52 . 



6.0 CONCLUSIONS 



The tiered protocols described here 

 are the product of more than a decade 

 of combined disposal site management 

 and monitoring under the DAMOS 

 Program. This is the first serious 

 attempt to structure the monitoring 

 program on a foundation of null 

 hypothesis testing using sampling 

 techniques with rapid data return. 

 Given all the sources of uncertainty 

 pointed out above, there is no doubt 

 that the protocol will continue to 

 evolve and be modified as time passes 

 and we learn that some of our initial 

 assumptions are incorrect. The 

 important point is to not be lulled into 

 complacency and let the monitoring 

 program described in this document 

 become a goal in itself; this has been 

 designed to be a dynamic tool for 

 decision-making by environmental 

 resource managers, not a static, 

 routine operation to generate endless 

 volumes of grey literature that sit 

 unused on shelves. This is a working 

 document that will require periodic 

 revision; it can only be improved by 

 changing our ideas and approaches to 

 monitoring as we gain a better 

 understanding of environmental 

 response to dredged material disposal. 



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



