An Assessment of Sediment Injury in the Grand Calumet River, Indiana Harbor Canal, Indiana Harbor, and the Nearshore Areas of Lake Michigan Volume I Prepared for: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bloomington Field Office 620 South Walker Street Bloomington, Indiana 47403 Prepared – October 2000 – by: Donald D. MacDonald Christopher G. Ingersoll In Association with: MacDonald Environmental Columbia Environmental Industrial Economics, Sciences Ltd. Research Center Incorporated 2376 Yellow Point Road United States Geological Survey 2067 Massachusetts Avenue Nanaimo, British Columbia 4200 New Haven Road Cambridge, Massachusetts V9X 1W5 Columbia, Missouri 65201 02140 An Assessment of Sediment Injury in the Grand Calumet River, Indiana Harbor Canal, Indiana Harbor, and the Nearshore Areas of Lake Michigan Volume I Prepared for: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bloomington Field Office 620 South Walker Street Bloomington, Indiana 47403 Prepared – October 2000 – by: Donald D. MacDonald MacDonald Environmental Sciences Ltd. 2376 Yellow Point Road Nanaimo, British Columbia V9X 1W5 Christopher G. Ingersoll Columbia Environmental Research Center United States Geological Survey 4200 New Haven Road Columbia, Missouri 65201 In Association with: Industrial Economics, Incorporated 2067 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140 ___________________________________________ William F. Hartwig USFWS, Regional Director and Authorized Official ___________________________________________ Elizabeth Admire IDEM, Natural Resource Trustee ___________________________________________ Carrie Doehrmann IDNR, Natural Resource Trustee TABLE OF CONTENTS – PAGE II Table of Contents Other Volumes in this Report Volume II - Tables Volume III - Figures Volume IV - Appendices List of Acronyms .......................................................... ix List of Terms .............................................................xii Background Information Relevant to the Preparation of this Report .............. xix Executive Summary .......................................................xxii Injury to Sediment-Dwelling Organisms ................................ xxiii Effects on Fish and Wildlife Resources ................................. xxvi Overall Assessment of Injury to Sediments ............................. xxviii Executive Summary Tables and Figures Table ES.1 Summary of assessment of sediment injury to sediment-dwelling organisms ............................................ xxxiv Table ES.2 Summary of the distribution of mean PEC-Qs in surficial sediments in the Assessment Area .......................... xxxv Table ES.3 Summary of the distribution of mean PEC-Qs in sub-surface sediments in the Assessment Area ........................ xxxviii Table ES.4 Summary of the available information on SEM-AVS in the Assessment Area ..........................................xli Table ES.5 Summary of mIBI scores for the various reaches in the Assessment Area, 1993-1998 ......................................... xlii Table ES.6 Summary of QHEI scores for the various reaches in the Assessment Area, 1993-1998 ...............................xliii Table ES.7 Summary of assessment of sediment injury to fish and wildlife resources ...............................................xliv Table ES.8 Summary of DELT scores for the various reaches in the Assessment Area, 1993-1998 ............................... xlv Table ES.9 Summary of IBI scores for the various reaches in the Assessment Area, 1985-1998 ........................................ xlvii Figure ES.1 Areal extent of injury to surficial sediments in the Assessment Area .................................................... l Figure ES.2 Areal extent of injury to sub-surface sediments in the Assessment Area ....................................................li Figure ES.3 Areal extent of sediment toxicity in the Assessment Area .......... lii Figure ES.4 Areal extent of altered benthic invertebrate communities in the Assessment Area ..........................................liii AN ASSESSMENT OF SEDIMENT INJURY TABLE OF CONTENTS – PAGE III Acknowledgments .........................................................liv 1.0 Introduction ......................................................... 1 1.1 Role of Sediments in Aquatic Ecosystems ........................... 4 1.2 Sediment Quality Issues and Concerns .............................. 6 1.3 Study Objectives ............................................... 9 2.0 Background ........................................................ 11 2.1 Geographic Scope of the Assessment Area .......................... 11 2.1.1 Grand Calumet River .................................... 11 2.1.2 Indiana Harbor Canal, US Canal, and Indiana Harbor ........... 