From 1977 to 1992, DAMOS conducted monitoring surveys based on a 1 nmi 

 (nautical mile) square disposal site centered at 41° 16.100' N, 72° 04.600' W (NUSC 1979). 

 In 1982, the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS) for the disposal 

 of dredged material in the LIS region recommended the continued use of the four existing 

 disposal sites in LIS, including New London (USACE 1982). These four sites had been 

 identified prior to the completion of the FPEIS by the Connecticut-New York Interim Plan 

 (NERBC 1980). The Interim Plan identified center coordinates for a slightly different 

 location (0.2 nmi due north of the DAMOS coordinates). As of 1 January 1996, the 

 DAMOS program resolved this discrepancy by adopting the new center coordinates as 

 defined in the Interim Plan as 41° 16.300' N, 72° 04.600' W in North Atlantic Datum 1927 

 (NAD 27). It is unknown why the original DAMOS center coordinates were not in 

 agreement with the Interim Plan, but no projects were directed to the southern edge of the 

 site during this period, so the change has had no effect on disposal site management or 

 monitoring. This change corrects the slight discrepancy and brings DAMOS into agreement 

 with the FPEIS. Similar changes have been made to the Central Long Island Sound Disposal 

 Site and the Cornfield Shoals Disposal Site. 



The location of NLDS intersects with two important management boundaries: a 

 300 m wide submarine transit corridor; and the New York-Connecticut state boundary 

 (Figure 1-1). The submarine transit corridor has been established to minimize conflict 

 between submarine traffic to, and from, the submarine base in Groton, CT and disposal 

 buoys that may not be seen when submarines transit submerged. The state boundary affects 

 state regulatory authority under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) and the 

 issuance of state water quality certification for disposal permits (Carey 1998). Under the 

 CZMA, states must concur that disposal activities in their state waters are consistent with 

 their federally approved Coastal Zone Management Plans before permits are issued by the 

 USACE. 



The long-term observation of the effects of disposed dredged material is facilitated by 

 the construction of distinct sediment mounds within a disposal site. Development of 

 disposal mounds is achieved by directing barges to predetermined locations typically marked 

 by surface buoys, which have taut-line moorings to maximize position stability. When 

 necessary, mounds are constructed in phases to allow for capping of material deemed 

 unsuitable for open-water disposal. Capping is a subaqueous containment method that 

 utilizes material determined to be suitable for open-water disposal (hereafter referred to as 

 capping dredged material, or CDM) to overlay and isolate deposits of unacceptably- 

 contaminated dredged material (UDM) from the surrounding environment (Fredette 1994). 



Monitoring Cruise at the New London Disposal Site, Seawolf Mound 1995 - 1998 



