[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 22]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR227.6]

[Page 206-209]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 227--CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF PERMIT APPLICATIONS FOR OCEAN 
DUMPING OF MATERIALS--Table of Contents
 
                     Subpart B--Environmental Impact
 
Sec. 227.6  Constituents prohibited as other than trace contaminants.

    (a) Subject to the exclusions of paragraphs (f), (g) and (h) of this 
section, the ocean dumping, or transportation for dumping, of materials 
containing the following constituents as other than trace contaminants 
will not be approved on other than an emergency basis:
    (1) Organohalogen compounds;
    (2) Mercury and mercury compounds;

[[Page 207]]

    (3) Cadmium and cadmium compounds;
    (4) Oil of any kind or in any form, including but not limited to 
petroleum, oil sludge, oil refuse, crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel 
oil, lubricating oils, hydraulic fluids, and any mixtures containing 
these, transported for the purpose of dumping insofar as these are not 
regulated under the FWPCA;
    (5) Known carcinogens, mutagens, or teratogens or materials 
suspected to be carcinogens, mutagens, or teratogens by responsible 
scientific opinion.
    (b) These constituents will be considered to be present as trace 
contaminants only when they are present in materials otherwise 
acceptable for ocean dumping in such forms and amounts in liquid, 
suspended particulate, and solid phases that the dumping of the 
materials will not cause significant undesirable effects, including the 
possibility of danger associated with their bioaccumulation in marine 
organisms.
    (c) The potential for significant undesirable effects due to the 
presence of these constituents shall be determined by application of 
results of bioassays on liquid, suspended particulate, and solid phases 
of wastes according to procedures acceptable to EPA, and for dredged 
material, acceptable to EPA and the Corps of Engineers. Materials shall 
be deemed environmentally acceptable for ocean dumping only when the 
following conditions are met:
    (1) The liquid phase does not contain any of these constituents in 
concentrations which will exceed applicable marine water quality 
criteria after allowance for initial mixing; provided that mercury 
concentrations in the disposal site, after allowance for initial mixing, 
may exceed the average normal ambient concentrations of mercury in ocean 
waters at or near the dumping site which would be present in the absence 
of dumping, by not more than 50 percent; and
    (2) Bioassay results on the suspended particulate phase of the waste 
do not indicate occurrence of significant mortality or significant 
adverse sublethal effects due to the dumping of wastes containing the 
constituents listed in paragraph (a) of this section. These bioassays 
shall be conducted with appropriate sensitive marine organisms as 
defined in Sec. 227.27(c) using procedures for suspended particulate 
phase bioassays approved by EPA, or, for dredged material, approved by 
EPA and the Corps of Engineers. Procedures approved for bioassays under 
this section will require exposure of organisms for a sufficient period 
of time and under appropriate conditions to provide reasonable 
assurance, based on consideration of the statistical significance of 
effects at the 95 percent confidence level, that, when the materials are 
dumped, no significant undesirable effects will occur due to chronic 
toxicity of the constituents listed in paragraph (a) of this section; 
and
    (3) Bioassay results on the solid phase of the wastes do not 
indicate occurrence of significant mortality or significant adverse 
sublethal effects due to the dumping of wastes containing the 
constituents listed in paragraph (a) of this section. These bioassays 
shall be conducted with appropriate sensitive benthic marine organisms 
using benthic bioassay procedures approved by EPA, or, for dredged 
material, approved by EPA and the Corps of Engineers. Procedures 
approved for bioassays under this section will require exposure of 
organisms for a sufficient period of time to provide reasonable 
assurance, based on considerations of statistical significance of 
effects at the 95 percent confidence level, that, when the materials are 
dumped, no significant undesirable effects will occur due either to 
chronic toxicity or to bioaccumulation of the constituents listed in 
paragraph (a) of this section; and
    (4) For persistent organohalogens not included in the applicable 
marine water quality criteria, bioassay results on the liquid phase of 
the waste show that such compounds are not present in concentrations 
large enough to cause significant undesirable effects due either to 
chronic toxicity or to bioaccumulation in marine organisms after 
allowance for initial mixing.
    (d) When the Administrator, Regional Administrator or District 
Engineer, as the case may be, has reasonable cause to believe that a 
material proposed for ocean dumping contains compounds identified as 
carcinogens,

