r/EPA
United Slates
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Science and
Technology (4301)
Washington, DC 20460
823-N-94-OOR
OCTOBER 1994
Water
NEWSLETTER
WATER QUALITY CRITERIA AND STANDARDS
EPA Administrator Signs Agency-vide Contaminated Sediment
Management Strategy: The Standards and Applied Science Division
has coordinated the development of an Agency-wide Contaminated
Sediment Management Strategy which was signed by EPA
Administrator Carol Browner on August 22, 1994. An announcement
of availability of the proposed Strategy for public comment was
published in the Federal Register on August 30, and the public
comment period is scheduled to end on October 31, 1994.
The proposed Strategy describes specific actions that EPA
will take to reduce environmental and human health risks
associated with contaminated sediment. EPA is acting, under
existing statutory and regulatory authority, to implement
policies to consistently assess, prevent, and remediate
contaminated sediment.
Contaminated sediment poses
ecological and human health risks in
many watersheds throughout the United
States. In these watersheds, sediment
serves as a contaminant reservoir from
which fish and bottom dwelling
organisms can accumulate toxic
compounds and pass them up the food
chain. Toxic chemicals in sediment
come from discharges of industrial
waste and sewage; stormwater runoff
from waste dumps, city streets and
farms, and sir pollutants. The
magnitude of the toxics problem in the
United States is evidenced in more
than 1,200 State advisories that have
been issued against consuming fish that have accumulated toxic
bioaccumulative contaminants from sediment and other sources.
More than ten Federal statutes provide 'authority to many
EPA program offices to address the problem of contaminated
sediment. This has resulted in fragmented, and in some cases
duplicative, efforts to complete the necessary research,
technology development, and pollution control activities required
to effectively manage contaminated sediment. Often it has been
difficult for EPA programs to agree upon the fundamental question
of whether sediment at a particular site 'poses ecological or
human health risks. The proposed Contaminated Sediment
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Management Strategy was developed to streamline decision-making
within and among the Agency's program offices by promoting and
ensuring: the use of consistent sediment assessment practices,
consistent consideration of risks posed by contaminated sediment,
the use of consistent approaches to management of contaminated
sediment risks, and the wise use of scarce resources for research
and technology development.
Goals of the Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy:
EPA's proposed Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy
describes actions that the Agency will take to accomplish the
following four strategic goals: 1) Prevent further sediment
contamination that may cause unacceptable ecological or human
health risks; 2) When practical, clean up existing sediment
contamination that adversely affects the Nation's waterbodies or
their uses, or that causes other significant effects on human
health or the environment; 3) Ensure that sediment dredging and
dredged material disposal continue to be managed in an
environmentally sound manner; 4) develop and consistently apply
methodologies for analyzing contaminated sediments.
What the Strategy Does: The proposed Contaminated Sediment
Management Strategy is comprised of six component sections:
assessment, prevention, remediation, dredged material management,
research, and outreach. In each section, EPA describes actions
that the Agency will take to accomplish the four broad strategic
goals.
In the assessment section of the Strategy EPA proposes that
Agency program offices all use standard sediment toxicity test
methods and chemical-sped fie sediment quality criteria to
determine whether sediments are contaminated. Actions that EPA
will take to develop a national inventory of sites and sources of
sediment contamination (the National Sediment Inventory) are
described in the assessment section of the proposed Strategy.
The National Sediment Inventory will be used by EPA to target
sites for contaminated sediment assessment, prevention, and
remediation. These assessment actions will enable EPA to focus
on cleaning up the most contaminated waterbodies, and ensuring
that further sediment contamination is prevented.
EPA's plan to stop sediment contaminants
from reaching the environment is described in
the prevention section of the proposed Strategy.
In order to regulate the use of pesticides and
toxic substances that accumulate in sediment,
EPA proposes the use of acute sediment toxicity
tests to support registration of chemicals under
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act and the Toxic Substances Control
Act. In the prevention section of the Strategy
EPA also proposes: developing effluent guidelines for industries
that discharge sediment contaminants in significant amounts;
using pollution prevention policies to reduce or eliminate
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sediment contamination resulting from noncompliance with permits;
preparing guidelines for design of new chemicals to reduce
bioavailability and partitioning of toxic chemicals to sediment;
and implementing point and nonpoint source controls that will
protect sediment quality. EPA's prevention actions will stop
further contamination of sediment and reduce ecological and human
health risks.
