RESEARCH PROGRAM FOCUS AND OBJECTIVE

The LEDO Program focuses on cost-effective, environmentally responsible techniques for dredging and dredged material disposal in aquatic, wetland, and upland environments. Current research emphasizes risk-based procedures for effects assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. The Program objective is to provide the latest proven technologies for identifying, quantifying, and managing contaminated sediments in support of cost-effective, environmentally responsible navigation.

BENEFITS AND IMPACTS

Recent accomplishments and major end-products:

The primary benefit is a more timely, complete, and cost-effective execution of the Corps' responsibilities under the Clean Water Act (CWA), Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). This R&D program is providing significant cost avoidances for achieving restoration goals for contaminated dredged material disposal as mandated by law. Recent major products include:

• A chronic/sublethal and genotoxic assay that meets national regulatory requirements.
• National guidance for confined disposal facility (CDF) contaminant loss assessment procedures. The guidance document was established as Corps policy to meet regulatory mandates.
• A new analytical screening method that measures bioavailable dioxin and similar compounds with a 90% reduction of cost and time required by previous methods.
• The Environmental Residue Effects Database (ERED), the first WWW-accessible database of bioaccumulation effects to improve the accuracy and defensibility of environmental impact predictions while significantly reducing evaluation costs.

Specific examples of benefits or value-added to district projects and CW program:

• Since the bioaccumulation interpretation database is Web-accessible, it is immediately and cost-effectively available to all district projects in need of contaminated material assessment. Recent costs for the disposal of contaminated dredged material in New York Harbor could have been reduced by 90%, had the database been available.

UNDER DEVELOPMENT

Anticipated major R&D products, benefits, and their impacts:

LEDO technologies under development will assist CE Districts and other public and private sectors to carry out their dredging and dredged material disposal responsibilities in total accord with the rules and regulations of CWA, MPRSA, and RCRA. These technologies include:

• The first-ever population dynamics model to interpret chronic/sublethal toxicity bioassays to allow significantly improved decision-making in placing contaminated dredged material.
• Technology to quantify volatile losses from aged sediments typically found in CDFs in order to reduce airborne contaminant losses from the facility.
• Procedures to quantify and manage CDF surface water runoff to reduce transmission of contaminants outside the CDF.