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FOREWORD

Subsequent to the completion of this study, a broad-based task force convened by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) met in February 1990 to develop a comprehensive strategy aimed at assessing, preventing, remediating, and dredging sediments. The draft strategy document will be sent this summer to EPA's regions, other federal agencies, environmentalists, and industry for comment, and a draft strategy is expected to be available at the end of the year. The EPA had already established a sediment steering committee and technical committee in 1988, but the newly formed task force is the first agency effort to develop a comprehensive agencywide strategy for sediments.

Sediment contamination was the subject of joint hearings held by the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Oceanography and Oversight/Investigations Subcommittees in March, 1990. According to congressional staffers who expressed frustration that EPA had not acted sooner to develop sediment standards, the hearings were a prelude to legislative action. Also in March, Rep. Henry Nowak (D-NY), chairman of the House Public Works and Transportation Water Resources Subcommittee, introduced a bill to accelerate cleanup of contaminated sediments in the Great Lakes where pioneering work is being conducted that will have national ramifications for setting sediment cleanup standards.

It is generally recognized by EPA that sediments pose a complicated problem because much of the contamination is "historical"--stemming from sources no longer present and occurring over time through the accumulation of extremely low levels of persistent chemicals. It is difficult to set truly protective discharge limits for some chemicals or to eliminate the chemicals from urban runoffs. Nonetheless, some states have already initiated sediment monitoring requirements around refinery outfalls as part of NPDES permit renewals.

The petroleum industry should be prepared for increasing sediment regulatory activity during the 1990s. This report provides useful information to aid both managers and scientists in understanding the basis for sediment criteria development and how it might be used in a regulatory mode.