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Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy Fact SheetApril 1998 IntroductionTo address the ecological and human health risks that contaminated sediment poses in many U.S. watersheds, EPA announces publication of its Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy. Also available, through the Office of Water Docket, is the Response to Public Comments Document. The Strategy is an EPA workplan describing actions the Agency believes are needed to bring about consideration and reduction of risks posed by contaminated sediments. In the Strategy, EPA summarizes its understanding of the extent and severity of sediment contamination, including uncertainties about the dimension of the problem and describes the cross-program policy framework in which the Agency intends to promote consideration and reduction of ecological and human health risks posed by sediment contamination. The Strategy establishes four goals to manage the problem of contaminated sediment, and describes actions the Agency intends to take to accomplish these goals. The goals are: 1) to control sources of sediment contamination and prevent the volume of contaminated sediment from increasing; 2) to reduce the volume of existing (in-place) contaminated sediment; 3) to ensure that sediment dredging and dredged material disposal are managed in an environmentally sound manner; and 4) to develop a range of scientifically sound sediment management tools for use in pollution prevention, source control, remediation and dredged material management. Concerns About Sediment ContaminationRecent studies of the quality of the nation's lakes, rivers, and bays, and concerns about the economic impacts associated with contaminated fish and disposal of contaminated dredged material make sediment contamination an important issue.
Why EPA Needs a Contaminated Sediment Management StrategyEPA needs an Agency-wide Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy because cooperation among many EPA offices is necessary to address the problem of contaminated sediment.
What the Strategy Will AccomplishThe Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy sets forth an EPA plan to accomplish a number of key actions.
To Obtain Copies of the StrategyCopies of EPA's Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy are available from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Publications and Information, P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45242. They may be ordered by phone at 800 490-9198; by fax at 513 489-8695; or on-line. Download the Strategy (PDF, 805kb, 131 pages, about this format) April 1998
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Great Lakes Contaminated Sediments | Contaminated Sediments in Superfund |
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