[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: 40CFR230.60]



[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.  230.60  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 docu mented once and referenced in later deter minations.

    (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.

    (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



[[Page 273]]



    (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.