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I. Effectiveness of the EPA/Corps Ocean Disposal Program 



It is a pertinent time to be considering how effective the nation's ocean 

 disposal program has been at protecting our nation's coastal resources. In order 

 to determine how effective the ocean disposal program has been, one must first 

 review the standards of effectiveness to ascertain if they have been met. 



The disposal of dredged materials into the ocean is regulated by the Marine 

 Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act (33 USC 1401-1445) (MPRSA) and its 

 regulations and implemented by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. 

 Environmental Protection Agency. 



The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) issues permits for dumping dredged 

 materials into the ocean after determining that the dumping "will not unreasonably 

 degrade or endanger human health, welfare, or amenities, or the marine 

 environment ecological systems, or economic potentialities." In issuing such 

 permits, the ACOE applies criteria developed by the U.S. Environmental 

 Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is responsible for designating ocean dump 

 sites that receive dredged materials. 



First, as described above, the MPRSA only allows ocean disposal of 

 dredged material as iong as it will not unreasonably degrade or endanger a 

 variety of factors, including the marine environment. The EPA regulations that 

 implement the MPRSA' delineate how the impact of dredged material disposal 

 sites must be evaluated to determine to what extent the marine environment has 

 been impacted by materials disposed of at the ocean disposal site. Therefore, 

 reviewing scientific information about the dump sites to determine how they have 

 impacted the marine environment is a valid way of assessing how effective the 

 ocean disposal program is in meeting the standards set by the MPRSA of 

 preventing "unreasonable degradation". 



A second way is to review how the Army Corps of Engineers permit 

 process is implemented to determine if the process satisfies the regulations and 

 appropriate guidance documents that are designed to implement the MPRSA. 

 Again, EPA regulations define what conditions must be met for dredged materials 

 to be considered acceptable for ocean disposal. A guidance manual 2 , developed 

 jointly by the ACOE and the EPA specifies which tests must be carried out to 



40 CFR 220-228 



: USEP A/US ACOE. February 1991. Evaluation of Dredged Material 

 Proposed for Ocean Disposal Testing Manual. EPA-503/9/9 1/001. 



