FLOOD08883

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Federal Register EPA Guidelines for Specification of Disposal Sites for Dredged or Fill Material
• Date: 12/24/1980
• Prepared By: EPA
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

85346 Federal Register / Vol. 45. No. 249 I Wednesday. December 24. 1980 / Rules and ~egulations

,

approved by EPA under ~ 404(g) and
1404(h} Of his delegated representative.
[0) The term "pollutant" means
dredged spoil. solid waste. incinerator
residue. sewage, garbage. sewage
sludge. munitions. chemical wastes,
biological materials, radioactive
materials not covered by the A~omic
Energy Act. heat. wrecked or discarded
equipment, rock. sand, cellar dirt, and
industrial. municipal. and agricultural
waste discharged into water. The
!~gislati','e history of the Act reflects that
"radic- 3...:tive materials" as included
withill :1-e definition of "pollutant" in
se'~ljon 502 of the Act means only
radioactive materials which are not
encompassed in the definition of source.
byproduct, or special nuclear mater;<.tls
as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of
1954. as amended. and regulated under
the AtomiC Energy Act. Examples of
riidioastive materials not covered by the
AlorrdC Energy Act and. therefore.
i_'lciuded ,,\'ithin the term "pollutan:". arc
fadiL:lTl zind acce!eratcr produced
isotope.,. See Trom v. Colorado Public
!::terest Research Group, Inc.. 426 U.S. 1
( ~g:-Gl
(p) The 'term "poib.tiop." means the
::ldl:-rn<.lt!':! or m3n-i!1d~C2d alteralior. cf
~he chcm:cai. physicaL biological or
,adioloJ.;!cal Integrity of em aquat:c
~r:Clsy~~ern.
(ql The term "practica~le" r:wa~.S
<.;.v;:;.:bblp .3r.d capJble of being dO:1e
;jfter t!:lking into consideration cost,
eX;Sll:1g I2chnology. and logistics ir. light
of o~'erall project purposes.
(q-1] "Special aquatic sites" means
tho~e sites identified in Subpart E. They
are geographic areas. large or small.
POf:"s.,:::sing special ecological
r:haraCICrlstlcs of productivity. habitat.
wildlife protection. or other Important
and easily disrupted eco:oglc<:d values.
These' areas are generally recogni'Zed as
signif:cantly influencing or positIvely
cor.tr:buting to the general overall
environmental health or vitality of the
entire f'cosystem of a region. {See
c30.101.](311
(r) The term "territorial sea" meLlm;
the belt of the se" m~asured from the
baseline as deterr"llned in accordance
with the Conventl'n on the Territorial
Sea and tt:e Contl~uous Zone and
extending se3ward a distance of three
mdef..
(:;1 The term "waters of the umted
Stales" means:
(1) All waters which are r:urrentlv
useJ. or were used in the past. or may
be susceptible to use in interstate or
foreign commerce. including all waters
which are subject to the ebb and flow of
the tide:
(2) All interstate waters includino
interstate wetlands; '"

(3) All other waters such as intrastate
lakes. rivers. streams (including
intermittent streams). mudflats.
sandOats. wetlands. sloughs. prairie
potholes. wet meadows, playa lakes. or
natural ponds. the use. degradation. or
destruction of which could affect
interstate or foreign commerce including
any such waters:
(i) Which are or could be used by
interstate or foreign travelers for
recreational or other purposes: or
(ii) From which fish or shellfish are or
could be taken and sold in interstate or
foreign commerce; or
(iii) Which are used or could be used
for industrial purposes by industries in
interstate CODlrnerce;
(4) All impoundments of waters
othenvise defined as waters of the
United States under this definition.
(S) Tributaries of waters identified in
paragraphs (lJ-{4) of this section:
(6) The tenitorial sea;
('"',I Wetlands adjacent to waters
(other tnan waters that are' themselves
wetlands) identified in paragraphs (s)
(1)-{fj) of this section; \-\"aste treatment
systems. including treatment ponds or
lagoons des ;gned to meet the
requirements of CWA (other than
c~CJJ:nJ ponds 3S def;ned in 40 CFR
~ 4~:J,11(~] \....hich also meet the criteria
cf t~is definition) are not woters of the
l'nitr>d Stales.
{lJ Tht~ ~prm "wetlands" ffif'anS those~.
cj~AaS (hid ;lre inundated or saturated bv
surface or ground water at a frequency'
and duration sufficient to support. and
tha t under normal circumstances do
support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated
soil conditions. Wetlands generally
include swamps. marshes. bogs and
similar areas.

S 230.4 Organization.
The Guidelines are divided into eight
subparts. Subpart A presents those
provisions of general appl1cability. such
as purpose and definitions. Subpart 8
establishes the four conditions which
must be satisfied in order to make a
finding thC'lt a proposed discharge of
dredged or fill material complies with
the Guidelines. Section 230.11 of Subpart
B. SE'ls forth factual determmations
which are to be considered in
determining whether Of not a proposed
discharge satisfies the Subpart B
conditions of compliance. Subpart C
dpscribes the physical and chemical
ccmponents of a site and provides
guidance as to how proposed discharges
of dredged or fill material may affect
these components. Subparts D-F detail
the special characteristics of particular
aquatic ecosystems in terms of their
values, and the possible loss of these

values due to discharges of dredged or
fill material. Subpart G prescribes a
number of physical. chemical. and
biological evaluations and testing
procedures to be used in reaching the
required factual determinations. Subpar:
H details the means to prevent or
mimimize adverse effects. Subparl I
concerns advanced identification c:f
disposal areas.

~ 230.5 General procedures to be
fClllowed.
In evaluating whether a particular
d scnarge site may be specified. the
pl~rmitting authority should use these
Guidelines in the following sequence:
(a) In order to obtain an oven.'iew of
the principal regulatory provisions of the
Cuic!elmes. review the festrictions on
dlScnarge in ~ 230.10[a)-[d). the
rr,casures to mimimize adverse impact of
Subpart H. and the required factu3\
determinations of 1230.11.
(~l Determine if a General pf'rmlt
(~i 230.7) is applicable; if so. the
applicant needs merely to comply with
its tdms. and no further action by the
permitting authority is necessary.
Spf:C:OI L....nditions for e\'aluation of
proposed General permits are conta;nt>d
in 9 230.7. If the discharge is not covereJ
L:.. il General permit:
jc) Exnmine practicable '!!ternatives
to the proposed discharge. that is. not
dischargtng into the waters of the U.S. or
discharging into an alternative aquatic
site with potentially less damaging
cunsequences [~230.10[a)).
{d) Delineate the candidate disposal
site consistent with the criteria and
evaluations of ! 230.11(fJ.
(e) Evaluate the various physical and
chemical components which
characterize the non. living environment
cf the candidate site. the substrate and
trle water including its dynamic
characteristics (Subpart C).
(f) Identify and evaluate any special
(if critical characteristics of the
candidate disposal site. and surrounding
s reas which might be affected by use of
such site. related 10 their living
communities or human uses (Subparts D.
I:. and Fl.
(g) Review Factual Determinations in
~: 230.11 to determine whether the
information in the project file is
sufficient to provide the documentation
required by ~ 230.11 or to perform the
pre-testing evaluation described in
!: 230.60. or other information is
necessary.
[h) Evaluate the material to be
discharged to determine the possibility
of chemical contamination or physical
incompatibility of the materiallo be
discharged (~ 230.60).