Great Lakes Upland Testing and Evaluation for Beneficial Use

Project activities
The project objective was to build regional consensus on technical guidance for testing and evaluating dredged material and to incorporate such guidance into a draft manual to be used by state resource agencies to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of proposed projects involving beneficial use of dredged material in upland environments.

All elements of this project built on the technical and policy work undertaken by the Great Lakes Commission's Beneficial Use Task Force, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Great Lakes Dredging Team (GLDT). Project deliverables included the following: a detailed work plan; an annotated bibliography (.pdf); and a briefing paper (.pdf) that includes recommended testing and evaluation methods and procedures as well as a detailed scope of work for preparing the upland beneficial use testing and evaluation manual.

1. Establish Project Management Team
   The Great Lakes Commission assembled a Project Management Team (PMT) comprised of experts from relevant state and federal resource/environmental agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and the U.S EPA, among others. The GLDT served in an advisory capacity to the project management team, overseeing the process and products developed under this project. The Great Lakes Commission served as the project secretariat to the PMT. State and federal experts on the PMT worked closely with the project secretariat in developing the project deliverables, including contents and format. State-led participation in developing project materials was important to ensure that the final products complemented existing policies and could be incorporated into new policies where necessary.
   


2. Develop Detailed Work Plan
   Significant state participation and federal technical assistance was required for this project. A detailed work plan helped to ensure effective project implementation.



3. Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography (.pdf)
   Information on dredged material testing and evaluation for upland applications were assembled from a variety of sources and compiled into an annotated bibliography. Sources included technical documents developed by state agencies, WES, private consultants and agencies and organizations from abroad. Examples include the National Upland Manual (USACE, WES, in preparation), which focuses on all types of upland placement of dredged material (e.g., disposal as well as beneficial uses) and documents from the Wisconsin PCB Soil Criteria Group, which is using procedures to evaluate risks posed by PCBs in soils. Published and unpublished documents containing accepted evaluation techniques, including risk assessment procedures and laboratory/field data, have been included.



4. Development of the Dredged Material Testing and Evaluation Guidance Manual for Upland Beneficial Use (.pdf)
   After relevant information was assembled into the annotated bibliography, conference calls and in-person briefings were held to discuss the methods and procedures identified through Task #3. The PMT then determined which procedures and techniques have the greatest potential for application among Great Lakes jurisdictions. Project staff will sought consensus on those methods and procedures for inclusion in a testing and evaluation manual for upland beneficial uses. This manual includes recommended testing and evaluation proceduresl.