The first objective of the September 1997 survey was to document and dehneate the 

 changes in bottom topography of the disposal area relative to July 1996. To continue the 

 development of a containment berm, dredged material was disposed between the existing D 

 and G mounds, forming the I disposal mound. In addition, the I mound was placed so as 

 to cover an isolated area exhibiting apparent low oxygenated conditions and poor recoloni- 

 zation in two of three replicates at one station south of the D mound and east of the G 

 mound during die 1996 REMOTS® survey (Morris 1998). The buoy marking the I mound 

 location was positioned at 40°59.203' N, 73°29.072' W and received approximately 

 35,000 m^ of new sediment during the 1996-97 disposal season. 



The second objective of the monitoring survey was to assess the benthic 

 recolonization status of both the new I mound and the 1996 H mound, relative to two 

 reference areas, SOUTH and SW-REF, surrounding WLIS. This was accomplished 

 through two successive REMOTS® sediment profile surveys. The first was a 

 comprehensive REMOTS® survey conducted in September 1997 over the H and I mounds. 

 In March 1998, five stations near the center of the each mound were profiled and 

 photographed with the REMOTS® camera to assess the health of the benthic community 

 and to compare the results with previous surveys. Both sets of survey data were evaluated 

 on predictions based on previous experience with dredged material monitoring and 

 protocols outlined in the DAMOS Tiered Monitoring Plan (Germano, Rhoads, and Lunz 

 1994). For the September survey, we predicted that the benthic recolonization at the I 

 mound would be in the early stages of recovery due to recent disposal, with a Stage I 

 assemblage predominant on the mound surface. Evidence of advanced Stage III activity 

 should be apparent only in the surficial sediment layers of the WLIS H mound. 

 Amphipods, Stage II organisms, are not typically found in the western Long Island Sound 

 region probably due to the fine grain size of the sediment and depth of the disposal site 

 (>25 m). With the change in seasonal conditions between the September and March 

 surveys, we expected to see greater RPDs depths and reduced biological activity in 

 early March. 



The H mound was formed during the 1995-96 disposal season at 40°59.228' N, 

 73°28.732' W, to the east of the E and F mounds. Based on recorded barge volumes, a 

 total of 15,300 m^ of dredged material from Connecticut and New York waterways was 

 disposed at the site, forming a 1.5 m high disposal mound, approximately 230 m in 

 diameter. The 1996 REMOTS® sediment-profile photography survey detected a solid 

 Stage I pioneering polychaete community with some evidence of Stage III activity, as well 

 as deep RPD depths over the majority of the H mound. 



The benthic conditions of disposal mounds are compared to reference areas. Three 

 reference areas typically are monitored at each DAMOS disposal site. However, only two 



Monitoring Cruise at the WLIS Disposal Site, September 1997 and March 1998 



