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1.
The long-term ecological recovery of an impaired stream in response to an industrial facility’s pollution abatement actions
and the implications of the biological monitoring effort to environmental management is the subject of this special issue
of Environmental Management. This final article focuses on the synthesis of the biological monitoring program’s components and methods, the efficacy
of various biological monitoring techniques to environmental management, and the lessons learned from the program that might
be applicable to the design and application of other programs. The focus of the 25-year program has been on East Fork Poplar
Creek, an ecologically impaired stream in Oak Ridge, Tennessee with varied and complex stressors from a Department of Energy
facility in its headwaters. Major components of the long-term program included testing and monitoring of invertebrate and
fish toxicity, bioindicators of fish health, fish contaminant accumulation, and instream communities (including periphyton,
benthic macroinvertebrate, and fish). Key parallel components of the program include water chemistry sampling and data management.
Multiple lines of evidence suggested positive ecological responses during three major pollution abatement periods. Based on
this case study and the related literature, effective environmental management of impaired streams starts with program design
that is consistent across space and time, but also adaptable to changing conditions. The biological monitoring approaches
used for the program provided a strong basis for assessments of recovery from remedial actions, and the likely causes of impairment.
This case study provides a unique application of multidisciplinary and quantitative techniques to address multiple and complex
regulatory and programmatic goals, environmental stressors, and remedial actions. 相似文献
2.
Linda K. Mann Patricia D. Parr Larry R. Pounds Robin L. Graham 《Environmental management》1996,20(2):207-218
Security buffers of Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DOE) reservations provide long-term habitat protection for many rare and endangered species. The importance of these government-owned reservations as nationally valuable resources has been relatively unrecognized. During the last 50 years, the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) has been a relatively protected island in a region of rapidly expanding urbanization and land clearing. Consisting of the Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park and associated lands surrounding DOE facilities at Oak Ridge Tennessee, the unique nature of the ORR in the surrounding landscape is clearly visible from the air and has been documented using remote sensing data. Although forests dominate much of other regions of eastern Tennessee, this 15,000-ha tract of mostly natural forest habitat is unique in the southern Ridge and Valley physiographic province, which is otherwise widely developed for pasture, marginal cropland, woodlot, and urban uses. Twenty state-listed and federal-candidate plant species are known to be present on the ORR. This richness of species, which are provided protection by state and federal laws, exceeds that of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a species area basis and is an index of the value of the ORR both regionally and nationally in conserving biodiversity. With the end of the Cold War, changing DoD and DOE missions combined with increasing development pressure contribute to uncertainty in the future management of security reservations. 相似文献
3.
Frances Sharples Fred J. Brenner Bruce Piasecki Arthur J. Stewart Helga Van Miegroet 《Environmental management》1990,14(2):279-285
Frances Sharples is a terrestrial ecologist in the Environmental Science Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, operated by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., under Contract No. DE-AC05-840R21400 with the US Department
of Energy. Publication No. 3413, Environmental Sciences Division, ORNL. 相似文献
4.
The long-term Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) has always needed to collect and retain high-quality data on which to base its assessments of ecological status of streams and their recovery after remediation. Its formal quality assurance, data processing, and data management components all contribute to meeting this need. The Quality Assurance Program comprehensively addresses requirements from various institutions, funders, and regulators, and includes a data management component. Centralized data management began a few years into the program when an existing relational database was adapted and extended to handle biological data. The database??s main data tables and several key reference tables are described. One of the most important related activities supporting long-term analyses was the establishing of standards for sampling site names, taxonomic identification, flagging, and other components. The implemented relational database supports the transmittal of data to the Oak Ridge Environmental Information System (OREIS) as the permanent repository. We also discuss some limitations to our implementation. Some types of program data were not easily accommodated in the central systems, and many possible data-sharing and integration options are not easily accessible to investigators. From our experience we offer data management advice to other biologically oriented long-term environmental sampling and analysis programs. 相似文献
5.
David Alexander Frances Sharples Annetta Watson Fred J. Brenner 《Environmental management》1990,14(3):411-414
Frances Sharples is a terrestrial ecologist in the Environmental Sciences Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, operated by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., under Contract No. DE-AC05-840R21400 with the US Department
of Energy. Publication No. 3413, Environmental Sciences Division, ORNL. 相似文献
6.
