**Acting Director P. Patrick Leahy Remarks at the 21^st^ Annual
Conference on Soils, Sediments and Water; theme "Expediting and
Economizing Cleanups," Amherst, Massachusetts, October 18, 2005**

Happy to be here today.

Let's forget the original title "Marketing Science in an Unfriendly
Environment": this doesn't seem like an unfriendly environment!

But in some ways I am marketing science---I'm here to tell you about the
USGS role in understanding environmental conditions and the data and
information we produce that can help you do your jobs more effectively.

And the USGS as a whole is marketing science, working proactively to
extend the use of science in support of societal decision-making.

Key challenge---United States historically has viewed soils as an
agricultural commodity.

We have studied erodibility, nutrient levels, etc.

We have not considered chemical or biological aspects of soils except
with regard to agriculture... have not extensively looked at urban or
suburban settings.

United Kingdom had the same approach, but recently British Geological
Survey has moved aggressively to study soils as a geochemical medium and
specifically to look at their role in public health.

At about the same time, United States starting to move in same
direction. This is an important change in our national approach.

The geochemistry of the earth's surface has evolved from the underlying
rocks through natural processes, such as weathering and erosion, as well
as from human activity including industrialization, urbanization,
mining, waste disposal, and agriculture. Essential first step is to
develop baseline information about soils.

As USGS scientist Mary Lou Zoback said in her Presidential Address to
the Geological Society of America in 2001, "Documenting and
understanding natural variability is a vexing topic in almost every
environmental problem. How do we recognize and understand changes in
natural systems if we don't understand the range of baseline levels?"

The most useful geochemical baseline measurements are determined using a
systematic set of protocols with strong QA/QC controls. The USGS has an
important role to play here as the Nation's natural science research
organization. We have several national trace-element-analysis programs
that apply strict controls on the protocols used and assure the quality
of the data. Comparability of data in space and time is critical and
requires protocols. The National Water Quality Assessment program
(NAWQA) is perhaps the best known of these programs, but by no means the
only one.

USGS began this kind of work in a small way 40 years ago. During the
1960's, USGS geochemist Hansford Shacklette decided it would be useful
to have a database of trace-element contents in soil samples from the
lower 48 states. No funding for such a large project... so he used
volunteers, asking USGS scientists and friends who were doing field work
or going on vacation to collect soil samples.

Hans developed a standardized yet uncomplicated procedure to collect
representative, composite soil samples. Eventually he had samples from
more than 1,300 locations across the United States, about 1 sample every
50 miles. This effort required coordinating the efforts of dozens of
scientists for about 15 years.

Samples were analyzed for 40 major and trace elements. The availability
of this regional geochemical information allowed the delineation of
regional patterns. Hans also did pioneering studies showing a possible
link between these geochemical patterns of abundance and human and
animal health. He was one of the first to look at regional trends in
environmentally significant elements such as selenium, fluorine,
arsenic, lithium, and cadmium.

![](media/image1.png){width="3.25in" height="2.0833333333333335in"}

This trace-element chemistry information is now the most highly
requested dataset in the USGS Mineral Resources Program. USGS scientist
Larry Gough has developed a similar dataset for Alaska.

In the late 1980s, the USGS began to develop the NAWQA program. Since
1991, USGS scientists have been collecting and analyzing data and
information from more than 50 major river basins and aquifers across the
Nation. The goal is to develop long-term, consistent, and comparable
information on streams, ground water, and aquatic ecosystems to support
sound management and policy decisions. The NAWQA program is designed to
answer three questions:

1.  What is the condition of our Nation\'s streams and ground water?

2.  How are these conditions changing over time?

3.  How do natural features and human activities affect these
    conditions?

Data and information from all the NAWQA study units, along with
information from other programs, agencies, and researchers, are
synthesized by National Synthesis teams to provide a broad perspective
on the status and trends of the Nation's water supply. These national
syntheses are possible because each NAWQA study-unit investigation
adheres to a nationally consistent study design and uniform methods of
data collection and analysis. National syntheses provide an
understanding of how and why environmental variables vary regionally and
nationally.

