TA9 Ecological Risk Assessment and Landscape Ecological Modeling
D137-140
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Tuesday
() Developing Watershed-Based Cleanup Plans for Sinclair and Dyes Inlets, Washington.
Johnston, R1, Sherrell, G2, Leisle, D2, Kendra, W3, Lawrence, S.3, May, C4, Ostrom, T5, Zimny, J6, Meriwether, F7, 1 Marine Environmental Support Office - NW, Bremerton, WA, USA2 Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, WA, USA3 Washington Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA, USA4 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sequim, WA, USA5 Suquamish Tribe, Suquamish, WA, USA6 Kitsap County Health District, Bremerton, WA, USA7 Washington Department of Health, Olympia, WA, USA
ABSTRACT- Sinclair and Dyes Inlets, Washington were listed on the 1998 303(d) list of impaired waters because of fecal coliform (FC) contamination in the marine waters and metals and organic contaminants in bottom sediments and fish tissues. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Department of Ecology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and local stakeholders are working together on Project ENVVEST (an acronym for ENVironmental InVESTment) to address contamination issues and develop water cleanup plans for the watershed. Significant progress has been made on the FC Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study for Sinclair and Dyes Inlets, which has benefited from the collaboration and cooperation of many stakeholders within the watershed. Currently, the FC model verification sampling for the TMDL study is being planned and storm water flow monitoring is being initiated for representative storm water outfalls within the study area. Considerable progress has been made on modeling the watershed and receiving waters within the Inlet. The modeling studies have directly contributed to the recent reclassification of Northern Dyes Inlet (about 1500 acres) from prohibited to conditionally approved for shellfishing by the Washington State Department of Health. Further progress has also been achieved for storm event sampling of streams, watershed monitoring, and conducting a sediment metals verification study. Additional studies are being conducted to evaluate contamination accumulation in the food chain of Sinclair and Dyes Inlets by analyzing species of fish and invertebrates from Sinclair Inlet and reference areas in the Puget Sound for metals, polychlorinated biphenyls, and pesticides.
Key words: modeling, water cleanup plan, watershed assessment, ecorisk assessment