(18,310 m 3 ). The cap materials from both projects, coarse- and fme-grained, were released 

 concurrently, confounding physical differentiation between the silt/clay contaminated material 

 and the silt/clay and sand cap. Additional material (about 2,700 m 3 ) from a project at the 

 Merrills Marine Terminal was released at the same location during late June and early July 

 1992. 



Once finished, the capping project was expected to cover the material that was 

 unsuitable for unconfined open ocean disposal with at least 30 cm of cap. Because the cap 

 material was released at the site within a few months of the survey, the benthic community 

 around the buoy was expected to be in a relatively early stage of colonization, with the 

 frequency of Stage I organisms at the buoy being greater than at the reference areas. 



Monitoring Cruise at the Portland Disposal Site, July 1992 



