Training Range Environmental Evaluation and Characterization System

ERDC/EL TR-09-11
Methods for Tier 1 Modeling within the Training Range Environmental Evaluation and Characterization System by Mark S. Dortch, Jeffrey A. Gerald, and Billy E. Johnson

Abstract:
The Training Range Environmental Evaluation and Characterization System (TREECS) is being developed for the Army with varying levels of capability to forecast the fate and risk of munitions constituents (MC), such as high explosives (HE), within and transported from firing/training ranges to surface water and groundwater. The overall objective is to provide the range manager with tools to assess range management strategies to meet environmental compliance goals. Tier 1 will consist of screening-level methods that require minimal data input requirements and can be easily and quickly applied by range managers or their local environmental staff to assess whether or not there is potential for MC compliance concern, such as predicted surface water and/or groundwater MC concentrations exceeding protective health benchmarks at receptor locations.

This report describes the Army’s existing and perceived future requirements for TREECS Tier 1 tools and provides recommendations and a plan for technology developments to meet those needs. The information provided in this report is sufficient to serve as design and specifications for development of models and software that will comprise Tier 1 of TREECS. The details of the model formulations provided herein can also serve as documentation for the Tier 1 TREECS models.

The highly conservative assumptions of steady-state (time-invariant) conditions and no MC degradation are used. Thus, MC loadings to the range are constant over time, and fluxes to and concentrations within receiving water media reach a constant MC concentration for comparison to protective ecological and human health benchmarks. Tier 1 will include an analytical range soil model with its computed leaching flux linked to a semi-analytical-numerical aquifer model and with its computed runofferosion flux linked to a numerical surface water model. Tier 1 will also include an MC loading module, a hydro-geo-chemical toolkit for estimating input parameters, constituent databases for chemical-specific properties, and a database of ecological and human protective health benchmarks. All components will be packaged within a user-friendly PC client-based application with an emphasis on ease of use.

If you wish to access/download the document (68 pages, 1.91 mb) in pdf format, the address is: http://libweb.wes.army.mil/uhtbin/hyperion/EL-TR-09-11.pdf