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III. How do sediment quality criteria fit into the federal/state 

 relationship? 



Sediment quality criteria are fully compatible with the existing 

 federal and state regulatory framework. 



Under section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), states are 

 required to adopt water quality standards that "serve the purposes of the 

 Act," as spelled out in Sec. 101(a). Such standards must include criteria 

 that protect water body uses such as fishing and swimming. 



Furthermore, federal regulations provide that state standards must 

 be based on federal criteria (EPA's section 304(a) guidance), the EPA 

 guidance modified to reflect site-specific conditions, or other 

 scientifically-defensible methods. 



Once EPA develops sediment quality criteria, this same principle 

 applies to state adoption: federal 304(a) guidance will form the basis for 

 state standards, unless the state develops site-specific standards or uses 

 other scientifically defensible methods for deriving standards. The burden 

 of demonstrating defensibility should rest with the state. 



In the past decade the states have been extremely slow to adopt 

 water column standards for toxic pollutants despite a specific requirement 

 in the 1987 amendments to the CWA that they do so within three years. 

 This inactivity has resulted in delay in protecting our waters. For this 

 reason, a national sediment quality criteria program must be developed to 

 give States an incentive to promptly adopt and implement standards. If 

 sediment quality criteria are developed by the EPA, the states should be 

 given two years to adopt their own standards. If states have not adopted 

 standards at least as protective as EPA's within the deadline, then EPA's 

 criteria should automatically become applicable state standards. 



In waters where state criteria do not apply, such as the open ocean, 

 federally adopted sediment quality criteria should be used. In interstate 

 and shared waters (such as the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay), 

 consistent, protective standards are needed. If states wish to apply more 

 stringent provisions, then they should be provided authority to do so. 



IV. How will sediment quality criteria be applied? 



There are a number of obvious applications for sediment quality 

 criteria. More are sure to emerge once these criteria are established. 



