38 



Box 2.11 



"Go To Hfi: Capping 

 Evaluation Flowchart " 



The decision of where and when to 

 cap depends on the availability of 

 appropriate capping material from 

 scheduled projects. Once the capping 

 operation has been completed, the 

 monitoring protocol outlined in the 

 next section will be followed (Figure 

 3). 



The plan as outlined above is 

 intended to be executed on an annual 

 basis at all active containment disposal 

 sites in the New England region. This 

 tiered monitoring program for 

 unconfined aquatic disposal can be 

 applied where disposal projects are 

 completed in the early spring; disposal 

 operations stop during the summer 

 months, and the mounds are available 

 for primary and secondary succession 

 without the complicating factor of 

 continued disposal. At those sites 

 where disposal occurs on a year-round 

 basis (e.g., Massachusetts Bay), this 

 monitoring plan can be instituted once 

 the mound reaches a sufficient height 

 and the disposal point is moved to 

 another location within the site. 



It is not uncommon in the New 

 England region for disposal mounds to 

 be built up over 2 or more years; large 

 maintenance projects may require 

 more than one dredging season to 

 complete. Monitoring of these 

 incomplete projects still is intended to 

 occur on an annual basis (and as 

 indicated earlier, would best take place 

 during mid to late summer when 

 biological activity is at its zenith). This 

 interim "range" monitoring serves the 

 purpose of assessing initial 



compliance. All of the conditions of 

 successful colonization (Box 2.1 and 

 2.2) are expected to be met. If 

 colonization is not successful, 

 management may decide to await 

 completion of the project before an 

 extensive Tier Two and/or Tier Three 

 investigation is carried out. 



An Integrated, Tiered Approach to Monitoring and Management of Dredged Material Disposal Sites 



