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 program (EMAP) continues to provide data describing the concentration of 

 contaminants in sediment, as well as their biological effects, within a defined grid of 

 sites located in coastal waters. However, the EMAP sampling program is designed 

 to provide estimates of environmental quality on a regional or national scale, not to 

 locate specific sites where sediments are contaminated. In addition, although NOAA's 

 Status and Trends monitoring program has gathered data on coastal sediment 

 contamination, it is designed to describe national, rather than local, distributions of 

 contamination. These activities thus will not provide a national inventory of 

 contaminated sediment sites or substitute for the need to collect additional new data. 

 EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have not yet convened the National 

 Contaminated Sediment Task Force. WRDA provides for Task Force participation by 

 representatives from numerous other federal agencies, the States, port authorities, 

 agriculture and manufacturing interests, and public interest organizations, and funding 

 is necessary to sponsor non-federal participants. 



The Agency has been developing a Contaminated Sediment Strategy and has 

 held public meetings with State and federal agencies, industry, and public interest 

 groups to help define appropriate activities to address contaminated sediment issues. 

 A meeting of many of the federal agencies to be represented on the national Task 

 Force also has been scheduled to discuss design of the contaminated sediment site 

 inventory. Preliminary discussions related to Task Force projects have already been 

 held with a number of other federal agencies. We shortly will be initiating discussions 

 with the Corps to determine Task Force participation. 



