335 



VI. Why do we need legislation? 



Since EPA already has authority to set sediment quality criteria if it 

 wants, why is legislation needed? There are two main reasons: timing and 

 applicability. 



A. Timing 



While the law clearly allows -- and requires -- EPA to develop 

 sediment quality criteria, the agency's job would get done more quickly if 

 Congress provided more express authorization and clearer instructions. 

 Despite its existing mandate, in twenty years EPA has yet to promulgate a 

 single sediment quality criterion. The CWA should be amended to specify 

 how quickly EPA must move in developing sediment quality criteria. The 

 law should also specify which pollutants should be given the highest 

 priority. 



As mentioned above, the law also needs to be structured so that 

 criteria are promptly adopted by the states. Federal sediment quality 

 criteria should become state standards automatically if, within a defined 

 time frame, the states have not adopted their own sediment quality 

 standards. 



B. Applicability 



Sediment quality criteria will protect the environment only if they 

 are used as a basis for making regulatory decisions . The CWA and 

 MPRSA should be amended to clarify that, once developed, these criteria 

 will form the basis for decisions about permitting the disposal of dredged 

 materials (i.e.. what may be dumped, and where) and the discharge of 

 pollutants. 



Furthermore, the law should be amended to ensure that EPA's 

 sediment quality criteria are applicable in ocean and shared coastal waters. 

 The CWA should be amended to establish national sediment quality 

 criteria as well as national water quality criteria. These amendments would 

 lay to rest once and for all the issue of "standard shopping," and would be a 

 far more efficient and effective way to begin the national assessment and 

 cleanup process. Of course, the law would continue to provide for the 

 establishment of site-specific standards where scientific evidence 

 demonstrates that such standards are appropriate. 



Used with other tests such as biological assays, sediment quality 

 criteria would play a vital role in the protection of sediment and water 



10 