12 2.1.3 Lake Michigan ......................................... 12 2.1.4 Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore .......................... 12 2.2 Chemicals of Concern in the Assessment Area ....................... 13 2.2.1 Polychlorinated Biphenyls ................................ 13 2.2.2 Oil and Oil-Related Compounds ............................ 14 2.2.3 Metals ................................................ 14 2.3 Natural Resources in the Assessment Area .......................... 15 2.3.1 Surface Water Resources ................................. 15 2.3.2 Ground Water Resources ................................. 16 2.3.3 Air Resources .......................................... 16 2.3.4 Geologic Resources ..................................... 16 2.3.5 Biological Resources .................................... 16 3.0 Study Approach .................................................... 18 3.1 Identification of Key Indicators of Sediment Quality Conditions for Assessing Sediment Injury .................................... 18 3.1.1 Indicators for Assessing Injury to Sediment-Dwelling Organisms . 19 3.1.2 Indicators for Assessing Injury to Fish and Wildlife Resources ... 25 3.2 Collection, Evaluation, and Compilation of Sediment Quality Data and Related Information .................................... 28 3.3 Selection of Chemical Benchmarks for Assessing Sediment Quality Conditions ............................................. 31 3.3.1 Effects-Based Sediment Quality Guidelines .................. 31 3.3.2 Toxicity Thresholds for Pore Water ......................... 34 3.3.3 Tissues Residue Guidelines for the Protection of Wildlife ....... 36 3.4 Evaluation of Sediment Injury .................................... 36 3.5 Identification of Contaminants of Concern .......................... 38 3.6 Evaluation of the Spatial Extent of Sediment Injury ................... 39 AN ASSESSMENT OF SEDIMENT INJURY TABLE OF CONTENTS – PAGE IV 4.0 Existing Information on Sediment Quality Conditions in the Assessment Area 41 4.1 Data Collected During the Period, 1970 to 1980 ...................... 42 4.2 Data Collected During the Period, 1980 to 1989 ...................... 43 4.3 Data Collected During the Period, 1990 to Present .................... 48 5.0 Grand Calumet River Lagoons ........................................ 57 5.1 Assessment of Injury to Sediment and Associated Sediment - Dwelling Organisms ........................................... 59 5.1.1 Whole Sediment Chemistry ............................... 59 5.1.2 Pore Water Chemistry .................................... 61 5.1.3 Sediment Toxicity Tests .................................. 62 5.1.4 Status of Benthic Invertebrate Community ................... 62 5.1.5 Other Indicators of Benthic Habitat Quality ................... 63 5.1.6 Summary .............................................. 64 5.2 Assessment of Effects on Fish and Wildlife Resources ................ 65 5.2.1 Toxicity of Sediments to Fish .............................. 65 5.2.2 Fish Health ............................................ 66 5.2.3 Status of Fish Communities ............................... 66 5.2.4 Bioaccumulation of Sediment-Associated Contaminants ......... 67 5.2.5 Summary .............................................. 68 5.3 Determination of Contaminants of Concern ......................... 69 5.4 Evaluation of the Areal Extent of Sediment Injury .................... 70 5.5 Summary .................................................... 72 6.0 East Branch of the Grand Calumet River - I ............................. 73 6.1 Assessment of Injury to Sediment and Associated Sediment - Dwelling Organisms ........................................... 74 6.1.1 Whole Sediment Chemistry ............................... 74 6.1.2 Pore Water Chemistry .................................... 76 6.1.3 Sediment Toxicity Tests .................................. 78 6.1.4 Status of Benthic Invertebrate Community ................... 79 6.1.5 Other Indicators of Benthic Habitat Quality ................... 81 6.1.6 Summary .............................................. 83 6.2 Assessment of Effects on Fish and Wildlife Resources ................ 84 6.2.1 Toxicity of Sediments to Fish .............................. 84 6.2.2 Fish Health ............................................ 85 6.2.3 Status of Fish Communities ............................... 85 6.2.4 Bioaccumulation of Sediment-Associated Contaminants ......... 86 6.2.5 Summary .............................................. 87 6.3 Determination of Contaminants of Concern ......................... 88 6.4 Evaluation of the Areal Extent of Sediment Injury .................... 90 6.5 Summary .................................................... 92 AN ASSESSMENT OF SEDIMENT INJURY TABLE OF CONTENTS – PAGE