National Pollution Discharge Elimination Permit (NPDES)-driven effluent toxicity tests using Ceriodaphnia dubia and fathead minnows were conducted for more than 20 years to assess and monitor the effects of wastewaters at the United
States (U.S.) Department of Energy Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12 Complex) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Toxicity testing
was also conducted on water samples from East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC), the wastewater receiving stream, as part of a comprehensive
biological monitoring and assessment program. In this paper, we evaluate the roles of this long-term toxicity assessment and
monitoring program in the management and ecological recovery of EFPC. Effluent toxicity testing, associated toxicant evaluation
studies, and ambient toxicity monitoring were instrumental in identifying toxicant sources at the Y-12 Complex, guiding modifications
to wastewater treatment procedures, and assessing the success of various pollution-abatement actions. The elimination of untreated
wastewater discharges, the dechlorination of remaining wastewater streams, and the implementation of flow management at the
stream headwaters were the primary actions associated with significant reductions in the toxicity of stream water in the upper
reaches of EFPC from the late 1980s through mid 1990s. Through time, as regulatory requirements changed and water quality
improved, emphasis shifted from comprehensive toxicity assessments to more focused toxicity monitoring efforts. Ambient toxicity
testing with C. dubia and fathead minnows was supplemented with less-standardized but more sensitive alternative laboratory toxicity tests and
in situ bioassays. The Y-12 Complex biological monitoring experience demonstrates the value of toxicity studies to the management
of a wastewater receiving stream. 相似文献
7.
In May 1985, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit was issued for the Department of Energy’s Y-12 National
Security Complex (Y-12 Complex) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA, allowing discharge of effluents to East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC).
The effluents ranged from large volumes of chlorinated once-through cooling water and cooling tower blow-down to smaller discharges
of treated and untreated process wastewaters, which contained a mixture of heavy metals, organics, and nutrients, especially
nitrates. As a condition of the permit, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed to meet two major
objectives: demonstrate that the established effluent limitations were protecting the classified uses of EFPC, and document
the ecological effects resulting from implementing a Water Pollution Control Program at the Y-12 Complex. The second objective
is the primary focus of the other papers in this special series. This paper provides a history of pollution and the remedial
actions that were implemented; describes the geographic setting of the study area; and characterizes the physicochemical attributes
of the sampling sites, including changes in stream flow and temperature that occurred during implementation of the BMAP. Most
of the actions taken under the Water Pollution Control Program were completed between 1986 and 1998, with as many as four
years elapsing between some of the most significant actions. The Water Pollution Control Program included constructing nine
new wastewater treatment facilities and implementation of several other pollution-reducing measures, such as a best management
practices plan; area-source pollution control management; and various spill-prevention projects. Many of the major actions
had readily discernable effects on the chemical and physical conditions of EFPC. As controls on effluents entering the stream
were implemented, pollutant concentrations generally declined and, at least initially, the volume of water discharged from
the Y-12 Complex declined. This reduction in discharge was of ecological concern and led to implementation of a flow management
program for EFPC. Implementing flow management, in turn, led to substantial changes in chemical and physical conditions of
the stream: stream discharge nearly doubled and stream temperatures decreased, becoming more similar to those in reference
streams. While water quality clearly improved, meeting water quality standards alone does not guarantee protection of a waterbody’s
biological integrity. Results from studies on the ecological changes stemming from pollution-reduction actions, such as those
presented in this series, also are needed to understand how best to restore or protect biological integrity and enhance ecological
recovery in stream ecosystems. With a better knowledge of the ecological consequences of their decisions, environmental managers
can better evaluate alternative actions and more accurately predict their effects. 相似文献
8.
Walter R. Hill Michael G. Ryon John G. Smith S. Marshall Adams Harry L. Boston Arthur J. Stewart 《Environmental management》2010,45(3):563-576
The effects of pollutants on primary producers ramify through ecosystems because primary producers provide food and structure
for higher trophic levels and they mediate the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and contaminants. Periphyton (attached
algae) were studied as part of a long-term biological monitoring program designed to guide remediation efforts by the Department
of Energy’s Y-12 National Security Complex on East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. High concentrations of
nutrients entering EFPC were responsible for elevated periphyton production and placed the stream in a state of eutrophy.
High rates of primary production at upstream locations in EFPC were associated with alterations in both invertebrate and fish
communities. Grazers represented >50% of the biomass of invertebrates and fish near the Y-12 Complex but <10% at downstream
and reference sites. An index of epilithic periphyton production accounted for 95% of the site-to-site variation in biomass
of grazing fish. Analyses of heavy metals in EFPC periphyton showed that concentrations of zinc, cadmium, copper and nickel
in periphyton decreased exponentially with distance downstream from Y-12. Zinc uptake by periphyton was estimated to reduce
the concentration of this metal in stream water ~60% over a 5-km reach of EFPC. Management options for mitigating eutrophy
in EFPC include additional reductions in nutrient inputs and/or allowing streamside trees to grow and shade the stream. However,
reducing periphyton growth may lead to greater downstream transport of contaminants while simultaneously causing higher concentrations
of mercury and PCBs in fish at upstream sites. 相似文献
9.
