were used to verify the completion of the cap material thickness requirements established by 

 NED. 



A sediment plume study was conducted during the initial phase of dredging (25 

 October to 18 November 1993) to monitor the potential for material dispersion (Bohlen et al. 

 1994). Nine plume tracking surveys were conducted by Dr. W.F. Bohlen of the University 

 of Connecticut while Great Lakes Dredging Company was operating in New Haven Harbor; 

 results will be provided under a separate report. Further survey activity over CLIS during 

 the New Haven Capping Project included bathymetric and sediment-profile photography 

 surveys (12-13 January 1994). Ocean Surveys, Incorporated completed these field tasks 

 following the disposal of UDM generated from the private marine terminal projects in the 

 harbor. 



Since 1977, monitoring cruises have been conducted at CLIS as part of the Disposal 

 Area Monitoring System (DAMOS) Program for the US Army Corps of Engineers, NED 

 (NUSC 1979). These surveys assessed both the stability of the dredged material disposed at 

 the site and any potential for adverse long-term environmental effects, particularly in terms 

 of the postdisposal recovery of benthic ecosystems. The objectives of these surveys included 

 documenting and monitoring the location and physical characteristics of dredged material 

 mounds, as well as any postdepositional dispersion of material. A total of eighteen inactive 

 disposal mounds currently exist within the 6.85 km 2 area of CLIS. 



CLIS, located approximately 5.6 nautical miles (nmi) south of South End Point, East 

 Haven, Connecticut, continues to be one of the most active containment sites in New 

 England (Figure 1-3). The 2 nmi long by 1 nmi wide rectangular area, centered at 

 41°08.950' N, 72°52.850' W, receives sediments dredged from the New Haven, Stamford, 

 and Norwalk Harbors as well as adjacent coves and embayments. In addition, the large 

 volumes of material deposited at CLIS have been subject to a variety of dredged material 

 management strategies. 



The strategy at CLIS during the 1993 New Haven Harbor Capping Project was to 

 form a large scale, stable confined aquatic disposal (CAD) mound. A CAD mound is a 

 dredged material disposal mound constructed in conjunction with artificial or natural 

 containment measures. The containment measures are structures that surround a given area 

 limiting the lateral spread of UDM to facilitate efficient sediment capping operations. The 

 taut-wire moored buoy "NHAV" was deployed at 41°09.122' N and 72°53.453' W, over the 

 center of a basin created by the planned placement of seven historic disposal mounds: CLIS- 

 87, CLIS-88, CLIS-89, CLIS-90, CLIS-91, SP, and NORWALK (Figure 1-4). The basin 

 region was utilized for the disposal of a total volume of 1,159,513 m 3 of material; 

 590,229 m 3 of UDM and 569,287 m 3 of CDM (Table 1-2). The precision disposal and 



Monitoring Surveys of the New Haven Capping Project, 1993-1994 