NAWQA provides a National Analysis of Trace Elements in ground water,
streams, stream and reservoir sediment, and fish and clam tissue across
the United States. NAWQA is currently studying 31 metals, metalloids,
and radionuclides, from aluminum to zinc, with the goal of understanding
their distribution and release by human and natural influences. Water
managers and scientists rate trace elements among the highest-priority
issues for the NAWQA program.

The NAWQA data warehouse contains extensive long-term data, including:

-   Chemical concentrations in water, bed sediment, and aquatic organism
    tissues for about 500 chemical constituents

-   Site, basin, well and network characteristics with many descriptive
    variables

-   Daily streamflow information for fixed sampling sites

-   Ground-water levels for sampled wells

-   7,600 surface water sites and 8,100 wells

-   48,000 nutrient samples and 30,000 pesticide samples, as well as
    8,700 VOC samples

-   2,600 samples of bed sediment and aquatic organism tissues

Another national component of the NAWQA program is the reconstructed
trends project. Water-quality trends reflect the relationship between
water quality and human activities. They chronicle changes in
concentrations of environmental contaminants, introduction of new
contaminants, and successful efforts in environmental pollution
remediation. Techniques include radiochemical dating of sediment cores;
measurement of major, minor, and trace elements, chlorinated organic
compounds, and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons); and
interpretation of various sedimentary and geomorphic properties in
cores.

For example, a recent study by Barbara Mahler and Peter Van Metre looked
at whether metals concentrations in streams have increased or decreased
since the 1970s. The USGS collected sediment cores from 42 reservoirs
and lakes across the country, covering a land-use gradient from
undeveloped (reference condition) to fully urbanized.

Trends in seven metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) from 1970 to
present were studied, and the researchers found that statistically
significant downward trends (decreasing concentrations) outnumbered
upward trends for all metals except Zn. The results suggest that the
removal of Pb from gasoline coupled with control of point-source
releases of metals to air and water have been effective in reducing
metals contamination of waterways, but that in some watersheds
unregulated nonpoint sources are offsetting---or, in the case of Zn,
overwhelming\--these reductions.

Despite the overall decrease in contamination, concentrations of metals
in lakes with dense urban watersheds remain greater than sediment
quality guidelines, indicating a potential environmental threat.

The NAWQA program has been underway for 14 years. The first decade,
1991-2001, focused on collecting and analyzing data from 51 study units.
Starting in 2002, the program is reassessing 42 of the study units to
fill gaps in the characterization of water-quality conditions; determine
trends at many of the monitoring sites; and build on earlier assessments
that link water-quality conditions and trends to natural and human
factors. The result is a constantly expanding body of data and analyses
available online and through published reports.

USGS is now beginning a new effort on soil geochemistry, building on the
vision of Hans Shacklette that I described earlier. Dave Smith, Laurel
Woodruff, and Marty Goldhaber will be talking more about this project
tomorrow morning, but I will preview it for you now.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="3.473611111111111in"
height="2.4881944444444444in"}

The Geochemical Landscapes Project is led by USGS in cooperation with
other Federal and State agencies, and academia. The project has two
goals:

-   establishing a circa-2010 baseline for selected chemicals and

-   providing an archive of samples properly preserved for future study
    of both inorganic and organic substances.

This work is being done with Canadian and Mexican partners, so the
database will cover all of North America.

To begin, USGS hosted a Soil Geochemistry Workshop in March 2003 that
attracted 112 attendees representing 41 Federal and State agencies,
academia, environmental consulting companies, the medical community, and
international representatives from Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom,
and Norway. These potential customers made recommendations on the design
of a continental-scale soil geochemical survey, the sample collection
protocols, and analytical protocols.

Their recommendations included the analysis of a limited number of
organic compounds, characterization of the microbial community, and
determination of selected human and agricultural pathogens, thereby
extending the study beyond the limits of a traditional geochemical
survey. Pilot studies were begun in 2004 to test and refine these
recommendations and to optimize field logistics.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.5180555555555557in"
height="2.5597222222222222in"}

***(3^rd^ slide - Hg concentration in A-Horizon soils)***

The pilot studies are being conducted at both a continental and a
regional scale. The continental-scale pilot study consists of sampling
along two transects. The East-West transect follows the 38th parallel
from just north of San Francisco to the Maryland shore, and the
North-South transect extends from northern Manitoba to the Texas-Mexico
border near El Paso, Texas. The distribution of mercury in A-horizon
soils along these transects clearly shows a pattern of higher mercury
values in soils of the eastern US.