Stewart AJ 《Environmental management》2001,27(1):37-46
Correlative relationships exist among conductivity, alkalinity, and hardness in streams due to natural geological and climatological
controls, but the relationships among these three water-quality factors can be altered strongly by inputs of ion-rich wastewaters.
The degree of alteration can be monitored conveniently by use of a simple chemical perturbation index, computed by subtracting
the sum of rank pairwise correlations among the conductivity, alkalinity, and hardness (for observations on each of these
variables, measured through time) from 3.0. The chemical perturbation index can be used to document or characterize spatiotemporal
changes in stream water quality. This study explains the development of the index's concept and provides examples of its application
in an extensive stream monitoring program used to assess ecological conditions in streams on the Department of Energy's Oak
Ridge Reservation in east Tennessee, USA. The chemical perturbation index technique may be particularly useful in community-based
stream monitoring programs because to its simplicity and low cost. 相似文献
10.
We review long-term changes that have occurred in factors affecting water quality in East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC; in East
Tennessee) over a nearly 25-year monitoring period. Historically, the stream has received wastewaters and pollutants from
a major United States Department of Energy (DOE) facility on the headwaters of the stream. Early in the monitoring program,
EFPC was perturbed chemically, especially within its headwaters; evidence of this perturbation extended downstream for many
kilometers. The magnitude of this perturbation, and the concentrations of many biologically significant water-quality factors,
has lessened substantially through time. The changes in water-quality factors resulted from a large number of operational
changes and remedial actions implemented at the DOE facility. Chief among these were consolidation and elimination of many
effluents, elimination of an unlined settling/flow equalization basin, reduction in amount of blow-down from cooling tower
operations, dechlorination of effluents, and implementation of flow augmentation. Although many water-quality characteristics
in upper EFPC have become more similar to those of reference streams, conditions remain far from pristine. Nutrient enrichment
may be one of the more challenging problems remaining before further biological improvements occur. 相似文献
11.
Ryon MG 《Environmental management》2011,47(6):1096-1111
The long-term recovery process for fish communities in a warm water stream in East Tennessee was studied using quantitative
measurements over 20 years. The stream receives effluents from a U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility, but since 1985
these effluents have been greatly reduced, eliminated, or diluted as part of a substantial long-term pollution abatement program.
The resulting changes in water quantity and quality led to a recovery of the fish communities, evidenced by significant changes
in species richness, abundance (density and biomass), and community composition (e.g., number of fish species sensitive to
stress). The fish community changes occurred over a spatial gradient (downstream from the headwater release zone nearest the
DOE facility) and temporally, at multiple sampling locations in the stream. Changes in measured parameters were associated
with specific remedial actions and the intervening steps within the recovery process are discussed with regard to changes
in treatment processes. 相似文献
12.
Carol A. Bloomgarden 《Environmental management》1995,19(5):641-648
Anthropogenic climate climate change presents a unique challenge for endangered species policy and an opportunity for policy
makers to develop a more predictive and robust approach to preserving the nation's biological resources. Biological and ecological
reactions to shifting climate conditions and the potential feedbacks and synergistic effects of such changes may threaten
the well-being of many species, particularly of those already in jeopardy of extinction. The United States Endangered Species
Act of 1973 will fail to keep pace with increasing numbers of species needing protection as long as it remains focused on
protecting species individually. The actmust not be abandoned, however; it holds tremendous promise for preserving biological diversity through a more proactive, anticipatory
perspective. The current Endangered Species Act should be reinforced and improved by better integration of scientific expertise
into habitat and community preservation listing decisions and recovery plan devlopment. Given the uncertainties surrounding
long-term environmental consequences of human activities and resource use, a longer-term perspective must be integrated into
all efforts to protect our biotic resources.
Under appointment from the Graduate Fellowships for Global Change administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and
Ecducation for the US Department of Energy. 相似文献
13.
强化环境监测管理提高环境监测地位 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
段玉红 《中国环境管理干部学院学报》2004,14(4):33-35
总结和回顾了我国环境监测工作开展近三十年来所取得的非凡成绩,阐述了目前环境监测工作同整个环境保护事业相比较,同国外环境监测相比较存在的不足,并进一步提出了以"强化环境监测管理,提高环境监测地位"为核心的几点建议,旨在使我国的环境监测工作能更好地为环境保护和经济建设服务. 相似文献
14.