In the remediation section of the Strategy EPA proposes
using multiple statutes to require contaminated sediment
remediation by parties responsible for pollution. These statutes
include the Comprehensive Emergency Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA), the Rivers and Harbors Act, and the Oil
Pollution Act. EPA states in the proposed Strategy, however,
that the Agency will not proceed with a clean-up if a combination
of pollution prevention and source controls will allow the
sediments to recover naturally in an acceptable period of time.
EPA's remediation actions will clean up existing sediment
contamination that adversely affects the Nation's waterbodies.
• In the dredged material management section of the proposed
Strategy, EPA discusses the development of technical guidance
regarding dredged material testing, dredged material disposal
site selection, and disposal alternatives. EPA actions described
in the proposed Strategy will ensure continued disposal of
dredged material in an environmentally sound manner.
In the research section of the Strategy,
EPA proposes a program of investigative research
that is needed to: develop and validate new
chemical-sped fie sediment criteria and other
sediment assessment methods; improve EPA's
understanding of the transfer of sediment
contaminants through the food chain; and
develop and evaluate a range of technologies for
remediating contaminated sediments. EPA's
proposed research program will support improved assessment,
prevention, and remediation of contaminated sediment.
The outreach section of the proposed Strategy describes
actions that EPA will take to demonstrate, through public
involvement, the Agency's commitment to, and accountability for,
sediment management efforts. EPA will produce, and make
available to the public, regular status reports on sediment
management activities.
Copies of the Strategy are Available: Requests for copies of
EPA's Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy (EPA document
number EPA 823-R-94-001) should be sent to: U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Publications
and Information, 11029 Kenwood Road, Building 5, Cincinnati, Ohio
45242; telephone: 513-891-6561, fax: 513-891-6685.
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Comments on the Strategy may be mailed or
delivered to: Contaminated Sediment Management
Strategy Comment Clerk, Water Docket MC-4101,
Room L102, Environmental Protection Agency, 401
M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.
Commenters are requested to submit an original
and 3 copies of their written comments and
enclosures. For further information contact
Tom Armitage at (202) 260-5388.
ELIZABETH SOUTHERLAND
ACTING DIRECTOR, STANDARDS
& APPLIED SCIENCE DIVISION
MARGARET J. STASIKOWSKI
DIRECTOR, HEALTH &
ECOLOGICAL CRITERIA DIVISION
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MEETING NOTICE - THE 1994
INTERNATIONAL HAZARDOUS
MATERIAL SPILLS
CONFERENCE
The concept of partnerships—working together for
a common goal of improved safety and health—is
the theme of the 1994 International Hazardous
Material Spills Conference. The conference, from
October 31-November 3, 1994 at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel and Convention Center in Buffalo,
NY, will feature discussions and presentations on
how cooperation between disparate groups with
different agendas has resulted in greater public
awareness; improved industry safety procedures;
and strenghtened international, national and state
laws and programs. Anyone interested in the
prevention, preparedness and response to chemical
accidents should attend this three-day interactive
conference. For registration information, please
contact Angela Moody, of Professional and
Scientific Associates, at (703) 442-9824.
GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY
INITIATIVE
FRED LEUTNER
(202) 260-1542
EPA PUBLISHES DATA NOTICE
FORGLI
On August 30, 1994, EPA published a notice in
the Federal Register (59 FR 44678) inviting
comment on three reports we are considering in
developing the final Water Quality Guidance for
the Great Lakes System. The three reports are:
(1) "Results of Simulation Tests Concerning the
Percent Dissolved Metal in Freshwater Toxicity
Tests." The notice invites comment on whether
the conversion factors contained in the report for
converting total recoverable metal criteria to
dissolved metal criteria should be adopted in the
final GLI methodology for aquatic life.
(2) "1991-1992 Michigan Sport Anglers Fish
Consumption Study." The report contains data on
fish consumption rates for the State of Michigan.
The notice invites comment on whether the GLI
methodologies for development of human health
criteria and values should be adjusted based on
the results of study.
(3) "Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative
Technical Support Document for the Procedure to
Determine Bioaccumulation Factors, July 1994,"
The notice invites comment on whether changes in
the GLI methodology for deriving bioaccumulation
factors should be incorporated in the final role.
