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Transportation Pile Driving Effects on Fish, Birds and Marine Mammals in Washington State Mark E. Bakeman, Marion Carey, Rick Huey, and Jim Laughlin Washington State Department of Transportation Chinook Salmon Problem Statement Pile driving is a common construction method in freshwater Pile driving Rig and marine environments in Washington. Driving steel piles Disturbance, Injury produces underwater sound waves Steller sea lion Marbled murrelet that can disturb or injure protected fish, birds (marbled murrelet), or marine mammals. The first fish Underwater killed by pile driving were sound waves Credit: WSDOT file documented in 2002. Noise Assessment for Pile Driving Underwater Noise Disturbance and Injury Thresholds Is a major component of determining effects to species in Endangered Species Peak Sound (dB) “Average Sound” level Cumulative Sound Value, sound Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) consultations. root mean square, exposure level, dB dB Large Fish (impact driving) 206 187 Underwater noise thresholds associated with disturbance and injury have been Small Fish (impact driving) 206 183 established (at right), and multiple ESA and MMPA species may occur in the same Marbled Murrelet Injury (impact driving) 202 project area. If thresholds are exceeded and listed species are in the noise zone, Marbled Murrelet Barotrauma (impact driving) 208 take occurs. Take permits may be needed under the ESA and the MMPA. Cetacean Disturbance (vibratory driving) 120 Credit: Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife Credit: Kelly McAllister Credit: National Marine Fisheries Service file SEL rms Steps to Avoid and Minimize Impacts • Conduct project when affected species are not present (seasonal distributions) • Use an attenuation device (bubble curtain) when impact pile driving to reduce peak underwater noise • Use vibratory pile driving versus impact pile driving (to reduce impacts to fish) • Monitor project during pile driving and stop work when animal enters zone of disturbance/injury (only possible for marine mammals and marbled murrelet) Cetacean Disturbance (impact driving) 160 Cetacean Injury (impact driving) 180 Pinniped Disturbance (impact driving) 160 Pinniped Injury (impact driving) 190 Monitoring Project Biologist will determine the distance from the sound source (the pile) to the farthest extent of the area associated with a threshold level. These zones are defined using the Practical Spreading Loss Model. If there are multiple taxa/multiple pile sizes, multiple zones are defined. Monitoring zones can be extensive and may require observers on-land and in boats, which adds to project expense. Injury and disturbance zones for fish, marbled murrelet, and marine mammals for impact and vibratory pile driving, 30 inch steel piles, at the Seattle Ferry Terminal