Short-term performance of permeable sand cap test cells, installed over sediment containing liquid coal tar was monitored on the Grand Calumet River (Hammond, Indiana, USA). The sand cap test cells included two sand-only cells, two test cells containing a sand/peat mixed layer, two test cells containing a sand/organoclay mixed layer, and two sediment control cells. In each test cell, six monocyclic and twelve polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs and PAHs) were monitored over an 18 month period, and interfacial water flow was monitored periodically. Seepage velocities ranged from 3.8 cm per day into the sediments to 3.2 cm per day out of the sediments, with discharge out of the sediments being observed more often. A ferric iron test indicated that stratified oxic-anaerobic layers were formed in the caps. Within the sand caps, concentrations of MAHs and PAHs fluctuated with time, and this fluctuation was more significant near the bottom. Near the top, most of the MAHs and PAHs were attenuated above 95% in the first year of the study, but their attenuation rates decreased in the second year due to recontamination of the surface of the caps by the surrounding sediments. Functional genes involved in PAH degradation were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in upper and lower sections of the caps for each of the three treatments. Bacterial communities were characterized by PCR amplification of 16s rRNA genes and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The results indicate that the rate and direction of sediment porewater flow is an important factor for properly designing any remedial sand cap, and that biodegradation of many of the MAH and PAH compounds was likely a major removal mechanism leading to attenuation through the test cells.