The public comment period ends September 29,
1994. EPA is on schedule to meet a court ordered
deadline to sign the final rulemaking for the GLI,
entitled Water Quality Guidance for the Great
Lakes System, by March 13, 1995. For more
information on how to obtain the documents
described in the notice, call Wendy Schumacher
(312-353-2079).
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
DAVE SABOCK
(202) 260-1315
SASD INFORMATION
TECHNICAL MATERIALS
AND
Documents, videos and software developed by
SASD can now be requested from the Water
Resource Center via e-mail. The e-mail address
is: waterpubs@epamail.epa.gov. The Water
Resource Center is staffed by a contractor, Labat-
Anderson. If you would like to speak to someone
in the Water Resource Center, call 202-260-7786.
MULTI-REGIONAL MEETINGS
IN SEATTLE/CHICAGO
Multi-regional meetings on numerous water
quality criteria and standards topics of current
interest are scheduled for Seattle, November 28-
Dec. 1 and in Chicago, December 5-9. These
meetings are particularly useful for State and
Tribal representatives as well as municipal.
environmental, and industrial groups.
A meeting devoted to reviewing and evaluating
EPA's fish advisory program and how it compares
with State programs will be held on the last day.
Topics for the criteria and standards workshops
include: human health and aquatic tife criteria
development methodologies, endangered specks
act issues, independent applicability, m«tais
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criteria, protection of existing uses, and other
subjects.
Information on these meeting may be obtained
from Liz Heitt, Tetra Tech, 10306 Eaton Place,
Fairfax, VA 22030, telephone 703-385-6007.
WQS PROMULGATIONS
UNDERWAY
Several water quality standards promulgation
actions are underway at the end of FY94. Final
action on the San Francisco Bay/Delta is nearing
completion. EPA is also working on proposal to
re-establish criteria for toxic pollutants as part of
several California water plans that were found by
the California Supreme Court to be invalid due to
administrative errors in the State. Issues with
respect to the antidegradation policy are the
subject of another promulgation proposal being
developed to apply to Florida. A proposed
rulemaking affecting the mixing zone language
adopted by New Mexico and disapproved by EPA
is expected to be published for public review and
comment early in FY95.
WQS HANDBOOK TO BE
REPUBLISHED
The Water Quality Standards Handbook-Second
Edition will be republished early in FY95 to
include several major guidance documents
produced by EPA since the second edition was
published late in 1993. The new guidance
incorporated into the Handbook includes: (1)
derivation of water-effect ratios, (2) the Office of
Water policy statement on metals, and (3) an
interpretation of the antidegradation policy as it
relates to nonpoint sources. Each of these
documents has been released by EPA. Then*
incorporation into the Handbook is for
convenience.
The Handbook will be distributed directly to the
EPA Regional offices, the States and Tribes.
When available, copies may be obtained from the
EPA Resource Center 202-260-2814. Copies will
not be available until at least several weeks after
this newsletter is issued.
DIVISION GETS A NEW
CONTRACTOR
The Cadmus Group was awarded a contract to
provide services to the Standards and Applied
Science Division. The new contractor has previous
experience in other Office of Water programs.
WQS ACADEMY PLANS FOR
FY95
The highly successful
Water Quality
Standards Academy, a
formal training
program in criteria
and standards aimed
at people with 6
months or less experience, will continue in FY95.
Academy sessions are planned for: Salt Lake
City, Utah in January 1995; Tampa, Florida in
February; Albany, NY, in March; Portland,
Oregon in April, and Minneapolis, MN in May.
In addition, there will be a session or two in
Washington, DC. In FY94, a total of 406
participants completed the course. Six hundred
and fifty-two people have attended the Academy in
the past two years.
MEMORANDUM OF
AGREEMENT ON END ANGERED
SPECIES ACT IN NEGOTIATION
The task of negotiating a memorandum of
agreement between EPA, the Fish and Wildlife
Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service
is continuing. The draft agreement covers
consultation procedures on water quality criteria,
water quality standards, and NPDES permits.
NEW VIDEOS FOR FY 95
Two new videos are expected to be completed
early in FY95 as production is now underway.
The videos are: Developing Site-Specific Criteria;
Total Maximum Daily Loads and Water Quality
Standards. Upon completion, our video library
will contain 11 titles. All videos are available free.
