GeoInsight, INC. UPDATED CONCEPTUAL SITE MODEL BARGE B120 SPILL BUZZARDS BAY, MASSACHUSETTS RTN 4-17786 Prepared For: Bouchard Transportation Company, Inc. 58 South Service Road, Suite 150 Melville, New York 11747 Prepared By: GeoInsight, Inc. 319 Littleton Road, Suite 105 Westford, Massachusetts 01886 Phone: (978) 692-1114 Fax: (978) 692-1115 www.geoinsightinc.com August 24, 2005 GeoInsight, INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE 1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 CONCEPTUAL SITE MODEL OBJECTIVES............................................................. 1 1.2 NUMERICAL MODELING OVERVIEW .................................................................... 2 1.3 LITERATURE OVERVIEW..........................................................................................2 1.4 FIELD OBSERVATIONS OVERVIEW ....................................................................... 2 1.5 INCIDENT OVERVIEW............................................................................................... 3 2.0 RELEASE INFORMATION ........................................................................................... 4 2.1 GENERAL PROPERTIES OF NO. 6 FUEL OIL.......................................................... 4 2.2 PROPERTIES OF THE B120 OIL................................................................................. 5 2.2.1 Physical Characteristics.......................................................................................... 5 2.2.2 Chemical Characteristics........................................................................................ 6 2.3 RELEASE VOLUME..................................................................................................... 7 2.4 RELEASE AREA DESCRIPTION ................................................................................ 7 2.4.1 Spill Area................................................................................................................8 2.4.2 Sensitive Receptors................................................................................................. 9 3.0 LITERATURE-BASED FATE AND TRANSPORT OF OIL RELEASES.............. 11 3.1 HISTORIC OIL RELEASES........................................................................................ 11 3.2 INITIAL FATE AND TRANSPORT OF OIL RELEASES ........................................ 11 3.3 NATURAL DEGRADATION..................................................................................... 12 3.4 OIL PERSISTENCE..................................................................................................... 14 3.5 LITERATURE SUMMARY ........................................................................................ 15 4.0 FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND DATA........................................................................ 17 4.1 AERIAL OVERFLIGHTS............................................................................................17 4.2 SUBTIDAL EVALUATION........................................................................................ 17 4.2.1 Lobster Pot Surveys.............................................................................................. 18 4.2.2 Chain Drags.......................................................................................................... 19 4.2.3 Absorbent Pad Swipes .......................................................................................... 20 4.2.4 Underwater Dive Surveys..................................................................................... 20 4.2.5 Shellfish Bed Evaluations..................................................................................... 21 4.2.5.1 Tissue Sampling................................................................................................ 21 4.2.5.2 Field Inspections............................................................................................... 22 4.2.6 Subtidal Sediment Sampling................................................................................. 23 4.2.7 Summary of Subtidal Evaluation.......................................................................... 25 4.3 INTERTIDAL EVALUATION.................................................................................... 25 4.3.1 SCAT Surveys...................................................................................................... 26 4.3.2 IRAC Evaluation................................................................................................... 26 4.3.3 MCP Reconnaissances.......................................................................................... 28 4.3.4 Sediment Sampling............................................................................................... 30 4.3.5 PAH Fingerprint Analyses and Natural Oil Degradation ..................................... 33 4.3.6 Summary of Intertidal Evaluation......................................................................... 34 4.4 SURFACE WATER EVALUATION .......................................................................... 35 i GeoInsight, INC. 5.0 NUMERICAL MODELING.......................................................................................... 37 5.1 NUMERICAL MODEL INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 37 5.2 INPUT PARAMETERS............................................................................................... 37 5.2.1 Weather................................................................................................................. 37 5.2.2 Tides and Currents ................................................................................................ 38 5.2.3 Total Suspended Solids......................................................................................... 38 5.2.4 Shoreline Substrate............................................................................................... 38 5.2.5 Oil Properties........................................................................................................ 38 5.2.6 Release Scenario................................................................................................... 38 5.3 MODEL RESULTS...................................................................................................... 38 5.3.1 Surface Slick......................................................................................................... 39 5.3.2 Oil Evaporation..................................................................................................... 39 5.3.3 Dissolution ............................................................................................................ 40 5.3.4 Oil Sinking............................................................................................................ 40 5.3.5 Shoreline Stranding............................................................................................... 40 5.4 NUMERICAL MODEL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................................... 41 6.0 SUMMARY OF CLEAN-UP OPERATIONS.............................................................. 42 6.1 UNIFIED COMMAND CLEAN-UP OPERATIONS.................................................. 42 6.2 MCP IMMEDIATE RESPONSE ACTIONS............................................................... 42 7.0 CONCEPTUAL SITE MODEL .................................................................................... 43 7.1 MEDIA WHERE OIL IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE PRESENT................................. 44 7.1.1 Dissolved Fractions............................................................................................... 44 7.1.1.1 Surface Water.................................................................................................... 44 7.1.1.2 Ground Water.................................................................................................... 45 7.1.2 Volatilized Fractions............................................................................................. 45 7.2 MEDIA WHERE OIL MAY POTENTIALLY BE PRESENT ................................... 46 7.2.1 Intertidal Shoreline Segments............................................................................... 46 7.2.1.1 Public/Private Sand Beaches (1A/1B) .............................................................. 46 7.2.1.2 Mixed Sand and Gravel Beaches and Rip Rap Groins (1C)............................. 46 7.2.1.3 Rip Rap Seawalls, Bulkheads, and Piers (1D).................................................. 47 7.2.1.4 Rocky Shorelines (1E) ...................................................................................... 47 7.2.1.5 Salt Marshes (1F).............................................................................................. 48 7.2.2 Subtidal Sediment ................................................................................................. 48 7.3 SUMMARY.................................................................................................................. 49 8.0 REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 51 ii GeoInsight, INC. TABLES 1 Shoreline Segment Summary 2 Degree of Oiling 3 Summary of Representative Oil Spills 4 Lobster Pot Survey Data 5 Chain Drag Summary 6 Absorbent Pad Swipe Summary 2003 7 Shellfish Tissue Sampling Summary 8 Shellfish Bed/Absorbent Pad Survey 2004 9 Dive Survey Sediment Sampling Summary 10 Summary of Subtidal Sediment Samples 11 IRAC Inspections