Environmental Management - Monitoring long-term changes in aquatic biodiversity requires the effective use of historical data that were collected with different methods and varying levels of... 相似文献
15.
Efroymson RA Peterson MJ Giffen NR Ryon MG Smith JG Hargrove WW Roy WK Welsh CJ Druckenbrod DL Quarles HD 《Journal of environmental management》2008,88(4):1452-1470
Habitat valuation methods were implemented to support remedial decisions for aquatic and terrestrial contaminated sites at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) on the US Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, TN, USA. The habitat valuation was undertaken for six contaminated sites: Contractor's Spoil Area, K-901-N Disposal Area, K-770 Scrapyard, K-1007-P1 pond, K-901 pond, and the Mitchell Branch stream. Four of these sites are within the industrial use area of ETTP and two are in the Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement. These sites represent terrestrial and aquatic habitat for vertebrates, terrestrial habitat for plants, and aquatic habitat for benthic invertebrates. Current and potential future, no-action (no remediation) scenarios were evaluated primarily using existing information. Valuation metrics and scoring criteria were developed in a companion paper, this volume. The habitat valuation consists of extensive narratives, as well as scores for aspects of site use value, site rarity, and use value added from spatial context. Metrics for habitat value were expressed with respect to different spatial scales, depending on data availability. There was significant variation in habitat value among the six sites, among measures for different taxa at a single site, between measures of use and rarity at a single site, and among measures for particular taxa at a single site with respect to different spatial scales. Most sites had aspects of low, medium, and high habitat value. Few high scores for current use value were given. These include: wetland plant communities at all aquatic sites, Lepomid sunfish and waterbirds at 1007-P1 pond, and Lepomid sunfish and amphibians at K-901 pond. Aquatic sites create a high-value ecological corridor for waterbirds, and the Contractor's Spoil Area and possibly the K-901-N Disposal Site have areas that are part of a strong terrestrial ecological corridor. The only example of recent observations of rare species at these sites is the gray bat observed at the K-1007-P1 pond. Some aspects of habitat value are expected to improve under no-action scenarios at a few of the sites. Methods are applicable to other contaminated sites where sufficient ecological data are available for the site and region. 相似文献
16.
Sea-level rise: Destruction of threatened and endangered species habitat in South Carolina 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Concern for the environment has increased over the past century, and the US Congress has responded to this concern by passing
legislation designed to protect the nation’s ecological biodiversity. This legislation, culminating with the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, has been instrumental in defining methods for identifying and protecting endangered or threatened species and
their habitats. Current legislation, however, assumes that the range of a protected species will stay constant over time.
This assumption may no longer be valid, as the unprecedented increase in the number and concentration of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere has the potential to cause a global warming of 1.0–4.5°C and a sea-level rise (SLR) of 31–150 cm by the
year 2100. Changes in climate of this magnitude are capable of causing shifts in the population structure and range of most
animal species.
This article examines the effects that SLR may have on the habitats of endangered and threatened species at three scales.
At the regional scale 52 endangered or threatened plant and animal species were found to reside within 3 m of mean sea level
in the coastal stages of the US Southeast. At the state level, the habitats of nine endangered or threatened animals that
may be at risk from future SLR were identified. At the local level, a microscale analysis was conducted in the Cape Romain
National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina, USA, on the adverse effects that SLR may have on the habitats of the American alligator,
brown pelican, loggerhead sea turtle, and wood stork.
Prepared by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA; managed by
Martin Marietta Energy Systems. Inc. for the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-84OR21400. 相似文献
17.
