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quality, aquatic life, wildlife, and human health. Like water quality 

 standards, sediment quality criteria should be used in the monitoring of 

 ecologically sensitive areas, the protection of pristine areas, and as a basis 

 for effluent discharge limits. Sediment criteria should also be used to 

 trigger remediation of contaminated sites, although the nature of this 

 remediation will be determined in part by site-specific factors. 

 Nevertheless, it is clear that we need to distinguish between "clean" and 

 "dirty" sediment in order to achieve the above objectives. Sediment quality 

 criteria should enable us to make that distinction, and should ensure that 

 sediment programs are implemented in a coherent and consistent manner. 



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