[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: 40CFR230.60]

[Page 268-269]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 230--SECTION 404(b)(1) GUIDELINES FOR SPECIFICATION OF DISPOSAL SITES 
FOR DREDGED OR FILL MATERIAL--Table of Contents
 
                    Subpart G--Evaluation and Testing
 
Sec. 230.60  General evaluation of dredged or fill material.


    The purpose of these evaluation procedures and the chemical and 
biological testing sequence outlined in Sec. 230.61 is to provide 
information to reach the determinations required by Sec. 230.11. Where 
the results of prior evaluations, chemical and biological tests, 
scientific research, and experience can provide information helpful in 
making a determination, these should be used. Such prior results may 
make new testing unnecessary. The information used shall be documented. 
Where the same information applies to more than one determination, it 
may be documented once and referenced in later determinations.
    (a) If the evaluation under paragraph (b) indicates the dredged or 
fill material is not a carrier of contaminants, then the required 
determinations pertaining to the presence and effects of contaminants 
can be made without testing. Dredged or fill material is most likely to 
be free from chemical, biological, or other pollutants where it is 
composed primarily of sand, gravel, or other naturally occurring inert 
material. Dredged material so composed is generally found in areas of 
high current or wave energy such as streams with large bed loads or 
coastal areas with shifting bars and channels. However, when such 
material is discolored or contains other indications that contaminants 
may be present, further inquiry should be made.
    (b) The extraction site shall be examined in order to assess whether 
it is sufficiently removed from sources of pollution to provide 
reasonable assurance that the proposed discharge material is not a 
carrier of contaminants. Factors to be considered include but are not 
limited to:
    (1) Potential routes of contaminants or contaminated sediments to 
the extraction site, based on hydrographic or other maps, aerial 
photography, or other materials that show watercourses, surface relief, 
proximity to tidal movement, private and public roads, location of 
buildings, municipal and industrial areas, and agricultural or forest 
lands.

[[Page 269]]

    (2) Pertinent results from tests previously carried out on the 
material at the extraction site, or carried out on similar material for 
other permitted projects in the vicinity. Materials shall be considered 
similar if the sources of contamination, the physical configuration of 
the sites and the sediment composition of the materials are comparable, 
in light of water circulation and stratification, sediment accumulation 
and general sediment characteristics. Tests from other sites may be 
relied on only if no changes have occurred at the extraction sites to 
render the results irrelevant.
    (3) Any potential for significant introduction of persistent 
pesticides from land runoff or percolation;
    (4) Any records of spills or disposal of petroleum products or 
substances designated as hazardous under section 311 of the Clean Water 
Act (See 40 CFR part 116);
    (5) Information in Federal, State and local records indicating 
significant introduction of pollutants from industries, municipalities, 
or other sources, including types and amounts of waste materials 
discharged along the potential routes of contaminants to the extraction 
site; and
    (6) Any possibility of the presence of substantial natural deposits 
of minerals or other substances which could be released to the aquatic 
environment in harmful quantities by man-induced discharge activities.
    (c) To reach the determinations in Sec. 230.11 involving potential 
effects of the discharge on the characteristics of the disposal site, 
the narrative guidance in subparts C through F shall be used along with 
the general evaluation procedure in Sec. 230.60 and, if necessary, the 
chemical and biological testing sequence in Sec. 230.61. Where the 
discharge site is adjacent to the extraction site and subject to the 
same sources of contaminants, and materials at the two sites are 
substantially similar, the fact that the material to be discharged may 
be a carrier of contaminants is not likely to result in degradation of 
the disposal site. In such circumstances, when dissolved material and 
suspended particulates can be controlled to prevent carrying pollutants 
to less contaminated areas, testing will not be required.
    (d) Even if the Sec. 230.60(b) evaluation (previous tests, the 
presence of polluting industries and information about their discharge 
or runoff into waters of the U.S., bioinventories, etc.) leads to the 
conclusion that there is a high probability that the material proposed 
for discharge is a carrier of contaminants, testing may not be necessary 
if constraints are available to reduce contamination to acceptable 
levels within the disposal site and to prevent contaminants from being 
transported beyond the boundaries of the disposal site, if such 
constraints are acceptable to the permitting authority and the Regional 
Administrator, and if the potential discharger is willing and able to 
implement such constraints. However, even if tests are not performed, 
the permitting authority must still determine the probable impact of the 
operation on the receiving aquatic ecosystem. Any decision not to test 
must be explained in the determinations made under Sec. 230.11.