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RISK ASSESSMENT AND
MANAGEMENT BRANCH
TOM ARMITA6E
(202) 260-5388
DRAFT INLAND TESTING
MANUAL COMPLETED
In July 1994 a joint Environmental Protection
Agency/Corps of Engineers (EPA/CE) Workgroup
completed a draft Inland Testing Manual (ITM)
which contains up-to-date procedures to implement
requirements in the Clean Water Act (CWA
Section 404(b)(l) Guidelines) for the evaluation of
potential contaminant-related impacts associated
with the discharge of dredged material in fresh,
estuarine, and saline (near-coastal) waters.
Formally titled "Evaluation of Dredged Material
Proposed for Discharge in Waters of the U.S. -
Testing Manual (Draft)," it is available for public
comment as per the July 21,1994 Federal Register
notice (59 FR 37234). A copy of the draft ITM
may be obtained from Shirley Walker, CE
Waterways Experiment Station, at (601) 634-2571.
For further information, contact Mike Kravitz,
EPA, at (202) 260-8085.
NATIONAL FORUM ON
MERCURY IN FISH
Approximately 250
people attended the
National Forum on
Mercury in Fish
which the Fish
Contamination section
organized and hosted.
The Forum was held
in New Orleans,
Louisiana from
September 27-29,1994. The Forum was primarily
targeted towards regulatory personnel who must
understand and respond to concerns about possible
human health effects resulting from mercury in
fish tissues. National experts spoke on such topics
as: mercury's biogeochemical cycling; watersheds
and habitats where mercury is a concern; mercury
toxicity and risk assessment; risk management and
communication; and mercury control strategies.
A Proceedings Document will be completed in FY
95. For further information, contact Ricfc
Hoffmann at (202) 260-0642.
RISK COMMUNICATION
GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
In September, a revised draft SASD's Risk
Communication guidance document was sent out
for peer review and comment to various State
agencies who issue fish consumption health
advisories. The document, titled Guidance for
Assessing Chemical Contaminant Data for Use in
Fish Advisories. Volume IV: Risk Communication
is part of SASD's guidance series on fish
consumption advisories. The final document wfll
be published in FY 95 after completion of the peer
review process. For further information, contact
Rick Hoffmann at (202) 260-0642.
EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT BRANCH
RUSS KINERSON
(202) 260-1330
REGIONAL TMDL WORKSHOPS
The Watershed Modeling Section of SASD, along
with the watershed branch of OWOW, has
sponsored TMDL technical workshops throughout
the country. The final two workshops in the series
are scheduled for November 8-10 in San Francisco
(Region 9) and December 13 -15 in Seattle (Region
10). These workshops are designed to provide
technical and programmatic support for Regional,
State, and local government personnel responsible
for developing and implementing TMDLs.
Tentative topics include: hands-on computer
modeling for point source, nonpoint source, and
watershed loading, a technical discussion of
bioaccumulation, bioavailability, and monitoring
in support of TMDLs, regional case studies, and
highlights of the HQ technical support program's
efforts to make TMDL models more user friendly.
For more information call Dave Smith in Region
9 (415-744-2012), Allen Henning in Region 10
(206-553-8293), or Marjorie Coombs at HQ (202-
260-9821).
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COASTAL OIL AND GAS
ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT
The effect of existing discharges of produced water
on the coastal environment in the Gulf of Mexico
and Cook Inlet, Alaska were investigated in
support of the proposal (scheduled for January
1995) of the coastal subcategory of the oil and gas
industry effluent guideline. Estimates were made
of impacts on aquatic life and of risk to human
health from consumption of contaminated seafood.
The potential ecological benefits resulting from the
proposed effluent guidelines were also investigated.
PHARMACEUTICAL
MANUFACTURING
ENVIRONMENTAL
ASSESSMENT
The environmental assessment was completed for
the proposed pharmaceutical manufacturing
effluent guideline (scheduled February 1995). The
discharges, both direct and indirect, were
evaluated for possible excursions of water quality
criteria and for other possible adverse effects.
Also, the release of ozone precursors from the
effluent to the atmosphere was evaluated for both
human health and agricultural effects. Human
exposure to compounds released to air and the
expected cancer cases were estimated for Puerto
Rico.