Joanna Burger Charles Powers Michael Gochfeld 《Journal of environmental management》2010,91(12):2707-2716
Many US governmental and Tribal Nation agencies, as well as state and local entities, deal with hazardous wastes within regulatory frameworks that require specific environmental assessments. In this paper we use Department of Energy (DOE) sites as examples to examine the relationship between regulatory requirements and environmental assessments for hazardous waste sites and give special attention to how assessment tools differ. We consider federal laws associated with environmental protection include the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), as well as regulations promulgated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Tribal Nations and state agencies. These regulatory regimes require different types of environmental assessments and remedial investigations, dose assessments and contaminant pathways. The DOE case studies illustrate the following points: 1) there is often understandable confusion about what regulatory requirements apply to the site resources, and what environmental assessments are required by each, 2) the messages sent on site safety issued by different regulatory agencies are sometimes contradictory or confusing (e.g. Oak Ridge Reservation), 3) the regulatory frameworks being used to examine the same question can be different, leading to different conclusions (e.g. Brookhaven National Laboratory), 4) computer models used in support of groundwater models or risk assessments are not necessarily successful in convincing Native Americans and others that there is no possibility of risk from contaminants (e.g. Amchitka Island), 5) when given the opportunity to choose between relying on a screening risk assessments or waiting for a full site-specific analysis of contaminants in biota, the screening risk assessment option is rarely selected (e.g. Amchitka, Hanford Site), and finally, 6) there needs to be agreement on whether there has been adequate characterization to support the risk assessment (e.g. Hanford). The assessments need to be transparent and to accommodate different opinions about the relationship between characterizations and risk assessments. This paper illustrates how many of the problems at DOE sites, and potentially at other sites in the U.S. and elsewhere, derive from a lack of either understanding of, or consensus about, the regulatory process, including the timing and types of required characterizations and data in support of site characterizations and risk assessments. 相似文献
18.
Monitoring of contaminant accumulation in fish has been conducted in East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
since 1985. Bioaccumulation trends are examined over a twenty year period coinciding with major pollution abatement actions
by a Department of Energy facility at the stream’s headwaters. Although EFPC is enriched in many contaminants relative to
other local streams, only polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury (Hg) were found to accumulate in the edible portions
of fish to levels of human health concern. Mercury concentrations in redbreast sunfish were found to vary with season of collection,
sex and size of individual fish. Over the course of the monitoring, waterborne Hg concentrations were reduced >80%; however,
this did not translate into a comparable decrease in Hg bioaccumulation at most sites. Mercury bioaccumulation in fish did
respond to decreased inputs in the industrialized headwater reach, but paradoxically increased in the lowermost reach of EFPC.
As a result, the downstream pattern of Hg concentration in fish changed from one resembling dilution of a headwater point
source in the 1980s to a uniform distribution in the 2000s. The reason for this remains unknown, but is hypothesized to involve
changes in the chemical form and reactivity of waterborne Hg associated with the removal of residual chlorine and the addition
of suspended particulates to the streamflow. PCB concentrations in fish varied greatly from year-to-year, but always exhibited
a pronounced downstream decrease, and appeared to respond to management practices that limited episodic inputs from legacy
sources within the facility. 相似文献
19.
Budget changes, whether positive or negative, in water quality management agencies often mean a change in resources available for water quality monitoring. Many state agencies are currently facing monitoring budget cuts and, as a result, are reevaluating their monitoring programs. Such evaluations make use of a number of information sources, not the least of which are monitoring activities in other states. This article reports results of a survey of all fifty state water quality monitoring programs. Twenty questions were asked in the general areas of fixed-station monitoring, special studies, and biological monitoring. Each state was contacted by telephone at least twice during the survey. Fixed-station monitoring is conducted by 48 of 50 states. An average of 75 stations per state are sampled, generally on a monthly basis. There is a large variation in the way data are analyzed by the states; water quality indices and plots of concentration or loading over time are the most common methods. All but three states conduct special studies, but only seven repeat the studies on a regular basis. Special studies are generally problem specific as opposed to basin oriented. Biological monitoring is performed by 33 states; however, this is an area in which budget cuts are having a noticeable impact. In some cases, biological monitoring is being completely eliminated or suspended. Macroinvertebrate sampling is performed quarterly to biannualiy by 50% of the states; 75% of the states that sample macroinvertebrates do so annually. Periphyton sampling is performed by 33% of the states. Over 50% of the states are in the process of revising, or have revised, their monitoring program during the past five years. However, only four states had a detailed rationale and operating procedure for the entire monitoring system. Results of the survey are, therefore, averages of existing monitoring programs. Average results do not necessarily represent ideal situations, but do give an indication of how states are coping with their monitoring responsibilities. 相似文献
20.
Michael A. Huston Thomas A. Fontaine 《Journal of the American Water Resources Association》1994,30(4):651-661
ABSTRACT: A large storm in December 1990 allowed the evaluation of flood predictions from a hydrologic model (TOPMODEL) that had been previously calibrated on the West Fork of Walker Branch Watershed, a gauged 37.5 ha catchment near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The model predicts both hydrograph dynamics and the spatial distribution of overland flow using an index based on topography. Maximum extent of overland flow during the storm was determined from patterns of leaf litter removal from valley bottoms. Both the flood hydrograph and the extent of overland flow were accurately predicted using model parameters obtained from a three-month period of normal flow conditions during 1983. 相似文献