Battelle Sediments 2023

We are experts in all sediment-related environmental work. From mapping to remediation, our scientists and engineers have a lot to talk about. At the Battelle Sediments Conference in Austin, Texas, we have a wonderful mix of short courses, panelists, presentations, and posters. Please see below and don’t forget to stop by our booth when you’re at the event.

Short Course

January 9, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Evaluating Sediment Transport: Best Practices, Tools, Techniques, and Application to Site Management

• • Presenters: Craig Jones, Ph.D. and Grace Chang, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA)

This course will focus on common site management questions that require information on sediment erosion, deposition, and stability to enable planning and design of measures or interventions. These questions will be presented in the context of a generic CSM for sediment transport to illustrate how sediment stability relates to overall site management. The most commonly employed devices and techniques for characterizing sediment beds will be presented, as well as highlighting specific features of each method. The focus will move on to a more detailed description of site-specific measurements. How common field and analytic tools and techniques can be integrated to provide information that is of direct use in answering site management questions will be discussed. The second half of the course will focus on quantitative numerical modeling. The afternoon will cover model selection based on problem specification, model development, reliability and application and focus on developing a technically rigorous hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling effort that minimizes uncertainty while maximizing efficiency in addressing sediment management-related questions.

Panel Discussion

January 12

The Intersection of Environmental Justice and Contaminated Sediment Investigation and Remediation

During the last two years, the White House and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have placed Environmental Justice (EJ) at the center of U.S. federal strategy. Join Integral Consulting’s Miranda Henning where she will moderate a discussion among consultants, regulators, industry, and legal counsel to explore opportunities and successes to apply EJ principles in the investigation and remediation of contaminated sediment sites in the U.S. and Canada.

• • Moderator: Miranda Henning, BCES (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, ME)
  • Panelists: Matthew Tejada (U.S. EPA), Roger Santiago (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Bridgette DeShields (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Rosa, CA), Jeffrey Talbert, J.D. (PretiFlaherty), Tokesha Collins Wright (Louisiana Chemical Association), Mary Kelly, MES (Agnico Eagle Mines)
  • Time & Location: 1:00-2:40 p.m., Lone Star C

Session Chairs

January 10

Contaminant Fate and Transport in Sediments

• • Chairs: Craig Jones, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), Solomon Gbondo-Tugbawa (WSP)
  • Session: B3 Contaminant Fate and Transport in Sediments

January 11

Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport

• • Chairs: Kara Scheu, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, OR), James Wands (HDR Inc.)
  • Session: B5 Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport

Environmental Justice Considerations in Sediment Projects

• • Chairs: Miranda Henning, BCES (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, ME), Roger Santiago (Environment and Climate Change Canada)
  • Session: C8 Environmental Justice Considerations in Sediment Projects

Platform Presentations

January 10

Bioremediation and Phytoremediation of an Oil-Contaminated Salt Marsh in South Louisiana

Traditional remediation methods for oil-contaminated soils (i.e., excavation and backfilling) may cause more harm than benefit in the fragmented coastal wetland system of South Louisiana. Bioremediation and phytoremediation methods present an opportunity for a non-destructive approach to achieving cleanup and restoring critical coastal habitat. Join Integral Consulting where we will review our monitoring results from the first year of assessment to demonstrate an increase in nutrient levels from baseline conditions, which included marsh plant growth, enhanced phytoremediation and coverage of denuded areas.

• • Presenter: Lance Fontenot, Ph.D., PWS (Integral Consulting Inc., Baton Rouge, LA)
  • Coauthor: Michele Abbene (Integral Consulting Inc., Baton Rouge, LA), Coklin Nyguyen, ENCOS, Inc, Chris Sanfilippo, Texas Petroleum Investment Co.
  • Session: E1 Sediment Bioremediation
  • Time & Location: 9:15 a.m., Lone Star H

Marsh-Waterway Exchange of Methylmercury at Berry’s Creek Study Area, NJ

Integral Consulting performed a study to understand mercury and methylmercury transport and exchange mechanisms across geomorphological components of the Berry’s Creek Study Area (BCSA) (New Jersey), Join us where we will answer the question, “Does methylmercury transport and cycling in the BCSA fit the paradigm of marsh export to the estuary?”