MIDDLE PLATTE RIVER
ECOLOGICAL RISK
ASSESSMENT CASE STUDY
The watershed level ecological risk assessment of
the Middle Platte continued with strong regional
and state participation. The Middle Platte is one
of five case studies selected to follow and expand
the principles established in EPA's Framework for
Ecological Risk Assessment. The initial phase of
the risk assessment (problem formulation) was
completed and formally reviewed by the Risk
Assessment Forum, allowing initiation of analysis.
Problem formulation established the goals,
breadth, and focus of the assessment. Major
factors considered during the process include stake
holder values, ecosystem stressor characterization,
observed ecological effects, and ecological end
points of concern. This evaluation resulted in the
development of conceptual models that include
hypotheses about potential risks to ecological
resources within the watershed ecosystem.
Samples of endpoints selected for this case study
include sandhill cranes; western prairie fringed
orchids; and the community integrity of wetland
types including wet meadow, aquatic, and
sandbar. Direct destruction of wetlands, water
withdrawal for irrigation, and use of pesticides
were identified as important stressors in the
system.
The second phase will focus on modeling the
hydrology (both ground and surface) to better
understand the impact on the Platte
wetland/riverine ecosystem. To reduce impacts
from these activities a variety of management
practices are being implemented. These practices
will be reviewed as part of the risk assessment
process.
RAPID REASSESSMENT OF
COMBINED SEWER
OVERFLOWS
A draft of the report
entitled "Combined
Sewer Overflows and
the Multimetric
Evaluation of their
Biological Effects:
Case Studies in Ohio
and New York" has
been received and is
currently undergoing
review and comment. This is a report on two
case studies designed to determine the biological
effects of combined sewer overflows on receiving
streams using EPA's Rapid Bioassessment
Protocols (RBPs), and to evaluate the utility of the
RBP methodology as a monitoring tool in
urbanized streams. We found significant
deleterious effects of CSOs, in combination with
other effects of urbanization, on the benthic
invertebrate community, but also documented
recovery of the biota following removal of CSOs.
Results obtained with the RBP methodology
agreed well with historical data supplied by State
personnel. RBPs may prove to be a useful tool
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for, among other things, characterizing CSO
effects and monitoring the effectiveness of
controls, under the Agency's CSO permitting
policy. The document is expected to be finalized
early in FY95.
SPREADSHEET-BASED MIXING
ZONE EQUATION DEVELOPED
An equation is described in the TSD (Technical
Support Document) to help permit writers analyze
discharge mixing zones. Bruce Zander, the
TMDL coordinator in Region VOX analyzed and
developed improvements to this equation that
substantially unproved its utility to permitting
situations. Daryl Brydie, a summer intern from
Virginia State University, analyzed Zanders
improvements and then programmed these
improvements into a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet
is very easy to use, with sections for data entry
and range analysis. Graphic depictions of the
plume are displayed as the user enters input
parameters for visual feedback of what's occurring
in the stream. The mixing zone spreadsheet is
written for Excel 5.0, but a Lotus 1-2-3 version is
also available.
WQ MODELS GO GOPHER
Final preparations have been made to upload
SWMM, SWRRB and P-ROUTE on the Gopher
server which is connected to the INTERNET at the
National Data Processing Division (NDPD) in
Research Triangle Park, N.C. The Public Access
on the Internet project is an experimental
prototype which offers EPA information to the
public. EPA is determined to play a lead role in
making environmental information available to the
public. To that end, OIRM and NDPD are
positioned to assist EPA program offices, regions
and labs to electronically mount information on
the Internet and make this information available
to the public. This greatly expands our
information sharing and technical outreach
capabilities.
MINI GRANTS
projects to support the TMDL program through a
series of "Mini Grants." The purpose of these
grants are to initiate projects that can be
continued through local funding if they prove to
be valuable in TMDL work. The projects are
selected on their applicability to other areas of the
country. This way we can fund creative solutions
to TMDL problems and have the benefit of those
studies as we approach similar problems
elsewhere.
ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT
ROBERT APRIL
(202) 260-0658
Biological Criteria: Technical Guidance for
Streams and Small Rivers will be released in the
next few weeks. It will be announced in the
Federal Register. Copies of the document win be
available from NCEPI - phone (513) 891-6561 or
fax (513) 891-6685. For further information
contact Susan Jackson at (202) 260-1800.
The Exposure Assessment Branch in SASD, the
Nonpoint Source Branch, and the Watershed
Branch in OWOW jointly funded 20 regional
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