The Blackstone River Valley, now designated as the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, extends from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island, and has often been considered the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. A variety of industries have been located within the corridor, many of them relying on hydropower from dams along the river. As a result of this industrialization, the Blackstone River has been plagued by a variety of environmental problems, including:

• Degraded water quality, waterfowl habitat, and recreational environment;
• Contaminated sediments;
• Lack of anadromous fish passage; and
• Fluctuating stream flows.

Since 1996, Battelle has assisted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District (NED) with a multidisciplinary, large-scale restoration study of the portion of the river located in Massachusetts. The goals of the study, being conducted in association with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, are to identify environmental restoration needs and opportunities, develop plans and cost estimates for restoration projects, assess benefits and costs of alternative restoration plans, select a recommended watershed restoration plan, and prepare environmental assessments and other documents required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

As part of this study, the Battelle team is in the process of preparing an inventory of restoration opportunities, focusing on habitat sustainability and suitability. Five resource categories were identified for consideration: riparian habitat, wetlands, riparian buffers, streams, and ponds. For the purpose of evaluating the ecological health of each area and to prioritize environmental opportunities, a rapid ecological assessment protocol, or check list, was developed in conjunction with NED. This protocol standardizes the information collected at each area and provides a mechanism for ranking or prioritizing them. The results of this analysis will assist NED in focusing restoration efforts on those portions of the Blackstone River most likely to benefit.

Battelle was also contracted to conduct an Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) of two impoundments along the river that have been identified for possible restoration activities. Previous investigations indicated that sediments from these areas contain elevated levels of some chemicals as a result of historical industrial activity. To evaluate the potential risks, sediment, porewater, and fish tissue samples were collected from each pond and from a reference pond and analyzed for metals, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In addition, toxicity bioassays were conducted and a quantitative analysis of the benthic community was performed. Based on these data, a weight of evidence risk assessment was conducted. The results of the risk assessment indicated that, despite elevated concentrations of sediment-associated contaminants, potential impacts appear to be relatively low, implying that the contaminants present are not bioavailable.

NED and Battelle are currently considering additional bioassays to better understand the physical and chemical conditions controlling bioavailability within the system. For more information please contact Karen Foster at (781) 952-5370 or via e-mail at foster@battelle.org.