U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
A BRIEF OUTLINE
OF A STUDY OF SEWAGE SLUDGE DUMPING
IN THE NEW YORK BIGHT
D. J. Baumgartner
PACIFIC NORTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
An Associate Laboratory of
National Environmental Research Center—Corvallis
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A BRIEF OUTLINE
OF A STUDY OF SEWAGE SLUDGE DUMPING
IN THE NEW YORK BIGHT
by
D. J. Baumgartner
Presented at
a Joint Meeting of
The New York District Corps of Engineers
and
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
at
Rockville, Maryland
September 12, 197*.
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A BRIEF OUTLINE OF A STUDY OF SEWAGE
SLUDGE DUMPING IN THE NEW YORK BIGHT*
by
D. J. Baumgartner**
INTRODUCTION:
The National Coastal Pollution Research Program, one of EPA's
major marine research organizations, has recently intiated a research
project consisting of a number of interrelated studies of domestic sewage
sludge dumping in the New York Bight.
The purpose of the project is to aid in understanding and predicting
both the fate of sewage sludge discharged into a near-shore ocean
environment, and the ecosystem alterations which result.
The information specific to the study area may be of considerable
immediate use to state, local, and federal agencies charged with the
responsibility to regulate sludge dumping practices in the Bight.
Besides generating this local knowledge, new and improved techniques
will be sought to aid in regulating ocean dumping of other materials
on a Nationwide scale. Practical aspects of regulation which may be
enhanced through this research effort include: (1) procedures for
pre-discharge evaluation of material proposed for dumping, (2) techniques
for selection of safe discharge methods and locations, and (3) methods
for evaluation of time-dependent ecosystem alterations.
*Presented at a joint meeting of the New York District Corps of Engineers,
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, September 12, 1972,
Rockville, Maryland, to discuss research, water quality, and sludge dumping
related to the New York Bight.
**Chief, National Coastal Pollution Research Program, Pacific Northwest
Environmental Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection
Agency, (EPA), 200 S.W. 35th St., Corvallis, Oregon 97330.
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PARTICIPANTS:
The overall direction of the study is provided by the staff of the
National Coastal Pollution Research Program of EPA, who also are the
principal scientific participants in the field and laboratory work.
One phase of the study will be conducted through a research grant
of the National Coastal Pollution Research Program to the U.S. Navy,
Environmental Prediction Facility at Monterey, California.
The NOAA Sandy Hook Marine Laboratory is providing assistance as a
base of operations for field studies and some vessel time. Additional
vessel time, sampling assistance, analytical service, and liaison with
the Corps of Engineers and the City of New York are being provided by
the Surveillance and Analysis Division of EPA's New York Regional Office.
NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY:
A selected amount and type of digested domestic sewage sludge will
be discharged under varying controlled conditions in a designated location
of the New York Bight. The site tentatively selected with the assistance
of several of the participants is about 15 miles south of Fire Island,
where the depth is approximately 100 feet (latitude 40° 25' N, longitude
73° 11' W) (see Figure 1). As far as can be determined at this time,
the site is essentially free of major influence from the present sludge
dumping area.
Sludge from a number of New York City treatment plants is being
analyzed for a large number of chemical parameters to aid in selecting
the one (or ones) deemed most suitable for the experimental program.
Sludge of essentially domestic origin is desired, based on the assumptions
that absence of chemicals associated with industrial activities will
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(1) lessen the chance of long-term environmental alteration of the
experimental disposal site, (2) allow for broader application of the
results to other areas concerned with the effects of municipal sewage
sludge disposal, and finally (3) reduce the chance of abrupt and unknown
variations in chemical, physical, and biological character of the sludge.
An ecosystem evaluation of a control volume surrounding the disposal
site will begin in December, which will eventually consist of current
meters, sediment traps, sea-bed and surface drifters, transmissometers,
and the collection of cores, benthic organisms, and water column and
surface film samples for laboratory analysis.
Following a period for satisfactory pre-discharge evaluation of
the area, a series of controlled dumpings will be arranged based on
calculations of expected distribution and bottom accumulation patterns.
Field observations of particle transport, film formation, and settling
will be made during and after the barge dumping operations along with
measurements of ecological alteration. Various methods of sludge off-
loading will be investigated, if possible, to determine those which
cause a minimum impact on the environment.
Crucial to the planning, field study, and evaluation phases is a
study of circulation patterns in the Bight which will be made possible
by work already underway at Monterey to develop the capability for
computer simulation of the local current and dispersion characteristics.
Simulated discharges will be evaluated prior to prototype discharges,
and, if possible, chemical and biological interactions will be evaluated
in addition to the transport and dispersion calculations. The models
will be tuned on the basis of the experimental results. The models
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being developed for this study will cover different sections of the
coastal regions affecting the Bight and will be of different scales.
The limits of the largest model, the "shelf" model are shown in Figure
1 along with the approximate location of the proposed experimental
dumping site. This model contains 1974 segments, each 3 nautical miles
on a side. Both single layer and two layer circulation and dispersion
will be simulated. As shown in Figure 2 more detailed modeling within
any 3 n.m. grid can be provided by applying the output of the shelf
model as input to a smaller grid. This may be necessary in order to
evaluate localized effects, although other models are in our repertoire
for this work. Figures 3 and 4 show limits for the "outer harbor" and
"inner harbor" models which will be developed in the study.
TIMING:
(a) Selection of experimental dumping site: Tentative location
and approval of Corps of Engineers has been obtained.
(b) Coastal flushing model: Study was initiated July 1, 1972,
and is scheduled for completion in twelve to eighteen months.
(c) Evaluation of sludges: Laboratory analysis was started in
July on samples of sludge from two New York City plants. Tentative
selection date is June 1973.
(d) Pre-discharge evaluation of site: To be initiated in October
1972. Evaluation will be conducted at a number of sites in decreasing
proximity to the experimental dumping site so that a gradient of
responses may be observed. The termination date for the "pre" evaluation
cannot be set until we have some idea of the temporal and spatial
variation of ecologically-significant parameters observed in the study
area. A rough guess would be one year.
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(e) Commence controlled dumping: Negotiations have not yet been
initiated with the City of New York or any other potential supplier of
sludge. This will be an expensive operation lasting over a year or more
and is, of course, the sine qua non of the experiment. The exact date
of commencement hoped for cannot be set until pre-discharge evaluation
is completed. The earliest date would seem to be October 1973.
(f) Post-discharge evaluation: This will commence with the first
controlled discharge and will continue throughout the period of discharge.
A period of observation following the cessation of controlled dumping
should continue for approximately another year.
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41° —
40° N
APPROXIMATE SITE
LOCATION
Figure 1.—"Shelf model limits In g
relation to experimental!
^ dumping site 1n New Yorkl
°4, Bight. I
I 1
1 I
j I
. 7fi°W
74°
73C
72*
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41°
40° N
APPROXIMATE
LOCATION
^3—
Figure 2.—Grid for detailed modeling of
experimental dumping site 1n
New York Bight.
I i
I I
75°W
74°
73'
72'
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i
oo
i ran 1
APPROXIMATE SITE
LOCATION
KILOMETERS
0 90
Figure 3.— Outer harbor model limits,
New York Bight study.
0 30
NAUTICAL MILES
I I I I
40° N —
75°W
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4!"
40° N
APPROXIMATE SITE
LOCATION
KILOMETERS
0 90
0 30
NAUTICAL MILES
Figure 4.--Inner harbor model limits.
New York 31ght study.
I i i
J.
I I
i I
75°W
74«
73«
72«
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