The DMMP agencies, in coordination with the Puget Sound Partnership, have approved new interim guidelines for dioxin in dredged material disposed in Puget Sound. An announcement of the guidelines, which includes links to the guidelines themselves and responses to comments received following the 2010 Sediment Management Annual Review Meeting (SMARM), can be found at: http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/PublicMenu/Menu.cfm?sitename=DMMO&pagename=Dioxin_Work_Group
Based on the comments received after the SMARM, the following modifications were made to the agency proposal:
1) In response to concerns expressed by the tribes and others regarding potential impacts to shellfish harvesting areas from disposal of dredged material at the dispersive sites, at least some dioxin testing will be required for most projects utilizing those sites. In addition, a fate and transport modeling study will be conducted to see what, if any, sediment might be transported to Discovery Bay, Protection Island and Port Gamble Bay following disposal at the Port Townsend or Rosario Strait sites. Depending on the outcome of this study, the expanded dioxin testing requirement may be retained or dropped.
2) In response to concerns expressed by the ports that the guidelines were too prescriptive, the automatic triggering of bioaccumulation testing for dredged material exceeding the 10 parts-per-trillion upper screening level was eliminated. Screening level exceedances will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
The process to revise the dioxin guidelines began in 2007. The agencies have received feedback through various venues, including questionnaires, public meetings, workshops and SMARM comments. In crafting the revised guidelines, the DMMP agencies have strived to comply with existing regulations and to protect human health, while being mindful of potential economic impacts. We believe the revised guidelines meet these goals.
The DMMP agencies want to emphasize that the revised guidelines are being implemented as new interim guidelines. The SMS/MTCA integration effort continues and rule revisions may very well affect the new interim guidelines. The DMMP agencies stand ready to incorporate those changes.
