Disposal at sea permit application guide: data requirements for dredged material, appendix D

1. Dredge area boundary

You are to submit to the Environment and Climate Change Canada Disposal at Sea Program an electronic file in a Geographic Information System (GIS) compatible format that identifies the boundaries of the area proposed for dredging. This information is to be provided on a single GIS layer and should include the boundary outlines of all dredging units. Dredging units are those volumes of sediments that for reasons relating to contamination and/or physical properties may require individual characterizations and possibly different management options.

• Preferred format: ArcGIS (.shp)
• Acceptable formats: MapInfo (.tab), AutoCAD (.dwg, .dxf), Google Earth (.kml, .kmz)
• Acceptable geographic coordinate system^Footnote1: Latitude and longitude (NAD 83)

2. Dredging activity and dredging volumes

You are to provide a written description of the nature of the dredging that will be undertaken within each dredging unit boundary. This description should confirm whether the proposed dredging activity is maintenance dredging (dredging to ensure that channels, berths or construction works are maintained at their designed dimensions), or capital dredging (dredging for navigation to enlarge or deepen existing channel and port areas or to create new ones; and for engineering purposes).

You are also to submit an estimate of the total place measure volume (in cubic metres) of the material that will be dredged for the purposes of disposal at sea. The estimated total volume of material will require consideration of any additional volumes of material that are associated with over-dredging, side slope dredging, and re-dredging. These volume estimates will be used in determining the total number of samples that will be required within each dredging unit, in preparing the Disposal at Sea permit, and for calculating monitoring fees. You are encouraged to calculate volumes carefully as underestimating dredging volumes is a common error, one that may lead to avoidable permit revisions or regulatory compliance issues.

The table below should be completed for each dredging unit (an Excel worksheet entitled “Dredge worksheet.xls” is available from your Disposal at Sea Program regional office upon request). The table should summarize the following information:

• total area (m²) to be dredged within each dredging unit boundary
• proposed depth of dredge cut within each dredging unit boundary (in metres) and the proposed final grade (in metres below chart datum^Footnote2)
• total place measure volume (m³) to be removed within each dredging unit boundary for the purposes of disposal at sea

3. Proposed sample locations

The total number of required samples should be determined through consultation with Program staff. You should submit a list of all proposed sample locations and sampling techniques to us for review prior to collection of the samples. The list of proposed locations should be submitted in a tabular electronic format (.csv file format) with the coordinates listed in latitude and longitude decimal degrees to 5 decimal in NAD 83. Following completion of the sampling, a list of the final sample collection locations (as recorded by Global Positioning System (GPS) in the field) is to be submitted to the Program.

• Acceptable format: spreadsheet (.csv)

4. Submissions of analytical results

Sediment samples must be sent to an accredited laboratory for analysis, and the resulting laboratory report and quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) data is to be submitted to Program staff for review. In addition, a summary spreadsheet of the laboratory analytical results from the field sampling program must be submitted. The data loading spreadsheet template to be used is available from your nearest Disposal at Sea Program regional office. Please contact your regional office for the most up-to-date version. It is important that the format and structure of the template not be altered. Laboratory results may not be available for all parameters identified in the template; parameters for which there are no data should be left blank. To complete the template, field sampling personnel will be required to record and provide all the following information for each sample:

• site name
  • name of sampling location for example, “Grey Harbour”
• location type, for example, “Load site”
• sample identification (ID)
  • sampling station ID as per the sampling plan
• sample collection date (yyyy-mm-dd)
• sample type: surface or core
  
  • identify whether the sample is a surface sample or a core sample
• sample depths
  • identify the start and end depth of the sample relative to the sediment surface
• identify whether or not the sample was a composite with a "Y" (yes) or "N" (no)
• latitude and longitude coordinates for each sample^Footnote1
• comments
  • any comments regarding the sample for example, if it was a composite sample, which stations were composited, and any other observations such as colour, odour, composition

• Acceptable format: spreadsheet (.csv)

5. Supplementary data

Pre-dredge bathymetry

A variety of types of bathymetric surveys may be available for the dredge area including single beam sonar, sweep sonar, or multibeam sonar. If available, the most recent data should be provided to us to assist in the development of the sampling program and interpretation of the sampling results. Provision of these data can expedite the assessment process and provide valuable baseline data. The bathymetric data should be processed in a hydrographic software package prior to being forwarded to the Program.

• Acceptable format: delimited XYZ format (.xyz, .txt)

Borehole logs

If available, borehole logs and other geotechnical survey results from areas within, and adjacent to, the proposed dredge boundaries should be submitted in support of the sediment sampling information.

• Preferred format: as available

Note: Coordinates for borehole locations should be provided in a tabular format (spreadsheet .csv file format).

Historical sediment chemistry data

Any historical sediment chemistry available for the proposed dredge area should be made available to Program staff to assist in the understanding of conditions at the dredge area(s).

• Preferred format: as available

Photos and video

Photos should be taken in the field of any sediment samples collected and these photos should accompany the laboratory analytical data. The photos should clearly identify the sample ID with which they are associated. In addition, any seafloor video collected at the proposed dredging site can assist in providing a broader understanding of substrate conditions at the dredging area and should also be included as part of the information submitted to Program staff.

• Preferred format: photos (.jpeg, .geotiff); Video (.mpeg, .avi)
• Acceptable format: as available