5.0 TAC MEETING/TIERED APPROACH 



As a result of comments received from the 1985 DAMOS public symposium held in 

 Mystic, Connecticut, both the environmental resource managers at NED and scientists at 

 Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) realized the DAMOS Program would 

 benefit enormously from a periodic outside peer review. To accomplish this goal, NED 

 formed a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Scientists who are nationally recognized 

 experts in a variety of disciplines related to ocean disposal, but who were not associated 

 directly with the program, were invited in the fall of 1987 to join the DAMOS TAC. The 

 outside scientists of the committee were 



Dr. Brock Bernstein (Statistics, Biological Oceanography) 

 Dr. Henry Bokuniewicz (Geology and Estuarine Dynamics) 

 Dr. Iver Duedall (Chemical Oceanography) 

 Dr. Robert Engler (Environmental Effects of Dredging) 

 Dr. Willis Pequegnat (Biological Oceanography) (deceased) 



A series of three workshops was held with the TAC in January, April, and November 

 1988 to review the current program and to help NED develop a new DAMOS monitoring 

 strategy. Scientists from NED and SAIC also participated in these workshops; members 

 from NED included Dr. T. Fredette, Mr. J. Crawford, Mr. S. Congdon, Mr. V. 

 Andreliunas, Mr. J. Waugh, and Mr. R. Zeroka. SAIC scientists included Dr. J. Germano, 

 Dr. R. Morton, Dr. D. Rhoads, Mr. J. Parker, Mr. J. Lunz, and Dr. J. Scott. 



The committee's primary goal was to develop an integrated, tiered approach to the 

 DAMOS Program focused on addressing specific program objectives and providing 

 information useful for making management decisions. The ideal end-product would be an 

 evolving monitoring program with an iterative feedback linked both to decisions about 

 disposal site management and to screening criteria for dredged material permits. The tiered 

 monitoring plans developed during the TAC workshops were designed to address concerns 

 about the short- and long-term environmental impacts of dredged material disposal, i.e., to 

 assure that disposal activities being managed by NED were in compliance with environmental 

 laws and regulations. 



Open-water disposal is regulated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and 

 Section 103 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act. The language of these 

 laws regarding marine environmental impacts is very general and in essence states that 

 disposal must not cause unreasonable adverse impacts. Therefore, compliance with 

 environmental laws and regulations relating to the disposal of dredged material requires that 

 disposal activities, including the actual presence of dredged material in the region, do not 

 result in significant adverse effects on marine fisheries and other valuable marine resources. 

 How to convert these generally stated but critically important laws and regulations into the 



DAMOS Summary Report, 1985-1990 



