[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 24]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR230.61]

[Page 272-273]
 
                   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. 230.61  Chemical, biological, and physical evaluation and testing.

    Note: The Agency is today proposing revised testing guidelines. The 
evaluation and testing procedures in this section are based on the 1975 
section 404(b)(1) interim final Guidelines and shall remain in effect 
until the revised testing guidelines are published as final regulations.
    (a) No single test or approach can be applied in all cases to 
evaluate the effects of proposed discharges of dredged or fill 
materials. This section provides some guidance in determining which test 
and/or evaluation procedures are appropriate in a given case. Interim 
guidance to applicants concerning the applicability of specific 
approaches or procedures will be furnished by the permitting authority.
    (b) Chemical-biological interactive effects. The principal concerns 
of discharge of dredged or fill material that contain contaminants are 
the potential effects on the water column and on communities of aquatic 
organisms.
    (1) Evaluation of chemical-biological interactive effects. Dredged 
or fill material may be excluded from the evaluation procedures 
specified in paragraphs (b) (2) and (3) of this section if it is 
determined, on the basis of the evaluation in Sec. 230.60, that the 
likelihood of contamination by contaminants is acceptably low, unless 
the permitting authority, after evaluating and considering any comments 
received from the Regional Administrator, determines that these 
procedures are necessary. The Regional Administrator may require, on a 
case-by-case basis, testing approaches and procedures by stating what 
additional information is needed through further analyses and how the 
results of the analyses will be of value in evaluating potential 
environmental effects.

If the General Evaluation indicates the presence of a sufficiently large 
number of chemicals to render impractical the identification of all 
contaminants by

[[Page 273]]

chemical testing, information may be obtained from bioassays in lieu of 
chemical tests.
    (2) Water column effects. (i) Sediments normally contain 
constituents that exist in various chemical forms and in various 
concentrations in several locations within the sediment. An elutriate 
test may be used to predict the effect on water quality due to release 
of contaminants from the sediment to the water column. However, in the 
case of fill material originating on land which may be a carrier of 
contaminants, a water leachate test is appropriate.
    (ii) Major constituents to be analyzed in the elutriate are those 
deemed critical by the permitting authority, after evaluating and 
considering any comments received from the Regional Administrator, and 
considering results of the evaluation in Sec. 230.60. Elutriate 
concentrations should be compared to concentrations of the same 
constituents in water from the disposal site. Results should be 
evaluated in light of the volume and rate of the intended discharge, the 
type of discharge, the hydrodynamic regime at the disposal site, and 
other information relevant to the impact on water quality. The 
permitting authority should consider the mixing zone in evaluating water 
column effects. The permitting authority may specify bioassays when such 
procedures will be of value.
    (3) Effects on benthos. The permitting authority may use an 
appropriate benthic bioassay (including bio ac cum u la tion tests) when 
such procedures will be of value in assessing eco logical effects and in 
establishing dis charge conditions.
    (c) Procedure for comparison of sites.
    (1) When an inventory of the total concentration of contaminants 
would be of value in comparing sediment at the dredging site with 
sediment at the disposal site, the permitting authority may require a 
sediment chemical analysis. Markedly different concentrations of 
contaminants between the excavation and disposal sites may aid in making 
an environmental assessment of the proposed disposal operation. Such 
differences should be interpreted in terms of the potential for harm as 
supported by any pertinent scientific literature.
    (2) When an analysis of biological community structure will be of 
value to assess the potential for adverse environmental impact at the 
proposed disposal site, a comparison of the biological characteristics 
between the excavation and disposal sites may be required by the 
permitting authority. Biological indicator species may be useful in 
evaluating the existing degree of stress at both sites. Sensitive 
species representing community components colonizing various substrate 
types within the sites should be identified as possible bioassay 
organisms if tests for toxicity are required. Community structure 
studies should be performed only when they will be of value in 
determining discharge conditions. This is particularly applicable to 
large quantities of dredged material known to contain adverse quantities 
of toxic materials. Community studies should include benthic organisms 
such as microbiota and harvestable shellfish and finfish. Abundance, 
diversity, and distribution should be documented and correlated with 
substrate type and other appropriate physical and chemical environmental 
characteristics.
    (d) Physical tests and evaluation. The effect of a discharge of 
dredged or fill material on physical substrate characteristics at the 
disposal site, as well as on the water circulation, fluctuation, 
salinity, and suspended particulates content there, is important in 
making factual determinations in Sec. 230.11. Where information on such 
effects is not otherwise available to make these factual determinations, 
the permitting authority shall require appropriate physical tests and 
evaluations as are justified and deemed necessary. Such tests may 
include sieve tests, settleability tests, compaction tests, mixing zone 
and suspended particulate plume determinations, and site assessments of 
water flow, circulation, and salinity characteristics.