Environmental studies at a proposed Mid-Atlantic dredged material disposal site

An on-going multidisciplinary study was initiated in 1979 to assess the potential environmental impact of dredged material disposal at a coastal site in the waters off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The field study was designed to develop a baseline data set against which future trend assessment studies can be evaluated after the site becomes active. A major goal of this portion of the assessment program has been to provide a characterization of the magnitude of the natural spatiotemporal variability of biological, chemical and geological processes at the Norfolk Site. Data collected to date indicate that the environmental quality of the Norfolk Site is generally quite good. All data sets are being used to create and continually update multivariate statistical models to allow the detection of future environmental trends which are significantly different from natural patterns. These models have indicated that test dumps monitored in the field did not produce significant effects on water quality.