Summary Of The Ce Epa Field Verification Program

The Field Verification Program, jointly sponsored by the US Army Corps of Engineers (CE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was a 6-year comparative study of three methods of dredged material disposal. The $7.2-million effort evaluated test methods for predicting and assessing environmental impacts of upland disposal, wetland creation, and aquatic disposal as techniques for disposing of dredged material. The objectives of the program were to determine (a) the reproducibility of test methods in the laboratory, (b) the ability of laboratory test methods to predict effects in the field, and (c) the comparative effects of the same dredged material in upland, wetland, and aquatic environments. The program demonstrated that methods of predicting effluent and surface water quality are useful for evaluating whether a particular dredged material is suitable for disposal in an upland site.