’s RI as described below. The following supplemental data needs were identified following review of USEPA (2010) and are the subject of this surface sediment sampling plan: - Selection of alternate reference locations - Collection of concurrent and co-located sediment chemistry and benthic community structure data - Evaluation of contaminant bioavailability through interstitial water sampling - Implementation of Sediment Toxicity Identification Evaluations (TIE) to better interpret benthic toxicity testing results - Evaluation of seasonal variation in the physical, chemical, geological and ecological conditions of the Gowanus Canal, and further characterization of conditions while the flushing tunnel is under repair A detailed outline of proposed sample locations and associated analyses is provided in Table 1 and Figure 1. Supplemental investigations are proposed for the same 27 sample locations within the Gowanus Canal study area identified in Figure 2 of USEPA (2010). SURFACE SEDIMENT SAMPLING PLAN NATIONAL GRID GOWANUS CANAL SITE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 2010 However, we recommend selection of alternative reference locations to the ten currently identified by USEPA. USEPA Guidance (1995; 2002) suggests that “A background reference area should have the same physical, chemical, geological, and biological characteristics as the site being investigated, but has not been affected by activities on the site.” The biological and physical characteristics of the selected reference locations in the East River do not reflect those of the Gowanus Canal. Additionally, they are located down gradient of the site, resulting in the potential for influence from site-related chemicals of potential concern (COPCs). We recommend regions such as Coney Island Creek, in the New York Bay area, or Bronx Kill and Westchester Creek, in the East River area for reference location samples (Figure 2). If desired, we can provide additional justification for considering these locations in addition to those being currently used by USEPA. Specific components of the sampling program at each sampling location (including the refernce areas) will include concurrent and co-located measurement of: . Bulk sediment and associated interstitial water contaminant concentrations – USEPA has completed analytical bulk surface sediment sampling at 27 locations within Gowanus Canal, and at the new reference locations. Interstitial water (i.e., pore water) should also be collected concurrently with bulk sediment sampling to estimate the bioavailability of COPCs such as metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Hawthorne at al. 2005; USEPA 2009). Single composite surficial sediment samples from three Ponar grabs (co- located with the benthic population Ponar samples) will be collected at each sample location. Surficial sediment samples for benthic surveys are typically defined as the upper 10 cm. However, to meet human health data gaps (GEI 2009b); slightly deeper sediments (ca. 1 ft) may need to be collected to constitute a single “surficial” sample for both the human health and ecological risk assessments. Interstitial water can be collected using either in-situ or ex-situ techniques (USEPA 2001). This sampling plan proposes that sediment and interstitial water will be collected concurrently for analytical and toxicity analyses. Therefore, ex-situ sampling techniques are necessary to provide sufficient volume of interstitial water. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) with gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) analysis will be implemented for organic compounds, due to its low sample volume requirements and ability to maintain low method detection limits (Hawthorne et al. 2005). The COPCs, physical parameters, and associated USEPA analytical methods used to assess bulk sediment and interstitial water should follow USEPA requirements for derivation of Equilibrium Partitioning Sediment Benchmarks (USEPA 2003). Surface water quality – Similar to USEPA (2010), we suggest that surface water samples should be collected concurrently with any sediment sampling in the Canal. USEPA has collected discrete surface water samples six inches below the water surface at each of the 27 locations within Gowanus Canal, and at the new reference locations. This sampling SURFACE SEDIMENT SAMPLING PLAN NATIONAL GRID GOWANUS CANAL SITE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 2010 interval is appropriate for human health evaluation: however, water column depth- integrated samples at the same locations are proposed here to more comprehensively evaluate ecological exposures. Benthic invertebrate populations – Collection of benthic community data was not included in USEPA (2010). We propose a benthic community assessment concurrent and co-located with surface sediment analytical data, per our previous recommendation (GEI 2009b). Composite Ponar grab samples will be collected at each sample location. Sediment samples used for the benthic invertebrate survey will be passed through a 500 µm sieve. The material that did not pass through the sieve will be placed into a glass container with a 70% ethyl alcohol preservative and transported to an accredited laboratory for the identification (to lowest practical taxonomic level) and enumeration of benthic macroinvertebrates to quantify benthic community structure and composition. Sediment toxicity – USEPA identified that sediment toxicity test samples would be collected at a subset of 11 of the 27 locations within Gowanus Canal, and at a subset of the new reference locations. GEI previously suggested that the proximate cause of toxicity to benthic macroinvertebrates from Gowanus Canal sediments could result from high concentrations of ammonia rather than exposure to COPCs (GEI 2009b). Such a condition could greatly confound our ability to evaluate the reliability of sediment toxicity testing as a line of evidence for evaluating COPCs in the ecological risk assessment. Therefore, we suggest that Sediment Toxicity Identification Evaluations (TIE; USEPA 2007) should be conducted to rigorously investigate potential confounding factors such as ammonia. Sediment TIE studies consist of a series of sediment manipulations (e.g., chemical amendments) that are designed to identify, by process of elimination, the toxicity of several classes of chemical stressors including cationic metals, non-polar organic toxicants, and ammonia. Such studies can be used both to identify which chemical classes are mostly likely responsible for sediment toxicity, and also to identify possible confounding factors such as ammonia or sulfides. The applicability of the sediment TIE methodology at Superfund sites and other contaminated sites has been studied and proven to be effective (Hunt et al. 2000; Carr et al. 2001; Tracey et al. 2004; Picone et al. 2009; Mehler 2010; Perron et al. 2010). Considering the multiple sources of pollution to sediments located along Gowanus Canal, we believe that TIEs are needed to 1) help identify the most likely cause(s) of toxicity to benthic macroinvertebrates, and 2) determine if non-COPC stressors such as ammonia could confound our ability to evaluate COPC risks using benthic toxicity as a line of evidence. This is particularly important because benthic toxicity is often an important tool for derivation or validation of preliminary remediation goals (PRGs), and so the reliability of this line of evidence requires empirical confirmation. Variation
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