United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Department of the Army
US Army Corps of Engineers
EPA 823-F-94-002
June 1994
Office of Water (4305)
&EPA
FACT SHEET
DRAFT INLAND TESTING MANUAL (ITM)
INTRODUCTION
The draft Inland Testing Manual (ITM) contains up-to-
date procedures to implement requirements in the Clean
Water Act (CWA Section 404(b)(l) Guidelines) for
evaluation of potential contaminant-related impacts
associated with the discharge of dredged material in fresh,
estuarine, and saline (near-coastal) waters. Formally titled
"Evaluation of Dredged Material Proposed for Discharge
in Waters of the U.S.-Testing Manual (Draft)", it was
prepared by a joint Environmental Protection
Agency/Corps of Engineers (EPA/CE) Workgroup. In
1991, EPA and the CE revised an Ocean Testing Manual
("Evaluation of Dredged Material Proposed for "Ocean"
Disposal - Testing Manual") for evaluation of potential
contaminant-related impacts associated with the discharge
of dredged material in the ocean, under the Marine
Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA).
The ITM Addresses:
• contaminant-related impacts associated with discharges
of dredged material in open water disposal areas
• contaminant-related impacts to surface water and
surrounding environs associated with dredged material
effluent discharged from confined disposal areas.
The ITM Does Not Address:
• impacts associated with the dredging activity itself
• impacts associated with the discharge of fill material
(except where dredged material is used for fill and
there is a reason to believe that contaminants may be
released).
• impacts associated with the discharge of dredged
material in the ocean, under the MPRSA.
BACKGROUND
Sediments may contain contaminants which, if
bioavailable, can cause adverse environmental effects and,
in some cases, affect human health. Dredged material
disposal activities may release or redistribute these
contaminants. The vast majority of disposal activities
occur in inland and near coastal waters. The ITM sets
forth national technical guidance (which replaces a 1976
guidance manual) for evaluating potential contaminant-
related impacts from dredged material discharges in such
waters.
THE ITM
is a new document
contains up-to-date procedures
provides a national framework
allows for regional flexibility
SCHEDULE
The ITM was released in early 1993 for peer review by
the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), and for broad
agency review and comment. It is being released for
public review and comment at this time, and will be
finalized in late 1994. As per the Federal Register notice
announcing the availability of the ITM, a copy may be
obtained from Shirley Walker at the CE Waterways
Experiment Station (601-634-2571).
PURPOSE
The ITM provides a national testing framework which
comprises one element of an overall decision-making
process for determining whether dredged material can be
discharged into CWA Section 404 waters. The ITM is
intended to provide for consistency between dredged
material evaluations under CWA and MPRSA. In
recognition of the importance of site- and situation-
specific concerns, regional flexibility in implementation
and application is allowed within this national framework.
DESCRIPTION
The ITM uses a tiered testing approach as shown in
Figure 1 and described below.
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1 m *m»m~
\ EVALUATE EXISTING
1 INFORMATION; TESTING
ONLY FOR EXCLUSONS
WATER COLUMN BENTHOS
MEASURE AND
MODEL DISSOLVED
CONTAMINANTS;
COMPARE TO WQS
MEASURE TOXICrrY;
MODEL SUSPENDED
PHASE; DETERMINE
Toxicmr AFTER
MDQNO
1
1 CASE-SPBCIHC
TOMCITY TESTS
CALCULATE
THEORETICAL
BIOACCUMULAT10N
POTENTIAL; COMPARE
TO REFERENCE
MEASURE TOXldTY;
MEASURE
BIOACCUMULATION;
COMPARE TO FDA
UMITSANDTO
REFERENCE
CASE-SPECIFIC
TOXiaTY.
BIOACCUMULATION;
OTHER TESTS
1
TIER I
(GENERALLY REPRESENTS
EXISTING INFORMATION)
TIER U
(SOLELY CONCERNED WITH
CHEMISTRY)
TIER Ul
(GENERIC B10ASSAY
rroxiaTY AND
BIOACCUMULATiON] TESTS)
TIERIV
(SPECIFIC BJOASSAY
rroxiaTY AND
BIOACCUMULATION] AND
OTHER TESTS)
Figure 1 Overview of ITM Tiered Testing Approach
Tier 1 - Involves an examination of existing information
to determine (1) whether or not there is "reason to
believe" that the dredged material needs to be tested for
potential adverse effects;, and (2) identification of any
contaminants of concern relative to testing in later tiers.
Material may be excluded from further testing if there is
reasonable assurance that (1) it is not a carrier of
contaminants, or (2) it is adjacent and similar to the
disposal site material, and dispersal of the discharge can
be controlled. Some limited testing may be necessary to
confirm such exclusions.
Tier II - Is concerned solely with sediment and water
chemistry. Tier II provides useful information through
screening tools, but not all possible determinations can be
reached at this tier. It presently consists of (1) measuring
dissolved contaminants, (2) evaluation of state Water
Quality Standard (WQS) compliance using a numerical
mixing model, and (3) an evaluation of theoretical
bioaccumulation potential for nonpolar organic chemicals.
Tier III - Employs well-defined, nationally accepted
bioassays including: (1) water column laboratory toxicity
tests, (2) whole sediment laboratory toxicity tests, (3)
whole sediment bioaccumulation tests. Appropriately
sensitive organisms are recommended, including
benchmark species for evaluating the sensitivity of
regional species. Summaries of test conditions and test
acceptability criteria for all recommended bioassay species
are also provided. Toxicity testing emphasizes acute
responses, generally survival. Water column toxicity
evaluations consider mixing of the dredged material at the
discharge site. Benthic bioaccumulation testing provides
for the determination of bioavailability through 28-day
exposure tests. Tier III testing will usually provide
sufficient information for use in the overall decision-
making process for compliance with the Guidelines.
Tier IV - Will only be used in certain cases, where results
from tests in earlier tiers are insufficient to determine the
potential adverse effects of the material to be discharged.
Tier IV, like Tier III, uses toxicity and bioaccumulation
tests, however: (1) toxicity tests may involve field (rather
than laboratory) exposures, different end-points (e.g.,
chronic rather than acute), different species, or longer
laboratory exposures; (2) bioaccumulation tests may
involve field (rather than laboratory) exposures using
transplanted or resident organisms, or longer laboratory
exposures. Tier IV can also include benthos studies.
Reference Sediment - Is the key to the evaluation of
dredged material - results of tests using reference
sediment provide the point of comparison (reference
point) to which effects of dredged material are compared.
Reference sediment is generally collected outside the
influence of previous disposal operations at the disposal
site, but near enough to the disposal site that the reference
sediment is subject to all the same influences (except
previously disposed dredged material) as the disposal site.
It should not be located in the immediate vicinity of spills,
outfalls, or other significant sources of contaminants, and
should have a grain size as similar as practicable to that
of the dredged material and disposal site sediment. The
reference sediment concept is the subject of a CWA
rulemaking that will be proposed in the Federal Register
for public comment prior to issuance of the final ITM.
THE ITM INCLUDES:
Statutory and Regulatory Background
Scope and Applicability
Overview of Testing and Evaluation
Technical Guidance
- Sampling and Analysis
- Physical and Chemical Evaluations
- Bioassays (Toxicity and
Bioaccumulation)
- Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Evaluation of Discharges from
Confined Disposal Facilities
- Evaluation of Mixing
- Statistical Methods
- Identification of Ammonia Toxicity
SUMMARY
The ITM is intended to provide greater national
consistency in the (1) testing process, and (2) level of
environmental protection, both among regions of the U.S.
and between inland and ocean waters.
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