1.0 INTRODUCTION 



1.1 Background 



The New England District (NAE) of the US Army Corps of Engineers regulates all 

 coastal dredging operations from Eastport, Maine, to Byram, Connecticut. In 1977, the 

 Disposal Area Monitoring System (DAMOS) Program was developed in response to the 

 recognized need for the managed disposal of the volumes of sediments dredged from the 

 ports and harbors of the northeastern United States. The DAMOS Program currently 

 manages ten closely monitored open water disposal sites along coastal New England 

 (Figure 1-lA). These sites are utilized for the cost-effective and environmentally sound 

 disposal of dredged material. 



The Central Long Island Sound Disposal Site (CLIS) is one of four DAMOS 

 disposal sites located in the waters of Long Island Sound. CLIS covers a 6.86 km^ 

 (2 nmi2) area and is centered at 41°08.900' N latitude and 72°52.850' W longitude in 

 North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27; Morris 1996). It is located approximately 

 10.89 km (5.6 nmi) south of South End Point, East Haven, Connecticut (Figure 1-2). 

 Historically, CLIS has been one of the most active disposal sites in die New England 

 region (Figure 1-lB). Sediments deposited at CLIS have been dredged from New Haven, 

 Bridgeport, Stamford, and Norwalk Harbors, as well as adjacent coastal areas. 



Before dredging operations commence, the proposed project sediments are sampled 

 and tested to determine their physical and chemical properties. Sediments originating from 

 most of coastal New England are classified as suitable for unconfmed open water disposal 

 due to low or undetectable contaminant levels. This material may be deposited at CLIS or 

 other New England disposal sites, used as capping dredged material (CDM), or utilized in 

 other beneficial use projects. The sediments dredged from industrialized areas tend to 

 contain a variety of contaminants associated with urbanization (i.e., trace metals, organic 

 compounds, etc.; NOAA 1991). Some of these sediments may be determined to be 

 unsuitable for unconfmed open water disposal, but with special handling can be placed at 

 disposal sites. Sediments that require special handling for open water disposal are 

 classified as unacceptably contaminated dredged material (UDM; Fredette 1994). 



During the 1978-79 disposal season at CLIS, subaqueous capping was introduced as 

 a new dredged material management approach with the formation of the Stamford-New 

 Haven mounds (STNH-N and STNH-S; SAI 1979). Capping is a containment method 

 which uses sediments determined to be suitable for unconfmed open water disposal, or 

 CDM, to overlay and isolate deposits of UDM from the environment. As a result of the 



Monitoring Cruise at the Central Long Island Sound Disposal Site, July 1996 