• • Presenter: Grace Chang, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Coauthors: Craig Jones, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), Todd Martin (Integral Consulting Inc., Salt Lake City, UT)
  • Session: B3 Contaminant Fate and Transport in Sediments
  • Time & Location: 3:30 p.m., Lone Star C

January 11

Using SEDflume to Assess Sediment Amendment Stability

• • Presenter: Samuel McWilliams, E.I.T. (Integral Consulting Inc., San Francisco, CA)
  • Coauthors: Craig Jones, Ph.D (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), Kristine Carbonneau and Ravi Damera (AECOM)
  • Session: D4 In Situ Treatment Amendments
  • Time & Location: 9:40 a.m., Lone Star G

The Intersection of Risk Assessment, Risk Communication and Environmental Justice

According to the EPA,¹ Environmental Justice takes into account “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies”.  Join us as Integral Consulting examines the EJ assessment and framework to demonstrate how you can assess disproportionate adverse impacts, consider those in decision-making, conduct risk communication and community engagement, and design mitigations. ¹Learn About Environmental Justice | US EPA

• • Presenter: Bridgette DeShields (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Rosa, CA)
  • Coauthors: Mala Pattanayek (Integral Consulting Inc., San Francisco, CA)
  • Session: C8 Environmental Justice Considerations in Sediment Projects
  • Time & Location: 3:55 p.m., Lone Star F

January 12

Demonstrating Sediment Recovery in Portland Harbor through PCB Temporal Trends

PCB sediment cleanup levels and remedial action levels for the Portland Harbor Superfund Site (PHSS) in Oregon are among the most restrictive of any CERCLA site. The 2017 Record of Decision (ROD) calls for more than 350 acres of active remediation to achieve these low levels. Following the ROD, the 2018 Predesign Investigation surface sediment sampling (655 samples in PHSS) showed significant recovery since 2004; however, this finding was dismissed by EPA.  Join Integral Consulting as we discuss our analysis to document the extent of ongoing natural recovery in the River Mile Two East Project Area using data across the full 25-year period of available data (1997-2022).

• • Presenter: Kat Ridolfi (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Rosa, CA)
  • Coauthors: Nicole Ott, Linda Baker, Melanie Edwards (Integral Consulting Inc., Seattle, WA), and Eben Pendleton (formerly of Integral Consulting Inc.), Debbie Deetz Silva (EVRAZ NA, Inc.)
  • Session: D9 Sediment Management in the Northwest Region
  • Time & Location: 1:25 p.m., Lone Star G

Posters

Group 1

Use of SPI Technology to Quantitatively Evaluate the Effects of Carp Removal on Surface Sediment Conditions in a Michigan Lake

Bottom-feeding activities by fish such as carp, which are known bioturbators, can result in surface sediment disturbance, decreased water quality, and reductions in bed stability. A baseline sediment profile imaging (SPI) survey was conducted in Lake Allegan, Michigan, with the goal of documenting physical, geochemical, and biological conditions in lakebed sediments (0 to 30 cm). Join Integral Consulting as we discuss the results of the analysis and how, following a successful carp management program, a subsequent SPI survey would allow a comparison of surface sediment disturbance, lakebed consolidation/stability, and geochemical conditions relative to the abundance of carp

• • Authors: Gene Revelas (Integral Consulting Inc., Olympia, WA), Louise Venne (Wood, Kennesaw, GA), Stefan Wodzicki (Integral Consulting Inc., Olympia, WA), Grace Chang, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), Phil Pauquette and Cynthia Draper (Wood, Kennesaw, GA)
  • Session: A1 Innovative Characterization and Assessment Approaches

Permitting Constraints and Their Influence on Remedial Design

Policies and regulations that govern dredging, the placement of fill, and other in-water work activities, as well as consultations with natural resource agencies and historic preservation offices can have a significant impact on remedy design for contaminated sediment sites. Join Integral Consulting where we will demonstrate how a constraints analysis can help to guide the alternatives analysis and remedial design and avoid unanticipated and possibly unnecessary costs and delays.

