Data collection for the weir discharges would parameters, intervals, and depths shown in Table 30.

TABLE 30

WATER QUALITY SURVEILLANCE CRITERIA

Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l & salinity correct.) weekly

* 3 feet below surface and above bottom, with samples at 6' intervals between.

** Due to the shallow depth of the weir effluent, only one weir outfall sample needs to be taken at each weir outfall.

*** Top = 3' below surface and bottom = 3' above bottom.

The samples would be collected at the outfall end of the weir discharge, as close to the end of the outfall pipe as possible, in the water body receiving the weir discharge in the area of noticeable effects (receiving water sample). If the data indicates either dissolved oxygen or Ph levels below the standards required by the State(s), a sample will be taken in the water body receiving the weir discharge outside of any noticeable effects of the discharge (ambient sample).

During the months of July through September, data collection would be performed at the dredge site for the parameters, intervals, and depths shown in Table 31.

The data shown in Table 31 will be collected at a site which is the same distance from the bank as the dredge and approximately 250 feet down current of the dredge. If the data collected indicates either dissolved oxygen or PH levels below the standards required by the states of Georgia or South Carolina, a sample will be taken at a site which is the same distance from the bank as the dredge and approximately 100 feet up current of the dredge.

In addition to the above data, the following information must be recorded at all stations: date, time, station, tidal stage, current direction, sample depth (feet below surface), air and water temperature, and wind direction and velocity.

If during testing the results reveal a violation of state water quality standards listed below, the investigator would complete the testing at that station in accordance with this monitoring plan, which would require testing at the ambient condition station. The investigator or the contractor would then immediately, within the hour, contact the Savannah District and report the test results. State standards are shown in Table 32.

Construction Constraints for Endangered Species

Endangered or threatened species that might occur in the project area include the Kemp's ridley turtle, green turtle, leatherback turtle, loggerhead turtle, hawksbill turtle, shortnose sturgeon, manatee, finback whale, sei whale, blue whale, humpback whale, right whale, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, Bachman's warbler, Kirkland's warbler, red-cockaded woodpecker, wood stork, piping plover, eastern cougar, and eastern indigo snake.

Preliminary evaluations indicate that deepening can be accomplished without impacting these species provided the conditions listed below for the protection of manatees, sea turtles, and right whales are made a part of the dredging contract. These construction constraints were provided by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

(1) The contractor will instruct all personnel associated with the dredging of the presence of manatees and the need to avoid collisions with the manatees.

(2)

All personnel associated with the dredging will be
advised that there are civil and criminal penalties for
harming, harassing, or killing manatees, which are
protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and
the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

(3) Any collision with a manatee will be immediately reported to the manatee "hotline" (1-800-342-1821) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Brunswick Office at (912) 265-9336.

The contractor will keep a log, detailing sightings,
collisions, or injury to manatees which occur during the
dredging operation.

A report summarizing the above incidents will be
provided to the Savannah District for coordination with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Brunswick Office.

All vessels associated with the project will operate at
"no-wake" speeds at all times while in the water where
the draft of the vessel provides less than 3 feet of
clearance from the bottom, and vessels will follow
routes of deep water to the extent possible.

(7) The contractor will instruct all personnel associated with the dredging of the presence of right whales and the need to avoid collisions with these mammals. The contractor shall also brief all personnel on the habits and behavior of the right whale.

(8)

(9)

(10)

The contractor will be required to restrict dredge and attendant vessel speeds to less than 5 knots during night operations unless daily aerial surveys of the area reveals there are no whales within 15 miles of the project area.

The contractor will be required to post a whale watch and submit a whale watch plan prior to conducting any dredging activities at the site.

All hopper dredging activities shall be completed during the months of December through March when sea turtle abundance is believed to be at its lowest. This dredging window can be adjusted on a channel specific basis if: (1) the Corps can provide sufficient scientific evidence that turtles are not present or that levels of abundance are extremely low during other months of the year, or (2) the Corps can provide evidence that an engineering or operational solution to the problem has been achieved and that turtle mortalities will not result from hopper dredging.

(11) The Corps shall arrange for NMFS approved observers aboard hopper dredges to monitor the hopper spoil, overflow, screening, and dragheads for sea turtles and their remains. Observers shall be aboard the dredges during the months of December and March, and 100 percent coverage is recommended. If no turtle take is observed during December, observer coverage can be terminated during January and February or until there is evidence that turtles have returned to the project area. Weekly summary reports will be submitted to NMFS, Southeast Regional Office, by the observers to assess the monitoring effectiveness and sea turtle takes. During all hopper dredging operations, observers should maintain a watch for right whales during dredge transit to and from the disposal site.

(12)

The hopper dredge shall be equipped with screening or baskets to better monitor the intake and overflow of the dredged materials for sea turtles and their remains. These screens should sample at least 70 percent of the overflow area and should be installed at the applicable area (i.e., the "skimmer funnels," the starboard and port sides of the vessels, etc.). Every effort

possible should be made to effectively sample the turtle parts which travel through the hopper and exit in the overflow material. Inflow screening is recommended whenever possible. New approaches to sampling for turtle parts should be investigated, if possible.

(13) The Corps and NMFS shall develop a protocol for testing and evaluation of new draghead designs and/or deflector devices. At some point in the evaluation process, it will be necessary to test the effectiveness of such devices in channels where sea turtles are present. Thus, testing of promising draghead designs or deflector devices will be permitted outside of the December-March dredging window under carefully monitored conditions. The Corps is responsible for ensuring that applicable permits for scientific research and/or incidental taking are obtained.

(14) A (preliminary) report summarizing the results of the dredging and the sea turtle take must be submitted to the Corps and NMFS within 15 working days of completion of any given dredging project.

Cultural Resources

General Impacts Related to Deepening. The major impact of deepening on cultural resources is not the act of going deeper; it is the expansion of the channel prism horizontally to maintain stable side slopes. For every two feet of depth, each side of the channel must be widened by six feet. Resources affected by deepening would not normally be located on the channel bottom. They would be located on the shoreline and at the top of the channel side slope. Resources would be located on the channel bottom only when they have slid or tumbled down the channel side slope.

Present Dredging Practices. The present authorized channel is 38 feet deep. Present dredging practice provides for dredging to 38 mlw plus 2-4 feet of advance maintenance dredging and two feet of allowable overdepth. In 1983, the inner harbor dredging specifications required four feet of advance maintenance dredging. Therefore, known shoal areas of the channel have been dredged to at least 42 feet and in some places to 44 feet with corresponding expansion of the side slopes.

Deepening Impacts. The three final alternative deepening plans provide for an authorized project depth of -40 feet mlw or -42 feet mlw with zero to four feet of advance maintenance dredging. Deepening may create new impacts to significant cultural resources. Any resources already being impacted by existing dredging practices would be further impacted. Archival research, low-water shoreline survey, and remote sensing underwater surveys are being conducted at this time to identify all potentially significant cultural resources that may be affected by channel deepening.