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Sediment Quality in Commencement Bay

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Sediment Quality in Commencement Bay Urban Waters Initiative, 2008 Sediment Quality in Commencement Bay T. Putnam C. Eaton April 2010 Publication No. 10-03-019 Publication and Contact Information This report is available on the Department of Ecology’s website at www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/1003019.html. Data for this project are available on Ecology’s Environmental Information Management (EIM) website at www.ecy.wa.gov/eim/index.htm. Search User Study ID, UWI2008. Ecology’s Project Tracker Code for this study is 07-542-08. For more information contact: Publications Coordinator Environmental Assessment Program P.O. Box 47600 Olympia, WA 98504-7600 Phone: 360-407-6764 Washington State Department of Ecology - www.ecy.wa.gov/ o Headquarters, Olympia 360-407-6000 o Northwest Regional Office, Bellevue 425-649-7000 o Southwest Regional Office, Olympia 360-407-6300 o Central Regional Office, Yakima 509-575-2490 o Eastern Regional Office, Spokane 509-329-3400 Cover photos: Mt. Rainier from Blair Waterway, by Tom Putnam; Ecology’s Marine Sediment Monitoring Team sampling in Commencement Bay, by Charles Eaton Any use of product or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the author or the Department of Ecology. To ask about the availability of this document in a format for the visually impaired, call 360-407-6764. Persons with hearing loss can call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability can call 877-833-6341. Urban Waters Initiative, 2008 Sediment Quality in Commencement Bay by Valerie Partridge, Sandra Weakland, Edward Long, Kathy Welch, and Margaret Dutch Western Operations Section Environmental Assessment Program Washington State Department of Ecology Olympia, Washington 98504-7710 Waterbody Numbers WA-PS-0280, WA-10-0010, WA-10-0020 This page is purposely left blank Table of Contents Page List of Electronic Appendices ..............................................................................................8 List of Figures ......................................................................................................................9 List of Tables .....................................................................................................................11 Glossary, Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Units of Measure ............................................12 Abstract ..............................................................................................................................17 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................18 Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................19 Current Conditions in Commencement Bay ................................................................20 Sediment Contamination .....................................................................................20 Sediment Toxicity ...............................................................................................21 Invertebrate Communities ...................................................................................21 Sediment Quality Triad Index .............................................................................21 Comparison to 1999 Conditions ..................................................................................22 Sediment Contamination .....................................................................................22 Sediment Toxicity ...............................................................................................22 Invertebrate Communities ...................................................................................23 Sediment Quality Triad Index .............................................................................23 Sediment Quality at Different Spatial Scales...............................................................23 Meeting the Needs of the Puget Sound Partnership.....................................................24 Recommendations ........................................................................................................24 Introduction ........................................................................................................................25 Problem Statement .......................................................................................................25 Urban Waters Initiative Background ...........................................................................25 Purpose and Objectives ................................................................................................26 Site Description ............................................................................................................26 Resources at Risk .........................................................................................................27 Sediment Quality-Related Research ............................................................................27 Summary of Ecology Databases ..........................................................................27 Summary of Historical NOAA and U.S. EPA Studies ........................................28 Brief Overview of Cleanups in Commencement Bay ..................................................29 Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats Superfund Sites ................................29 ASARCO Superfund Sites ..................................................................................30 Rehabilitation ......................................................................................................30 Resources .............................................................................................................30 Methods..............................................................................................................................33 Sample Design .............................................................................................................33 Field Sampling .............................................................................................................34 Physical and Chemical Analyses .................................................................................34 Toxicity Testing ...........................................................................................................35 Page 5 Amphipod (Eohaustorius estuarius) Survival in Solid Phase Sediments ...........35 Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) Fertilization in Porewater ............35 Benthic Community Analyses .....................................................................................36 Data Analyses ..............................................................................................................36 Sediment Chemistry Comparison to Regulatory Sediment-Quality Standards ...36 Benthic Community Analysis ..............................................................................37 Sediment Quality Triad Index (SQTI) .................................................................38 Data Summaries and Displays .............................................................................38 Comparisons of 2008 Results to 1999 Results ....................................................39 Comparisons of 1999 and 2008 Results to Earlier Results .................................40 Results and Discussion ......................................................................................................41 Site Characteristics (2008) ...........................................................................................41 Physical and Chemical Analyses (2008)......................................................................41 Station Depth .......................................................................................................41 Grain Size ............................................................................................................42 Total Organic Carbon (TOC) ..............................................................................42 Chemical Contamination .....................................................................................43 Incidence and Spatial Extent of Chemical Contamination ..................................44 Spatial Patterns in Chemical Contamination .......................................................45 Toxicity Tests (2008) ...................................................................................................47 Benthic Community Analyses (2008) ..........................................................................47 Assemblage Characteristics .................................................................................47 Affected Benthos .................................................................................................50 Sediment Quality Triad Synthesis (2008): A Compilation of Chemistry, Toxicity, and Benthic Data.................................................................................................................51 Comparisons with 1999 Data .......................................................................................52 Sediment Characteristics and Chemistry .............................................................53 Changes Relative to Sediment Chemical Criteria ...............................................55 Sediment Toxicity ...............................................................................................56 Community Composition and Benthic Indices ....................................................57
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