United States
                           Environmental Protection
                           Agency
                                                    Office of Water
                                                    Mail Code 4305
                             EPA-823-F-94-001
                                  March 1994
                            FACT  SHEET
                                                                                                       c
             EPA's  Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy
CN

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contamination problems.  Third, EPA will develop
two inventories: a  Site Inventory,  containing
data on sediment quality throughout the United
States, and a Source Inventory, containing data
on potential sources  of sediment contamination.
Pollution Prevention

       Prevention of sediment contamination  is
the most environmentally protective and, in most
cases,  cost-effective  way to  address  the
problem.  EPA  has statutory and regulatory
authority to  prevent many contaminants from
being released to sediments.  EPA's Office  of
Water, Office of  Pesticide Programs, Office  of
Pollution Prevention  and  Toxic  Substances,
Office of Enforcement, and Office of Air will use
their  authorities  under  the Clean Water Act
(CWA),  the Federal Insecticide,  Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Toxic Substances
Control  Act (TSCA), and the Clean Air Act  to
address prevention of contaminated sediments.

       Examples of actions that these program
offices  can  take   include: 1)  incorporating
sediment quality  criteria  in the form of effluent
limits   into   National  Pollutant  Discharge
Elimination  System  permits;  2)  proposing
revisions to regulations and guidance that would
require pesticides and chemicals manufacturers to
perform sediment toxicity tests when  seeking
registration   and   reregistration  of  certain
pesticides under FIFRA  and certain chemicals
under TSCA; 3) banning  or otherwise  regulating
the production of  new   chemicals  to reduce
bioavailability  and partitioning of toxic  chemicals
to  sediments;  4)  implementing  pollution
prevention initiatives within various compliance
programs; and  5)  eliminating  or reducing air
emissions of contaminants that subsequently are
deposited in surface waters,  either  directly
through atmospheric deposition  or  indirectly
through stormwater runoff.
Remediation and Enforcement

       Where  sediments are contaminated to
levels that cause ecological harm or pose a risk to
human health, EPA will strive to implement a
remediation  strategy that will most effectively
reduce the risk.  Remedial options range from
active remediation of  sediments to  natural
recovery, which  consists  of   implementing
pollution  prevention  measures  and point and
nonpoint source  controls   and  allowing
biodegradation, chemical degradation, and the
deposition  of  clean  sediments  to  restore
contaminated sites. EPA may take remedial and
enforcement  actions  under several statutes,
including TSCA,  CWA, the Comprehensive
Emergency  Response,  Compensation,  and
Liability Act, the Rivers and Harbors Act, and the
Oil Pollution Act .
Dredged Material Management

       The presence of contaminated sediments
can introduce significant ecological and human
health considerations  into  the  decision of
whether  and how to dredge  and  dispose of
sediments to maintain  navigational channels.
Where contaminated sediments exist,  dredging
can  result in resuspension  of  contaminated
material which may then become more  available
to aquatic organisms.  Disposal of  contaminated
dredged material requires locating a site, either in
open water or on  land, where large  amounts of
contaminated material can be safely contained.
The  Army Corps  of  Engineers, in cooperation
with  EPA, is currently developing an  Inland
Testing Manual to provide consistent national
guidance on  testing dredged  material  for
discharge to  waters of  the  United  States.  A
similar Ocean Testing Manual is already  available.
The  two  agencies  are  also  working on a
comprehensive ocean disposal site designation,
management,  and   monitoring  guidance
document.
Research and Outreach

       To implement this Strategy effectively,
EPA has developed a research plan covering
development  and validation of sediment quality
criteria,  as well as assessment and remediation
methods for contaminated sediments.  EPA has
also developed an outreach  program to increase
public understanding of the ecological and human
health   risks   associated  with   sediment
contamination and of potential solutions to the
problem.  This outreach program  includes the
preparation  of guidance documents,  reports,
public  outreach publications, and  multimedia
materials, as well  as  the  establishment  of
advisory groups, databases, and clearinghouses.
Water Resources Development Act

The  most   recent  legislation   addressing
contaminated sediments is the Water Resources
Development Act of  1992  (WRDA).  WRDA calls
for  the   establishment  of   a  National
Contaminated Sediment Task Force, to  be co-
chaired by  the EPA  Administrator  and  the
Secretary   of  the  Army,  and  to   include
representatives from the  National Oceanic and
Atmospheric  Administration,  U.S. Fish  and
Wildlife  Service, U.S. Geological  Survey,  U.S.
Department  of Agriculture,   States,  ports,
agriculture  and manufacturing interests, and
public interest organizations.  This Contaminated
Sediment Management Strategy addresses many
of the tasks for which EPA is responsible  as a
member of the National Contaminated Sediment
Task Force.

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