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="3.002755905511811in"
height="1.2484251968503937in"}![](media/image5.png){width="2.9188976377952756in"
height="1.8665354330708661in"}

The regional-scale pilot study is being conducted in a
12,000-square-mile area of northern California that is just north of San
Francisco and extends from the Pacific Ocean to the California-Nevada
border. Higher lead values were found in the urban areas and along major
roadways. Complete details and early results from these pilot studies
will be the focus of a half-day session on Wednesday morning, so I
encourage you to attend if you are interested in learning more about
this effort.

Since we are here at UMass Amherst, I want to briefly describe a major
project that affects this area very directly---a cooperative project
with The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, UMass
Amherst, and many others. The Connecticut River watershed is an area of
significant concern, owing to centuries of human impacts from
agriculture, industry, and growing urbanization.

To pick just one example, the Connecticut River and its tributaries have
a very large number of dams, many of which are more than 100 years old.
These dams are likely to fail without continual maintenance and repair,
or are likely to be removed and not replaced. The dams have impounded
significant quantities of sediment, much of which may be contaminated by
various industrial or agricultural chemicals; if and when a dam fails or
is removed, that load of contaminated sediment will wash into the stream
affecting the viability of the habitat.

The USGS will be working with our partners to understand the impacts of
sediment and soil erosion on the watershed ecosystem, with particular
reference to endangered and threatened species, some of which are
Department of the Interior trust species like Atlantic salmon and
American shad. Current projects include development of an interactive,
Web-based atlas for the watershed that will include a hydrologic and
ecologic flows modeling component to address impacts of dam removal and
system stressors from increased urbanization.

I want to close with a very timely topic---the work USGS is doing in the
Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

USGS has been active in all phases of Katrina response and recovery.
Long-term activities include

-   Impacts on and risk to coastal communities and landscapes

-   Vulnerability and restoration of coastal ecosystems

-   Impacts on future hydrologic hazard events

-   Impacts and risk from contaminants and nutrients

-   Information needs for more effective response to future hurricanes

Short-term response activities have focused on issues such as

-   911 call support ("geoaddressing")

-   Dewatering New Orleans

-   Reconstruction of destroyed bridges

-   Mississippi River navigation

-   Debris removal

-   Beach quality

USGS is working on four main issues dealing with water quality,
contaminants, and the domestic drinking water supply.

Questions about the water quality in Lake Pontchartrain include

-   Is the water safe for human contact and aquatic biota?

-   Will there be widespread algal blooms?

-   What is the quality of water flowing into the Gulf?

USGS is addressing these questions by

-   Designing and implementing a water sampling plan

-   Collecting and analyzing water samples for bacteria and other
    contaminants

-   Advising partners on the likely extent and severity of
    contamination.

There are serious concerns about potentially dangerous levels of
contaminants in lake and flood sediments and in fish, shellfish, and
wildlife. USGS is sampling and mapping the locations, types, and levels
of toxins in lake and flood sediments and providing custom maps of the
locations of hazardous chemical and oil facilities to on-scene
coordinators. USGS scientists are also measuring contaminant levels and
evaluating bioaccumulation in consumable fish and game.

Finally, shallow ground water supplies most of the domestic wells in the
area. USGS is assessing the ground water supply to determine how much of
the aquifer has been contaminated by salt water or other constituents
that would affect its potability.

USGS has a long history of providing objective science to inform
critical decisions throughout our nation and our society. With a breadth
of expertise spanning geologic, hydrologic, biological, and geographic
science, USGS takes an integrated approach to multidisciplinary
projects. Our long-term databases provide local, regional, national, and
continental-scale information about the Earth that can be accessed by
users all over the world.

This solid foundation of information and expertise provides the support
needed for quick response when a catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina
strikes and the Nation needs fast, accurate information about the
impacts. It also provides support for long-term, multinational efforts
like the Geochemical Landscapes project.

We look forward to working more closely with this community to meet the
challenges that we face in the 21^st^ century.