US EPA Contaminated Sediment Remediation Guidance (2005)

The U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response has posted on the Internet the final version of the much anticipated \"\" (EPA 540/R-05/012; 12/2005). The URL address for U.S. EPA\'s Contaminated Sediment Guidance is: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/resources/sediment/guidance.htm

The guidance document was prepared by U.S. EPA over the past 2-3  years to assist state and federal staff managing sediment sites by  providing a thorough overview of methods that can be used to reduce  health and ecological risks caused by contaminated sediment. To its  credit, U.S. EPA sought technical input and considered recommendations  from a broad array of public and private sector stakeholders involved in  sediment investigation, assessment, and remediation.  The guidance is  expected to strongly influence state and federal approaches to evaluation  and cleanup of contaminated sediment sites in the U.S. over the next  several years.

The guidance encourages consideration of several factors during cleanup  of contaminated sediment, such as:

• Identifying and controlling the sources of sediment contamination and identifying the pathways of contaminant exposure, prior to cleanup;
• Using a technical team approach and involving the community and other stakeholders throughout the cleanup process;
• Considering all three major approaches to management of contaminated sediment (monitored natural recovery, in-situ capping, and dredging) and considering alternatives which combine approaches;
• Validating models used to support sediment decisions and considering model uncertainty and sensitivity;
• Considering how contaminated sediment alternatives manage or reduce risks, including residual risks as well as the risks of the remedies; and,
• Monitoring the effectiveness of remedies at contaminated sediment sites.