Development of Sediment Quality Objectives for California Bays and Estuaries

1. Development of Sediment Quality Objectives for California Bays and Estuaries Steven Bay Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) steveb@sccwrp.org Project Update-December 2004

2. Project Organization

3. Direct Effects • Sediment quality database development • Chemical indicator development • Benthic community assessment tool development • Toxicity indicator development • Integration of triad into objectives

4. Database • Completed database QA • Checked every new hand entered study • Verified data from pdf reports and electronic files • Checked relationships among tables • Resolved inconsistencies among data coding • Improved location descriptors • First draft of database distributed in November • Contains highest priority chemistry, bioaccumulation, and toxicity data • 150 studies included • Benthic infauna data table in preparation

5. Database Contents Chemistry Samples From Bays and Estuaries

6. Stations Having Multiple Lines of Evidence Monitoring data for bays and estuaries. Includes 2003 and 2004 studies not yet in database.

7. Stations With Combinations of Direct Effects Indicators Monitoring data for bays and estuaries. Includes 2003 and 2004 studies not yet in database.

8. Stations With Combinations of Toxicity Tests Monitoring data for bays and estuaries in SQO database

9. Chemical Indicators • Revised workplan produced and submitted to SSC • Data summarization and normalization in progress • Standardized toxicity statistics • Chemical sums • Metal and organic contaminant normalization • Developing data quality screening criteria • Investigating spatial and habitat patterns in chemistry • Next step is to establish development and validation datasets

10. Benthic Community Indicators • Revised workplan produced and submitted to SSC • Final analyses to describe biogeographic patterns underway • Assembling database for index refinement • Sample analysis for gear comparison in progress

11. Toxicity Indicators • Workplan in preparation • Will be submitted to SSC by end of December • Analysis of chronic test method comparison data nearly complete • Presented preliminary results at SETAC national conference in November • Each of candidate methods merits further consideration • Developing a plan for interlaboratory comparison studies to be conducted in Feb.-April.

12. Integration of Indicators • Workplan in preparation • Will be submitted to SSC by end of December • Presented Multiple Line of Evidence framework at Oct. Advisory Committee meeting

13. Indirect Effects Indicators • Development of chemistry indicators based on biota-sediment accumulation models • Revised workplan produced and submitted to SSC • Literature review of effects threshold values for wildlife and fish • Data compilation and screening for evaluation of empirical bioaccumulation models • Calculating sediment-biota regressions for fish and invertebrates

14. Indirect Effects Indicators • Planning committee established to assist in design of case studies • Representatives from: • OEHHA, Regional Boards, CA DFG, NOAA, DTSC, EPA, USFWS, Port of Oakland • Met in November to discuss key elements • Target species • Food webs • Effects thresholds