[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 40, Volume 24]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

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 sig nificant 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 bio ac cumu la tion 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]