3.2.3 Dredged Material Characteristics

3.2.3 Dredged Material Characteristics

The general characteristics of the dredged material should be described from

the perspective of factors that might indicate the presence, type, and mobility of

COC in the material. Such factors may include, for example:

Area from which the material will be dredged.

Land use in the watershed and local area surrounding the source.

Known spills or discharges in the area.

Physical characteristics of the material (grain-size distribution, water

content, plasticity indexes, etc.).

Volume of material to be dredged.

Dredging schedule.

Project dredging history.

Salinity at the dredging site.

Maintenance or new work material.

Method of dredging and placement.

3.2.4 Identifying Relevant Pathways

Once the site and CDF characteristics are identified, every migration pathway

for which COC may be of concern should be evaluated for relevance before

proceeding further in the tiered testing process. The nature of each pathway

should be considered in relation to the CDF characteristics (Section 3.2.2) and

dredged material characteristics (Section 3.2.3). The purpose at this initial stage

is to eliminate pathways that clearly do not warrant evaluation; unless this is clear,

the evaluation should continue. Examples in which pathways would not warrant

evaluation include situations such as the following:

If the CDF will be paved when the project being evaluated is completed,

runoff, volatilization, and direct uptake pathways would not warrant

evaluation for that project. However, these pathways may warrant

evaluation for projects that will not be paved upon completion or during

filling prior to paving.

If the frequency of CDF use will be sufficient to keep plants and animals

from becoming established within the CDF, the direct uptake pathways

would not warrant evaluation.

3-4

Chapter 3

Initial Evaluations