[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: 40CFR230.61]



[Page 273-274]

 

                   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 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



[[Page 274]]



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.