[[Page 208]]

mutagens, or teratogens for which criteria have not been included in the 
applicable marine water quality criteria, he may require special studies 
to be done prior to issuance of a permit to determine the impact of 
disposal on human health and/or marine ecosystems. Such studies must 
provide information comparable to that required under paragraph (c)(3) 
of this section.
    (e) The criteria stated in paragraphs (c)(2) and (3) of this section 
will become mandatory as soon as announcement of the availability of 
acceptable procedures is made in the Federal Register. At that time the 
interim criteria contained in paragraph (e) of this section shall no 
longer be applicable. As interim measures the criteria of paragraphs 
(c)(2) and (3) of this section may be applied on a case-by-case basis 
where interim guidance on acceptable bioassay procedures is provided by 
the Regional Administrator or, in the case of dredged material, by the 
District Engineer; or, in the absence of such guidance, permits may be 
issued for the dumping of any material only when the following 
conditions are met, except under an emergency permit:
    (1) Mercury and its compounds are present in any solid phase of a 
material in concentrations less than 0.75 mg/kg, or less than 50 percent 
greater than the average total mercury content of natural sediments of 
similar lithologic characteristics as those at the disposal site; and
    (2) Cadmium and its compounds are present in any solid phase of a 
material in concentrations less than 0.6 mg/kg, or less than 50 percent 
greater than the average total cadmium content of natural sediments of 
similar lithologic characteristics as those at the disposal site; and
    (3) The total concentration of organohalogen constituents in the 
waste as transported for dumping is less than a concentration of such 
constituents known to be toxic to marine organisms. In calculating the 
concentration of organohalogens, the applicant shall consider that these 
constituents are all biologically available. The determination of the 
toxicity value will be based on existing scientific data or developed by 
the use of bioassays conducted in accordance with approved EPA 
procedures; and
    (4) The total amounts of oils and greases as identified in paragraph 
(a)(4) of this section do not produce a visible surface sheen in an 
undisturbed water sample when added at a ratio of one part waste 
material to 100 parts of water.
    (f) The prohibitions and limitations of this section do not apply to 
the constituents identified in paragraph (a) of this section when the 
applicant can demonstrate that such constituents are (1) present in the 
material only as chemical compounds or forms (e.g., inert insoluble 
solid materials) non-toxic to marine life and non-bioaccumulative in the 
marine environment upon disposal and thereafter, or (2) present in the 
material only as chemical compounds or forms which, at the time of 
dumping and thereafter, will be rapidly rendered non-toxic to marine 
life and non-bioaccumulative in the marine environment by chemical or 
biological degradation in the sea; provided they will not make edible 
marine organisms unpalatable; or will not endanger human health or that 
of domestic animals, fish, shellfish, or wildlife.
    (g) The prohibitions and limitations of this section do not apply to 
the constituents identified in paragraph (a) of this section for the 
granting of research permits if the substances are rapidly rendered 
harmless by physical, chemical or biological processes in the sea; 
provided they will not make edible marine organisms unpalatable and will 
not endanger human health or that of domestic animals.
    (h) The prohibitions and limitations of this section do not apply to 
the constituents identified in paragraph (a) of this section for the 
granting of permits for the transport of these substances for the 
purpose of incineration at sea if the applicant can demonstrate that the 
stack emissions consist of substances which are rapidly rendered 
harmless by physical, chemical or biological processes in the sea. 
Incinerator operations shall comply with requirements which

[[Page 209]]

will be established on a case-by-case basis.

[42 FR 2476, Jan. 11, 1977; 43 FR 1071, Jan. 6, 1978, as amended at 59 
FR 26572, May 20, 1994; 59 FR 52652, Oct. 18, 1994]