• • Authors: Bridgette DeShields (Integral Consulting Inc., San Francisco, CA), Kathryn Purcell (Port of San Francisco)
  • Session: C4 Remedial Cleanup Objectives and Approaches for Optimized Remedial Development

Multiple Lines of Evidence to Support 3-Dimensional Delineation of a Historical Dredge Prism

Site-specific historical documentation is not always available to inform conceptual site models. Join Integral Consulting as we discuss our development of a 3-dimensional model of project site near the suspected location of an Army Corps of Engineers’ 1967 dredge event to estimate the historically dredged footprint and refine the project conceptual model without the use of as-built documentation of the dredge.

• • Authors: Logan Uselman, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Salt Lake City, UT), Carolyn Huynh (Integral Consulting Inc., Seattle, WA), Debbie Deetz Silva (EVRAZ Inc. NA)
  • Session: B2 Geospatial Data Evaluation and Data Visualization

Group 2

What Do Data Snapshots Miss?

The physical dynamics of a contaminated sediment site govern the dispersal and transport of contaminants, the stability of sediments over time, and the efficacy of remedial design.  Join Integral Consulting as we discuss our diagnostic hydrodynamic and sediment transport model evaluating complex surface water flow dynamics downstream of the Multnomah Channel diversion on the Willamette River.

• • Authors: Kara Scheu, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, OR), Sam McWilliams, E.I.T. (Integral Consulting Inc., San Francisco, CA), Craig Jones, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), and Linda Baker (Integral Consulting Inc., Seattle, WA)
  • Session: B5 Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport

Environmental Justice Screening Tools: Powerful Platforms with Potential Pitfalls

There are now more than 20 federal and state screening tools available to identify Environmental Justice (EJ) communities and to assist regulators and companies in incorporating EJ considerations into regulatory and business processes.  Join Integral Consulting as we present a hypothetical case study of a contaminated sediment site to compare some of the most prominent EJ screening tools.

• • Authors: Jonathan Zadra, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Salt Lake City, UT), Heather Summers (Integral Consulting Inc., Annapolis, MD), Dave Anning, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), Maryann Welsch (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, ME)
  • Session: C8 Environmental Justice Considerations in Sediment Projects

A Novel Approach for Evaluating Optimal Groundwater-Surface Water Discharge Monitoring Periods for Source Control Evaluation in Portland Harbor

Responsible parties are evaluating the effectiveness of groundwater source control at dozens of industrial facilities along the Portland Harbor Superfund Site (PHSS).  For source control evaluation, parties are conducting temporal groundwater seepage studies to evaluate the groundwater and chemical flux from upland sites to PHSS sediments.  The results of the evaluation provided more than 2 years of data that were evaluated to select optimal seasons for seepage meter monitoring.

• • Authors: David Livermore, R.G., L.H.G. (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, OR), Adam Pomeroy (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, OR), Eron Dodak, R.G, L.H.G. (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, OR) and M. Pinto
  • Session: B4 Groundwater/Sediment/Surface Water Interactions

Effects of Dam Removal Sediment Releases on Coastal Lagoon Dynamics and Ecosystems

• • Authors: Craig Jones, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), Kara Scheu, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, OR), Samuel McWilliams, E.I.T. (Integral Consulting Inc., San Francisco, CA), David Revell, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Session: B5 Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport

Application of Sediment Erodibility Measurements in Site Characterization

Sediment transport processes are often the primary mechanisms for the movement of contaminants of concern at environmental sites. Persistent contaminants are generally sorbed to sediment that deposits to the sediment bed over time, yet remain at risk of transport due to future resuspension events. Join Integral Consulting as we discuss an erodibility characterization methodology that provides a range of data from which to calibrate the model and conduct sensitivity analysis of the site’s response to changing bed parameters.

• • Authors: Samuel McWilliams, E.I.T. (Integral Consulting Inc., San Francisco, CA), Craig Jones, Ph.D. (Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA), Jason Magalen (Solmar Hydro, Portland, OR)
  • Session: B5 Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport

Long-Term Ecological Monitoring of New Bedford Harbor over 28 Years

• • Authors: Maryann Welsch (currently Integral Consulting Inc., Portland, ME, but formerly AECOM), W illiam Humphries (AECOM)
  • Session: D5 Long-Term Monitoring Strategies