December 2000

Summary Study: Benthic Invertebrate Community

In the wake of the April 2000 Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) pipeline oil spill near Benedict, Maryland, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) are conducting a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA), which involves implementing studies to identify and quantify injured resources and services. This fact sheet provides summary information about one of the studies.

Study Objective

This project documents benthic invertebrate community abundance and assesses the degree and extent of injury from the oil spill.

Methodology Overview

Three individual studies are being conducted in different habitats:

• The subtidal habitat of Swanson Creek and the Patuxent River and its tributaries;
• The intertidal mudflats of the tributaries;
• The intertidal marsh habitat of the tributaries.

Subtidal samples were collected using standard protocols similar to those used in the Chesapeake Bay Benthic Monitoring Program. Intertidal samples were collected using standard core sampling techniques. All samples were sieved using 0.5-mm screen and sieve contents were preserved in 10-percent buffered formalin. Laboratory processing will include animal identification and results will be used to compare the benthic community abundance and diversity in areas impacted by the spill with unaffected background areas. For example, the subtidal sample results will be assessed using the Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) developed for monitoring the health of the benthic community in the Chesapeake Bay.

Status

The intertidal mudflat survey took place in September 2000, and intertidal marsh sampling was conducted in July and September 2000. These samples are being processed in the laboratory. Once processed, results will be evaluated to assess potential injury.

Investigators

The general sampling approach for assessing impact was developed by the NRDA Council, which includes NOAA, FWS, MDNR, MDE, ST Services, and PEPCO. The subtidal sampling plan was developed and implemented by Versar, Inc., as an investigative component of its long-term monitoring program of the Chesapeake Bay benthic invertebrate community. The Academy of Natural Sciences prepared and implemented the intertidal mudflat sampling plan. Marsh biologists representing NOAA, FWS, MDNR, MDE, ST Services, and PEPCO jointly developed and implemented the intertidal marsh study.

For More Information

Contact one of the following individuals or visit a web site for more information.

NOAA

Jim Hoff
Lisa Pelstring
NOAA Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program
1305 East West Highway
Building 4, Room 10218
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.713.3038 x195
Fax 301.713.4387

This summary is meant to provide only an overview. More information on NRDA studies can be found in the Swanson Creek administrative record located at the following sites:

Light Point Commerce Center 30383 Three Notch Road Charlotte Hall, MD 301.290.0946 1.800.685.1266 fax 301.290.0943 Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Calvert Industrial Park 230 Bugeye Square Prince Frederick, MD 202.721.5009 Fax 202.721.5028 Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Information Resource Center Maryland Department of Natural Resources 580 Taylor Avenue, B–3 Annapolis, MD 21401 410.260.8830 Fax 410.260.8951 Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.