332 



The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (the 

 "MPRSA" or the "Ocean Dumping Act") should incorporate sediment 

 quality criteria as a screening tool to determine the quality of sediments 

 (i.e. clean, partially contaminated, contaminated) at a site where dredging is 

 planned. Since the MPRSA forbids the ocean dumping of dredged 

 materials that would endanger human health, the aquatic ecosystem, or the 

 economic potential of an area, sediments that fail the sediment quality 

 criteria cannot undergo ocean disposal. In emergency situations where no 

 economically feasible alternative to ocean disposal is available, the Corps of 

 Engineers may submit a waiver request to the EPA for review. Under the 

 current law, waivers are denied only if the Agency can prove that the 

 dumping will result in 'unacceptably adverse impacts" on a waterbody (33 

 USC Section 1413(d)). Due to the complexity of aquatic ecosystems, it is 

 often difficult to prove, with great certainty, "adverse impacts". Therefore, 

 the MPRSA should be amended to require denial of waiver requests unless 

 the Agency can prove that the dumping of materials will not result in 

 unacceptably adverse impact. Such waivers should be contingent on the 

 implementation of waste prevention plans, and coordination with pollution 

 reduction and prevention plans for other sources of degradation, such as 

 upstream sources. To further clarify the waiver process, the EPA should, 

 with public comment and review, define those situations where no 

 economic alternatives to ocean dumping exist. 



Site management plans should be developed for designated ocean 

 sites that receive both clean and contaminated dredge materials. These 

 plans should include periodic monitoring using sediment quality criteria and 

 biological effects monitoring such as assessments of community structure 

 and function, as measurement tools. The plans should also contain 

 mechanisms for closing the site or modifying its use if impacts are 

 discovered. 



D. Consistent standards for monitoring and ecological evaluation 



For many years people have been debating the scope and degTee of 

 sediment contamination. A number of efforts have been made to evaluate 

 the problem on a national basis, by such institutions as the National 

 Academy of Sciences. 



Thus far all the evaluators have had to develop their own yardsticks 

 for contamination, which has made it difficult to reach definitive answers. 

 National sediment quality criteria (either EPA guidance adopted by the 

 States or national criteria adopted by EPA for U.S. waters) would provide 

 a yardstick that everyone could use. It will be far easier to set up 

 monitoring programs -- both for still-uncontaminated sites, to protect them, 



