Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Notices 25037

The Applicant proposes to make no

more than two applications of flowable

carbofuran on cotton at the rate of 0.25

lb. active ingredient (a.i.) [(8 fluid oz.)]

in a minimum of 2 gallons of finished

spray per acre by air, or 10 gallons of

finished spray per acre by ground

application. The total maximum

proposed use during the 1998 growing

season June 1, 1998 until September 30,

1998 would be 0.5 lb. a.i. (16 fluid oz.)

per acre. The applicant proposes that

the maximum acreage which could be

treated under the requested exemption

would be 1 million acres, with

approximately half of that acreage

requiring a second application. If all the

proposed acres were treated at the

maximum proposed rate, then 375,000

lbs. a.i. would be used in Arkansas.

This notice does not constitute a

decision by EPA on the application

itself. The regulations governing section

18 require publication of a notice of

receipt of an application for a specific

exemption proposing use of a chemical

(i.e., an active ingredient) which has

been the subject of a Special Review

within EPA’s Office of Pesticide

Programs, and the proposed use could

pose a risk similar to the risk assessed

by EPA under the previous Special

Review. Such notice provides for

opportunity for public comment on the

application.

The official record for this notice, as

well as the public version, has been

established for this notice under docket

number [OPP–181061] (including

comments and data submitted

electronically as described below). A

public version of this record, including

printed, paper versions of electronic

comments, which does not include any

information claimed as CBI is available

for inspection from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, excluding legal

holidays. The official record is the paper

record maintained at the address in

‘‘ADDRESSES’’ at the beginning of this

document.

Electronic comments can be sent

directly to EPA at: oppdocket@epamail.epa.gov

Electronic comments must be

submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the

use of special characters and any form

of encryption. Comments and data will

also be accepted on disks in

WordPerfect in 5.1/6.1 or ASCII file

format. All comments and data in

electronic form must be identified by

the docket number [OPP–181061].

Electronic comments on this notice may

be filed online at many Federal

Depository Libraries.

The Agency, accordingly, will review

and consider all comments received

during the comment period in

determining whether to issue the

emergency exemption requested by the

Arkansas State Plant Board.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Pesticides

and pests, Emergency exemptions.

Dated: April 23, 1998.

Peter Caulkins,

Acting Director, Registration Division, Office

of Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 98–11761 Filed 5–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OW–FRL–6010–4]

Contaminated Sediment Management

Stategy

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) announces the

availability of EPA’s Contaminated

Sediment Management Strategy, an

Agency workplan issued in support of

EPA’s regulatory and policy initiatives.

The Strategy does not propose new

regulation and is Agency guidance only.

Also available for review is the

Comment and Response Document.

EPA’s Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy describes the

cross-program policy framework in

which EPA 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

those goals. The four goals are: (1)

Prevent the volume of contaminated

sediment from increasing; (2) reduce the

volume of existing contaminated

sediment; (3) ensure that sediment

dredging and dredged material disposal

are managed in an environmentally

sound manner; and (4) develop

scientifically sound sediment

management tools for use in pollution

prevention, source control, remediation,

and dredged material management.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of EPA’s

Contaminated Sediment Management

Strategy (EPA document number EPA

823–R–98–001) should be sent to: U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

National Center for Environmental

Publications and Information, P.O. Box

42419, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242;

telephone: 1–800–490–9198, fax: 513–

489–8695. EPA’s Contaminated

Sediment Management Strategy may be

viewed or downloaded form the Office

of Science and Technology’s homepage

on the Internet at http:www.epa.gov/

OST/. The Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy and Comment and

Response Document are available for

public inspection and copying from 9:00

am to 4:00 pm at the Water Docket, East

Tower Basement, Environmental

Protection Agency, Mail Code 4101, 401

M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.

Also available are related docket

materials which include: the proposed

Strategy, all public comments received

on the Strategy as well as those received

on an earlier proposal for discussion,

and the proceedings of three national

public forums held to discuss

development of the Strategy. For an

appointment to review Docket materials,

call the Water Docket Clerk at 202–260–

3027 between 9 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. As

provided in 40 CFR Part 2, a reasonable

fee may be charged for copying services.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane

M. Farris, Risk Assessment and

Management Branch, Office of Science

and Technology, Mail Code 4305, 401 M

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460,

Telephone: 202–260–8897.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA

accepted written comments on the

proposed Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy for 90 days after

publication of the notice of availability

in the Federal Register on August 30,

1994, and publication of a notice of

extension of comment period in the

Federal Register on October 28, 1994.

At the close of the comment period on

November 30, 1994 through 1997, EPA’s

Office of Science and Technology

within the Office of Water developed

responses to comments received from

126 organizations. The Strategy and

comment/response document have been

reviewed and revised by four staff

workgroups of the EPA Sediment

Steering Committee who also drafted

the proposed Strategy.

Executive Summary—EPA’s

Contaminated Sediment Management

Strategy

Reinventing Government to Streamline

Decision-making

Contaminated sediment poses

ecological and human health risks in

many watersheds throughout the United

States. In these watersheds, sediment

serves as a contaminant reservoir from

which fish and bottom dwelling

organisms can accumulate toxic

compounds and pass them up the food
25038 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Notices

chain. Sediment contaminants can be

passed to fish, birds, and mammals until

they accumulate to levels that may be

toxic. Such toxic effects may include

neurological, developmental, and

reproductive impacts. Toxic chemicals

come from discharges from industrial

waste and sewage; storm water runoff

from waste dumps, city streets and

farms; air pollutants contained in

rainwater; contaminants in ground

water; discharges to surface water; and

from natural sources. The magnitude of

the sediment contamination problem in

the United States is evidenced in more

than 2,100 State advisories that have

been issued against consuming fish.

Sediments were identified as a potential

source of contamination at many of the

sites where consumption of fish may

pose health risks. EPA has studied

sediment quality data from 1,372 of the

2,111 watersheds in the continental U.S.

Of these, EPA has identified 96

watersheds that contain ‘‘areas of

probable concern’’ where potential

adverse effects of sediment

contamination are more likely to be

found.

More than ten Federal statutes

provide authority to many EPA program

offices to address the problem of

contaminated sediment. This has

resulted in fragmented, and in some

cases duplicative, efforts to complete

the necessary research, technology

development, and pollution control

activities required to effectively manage

contaminated sediment. Often it has

been difficult for EPA programs to agree

even upon the fundamental question of

whether sediment at a particular site

poses ecological or human health risks.

EPA’s Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy was developed to

streamline decision-making within and

among the Agency’s program offices by

promoting and ensuring: the use of

consistent sediment assessment

practices, consistent consideration of

risks posed by contaminated sediment,

the use of consistent approaches to

management of contaminated sediment

risks, and the wise use of scarce

resources for research and technology

development.

Goals of the Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy

EPA’s Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy describes actions

that the Agency intends to take to

accomplish the following four strategic

goals: (1) Prevent the volume of

contaminated sediment from increasing;

(2) reduce the volume of existing

contaminated sediment; (3) ensure that

sediment dredging and dredged material

disposal are managed in an

environmentally sound manner; (4)

develop scientifically sound sediment

management tools for use in pollution

prevention, source control, remediation,

and dredged material management.

What the Strategy Does

The Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy is comprised of

six component sections: assessment,

prevention, remediation, dredged

material management, research, and

outreach. In each section, EPA describes

actions that the Agency intends to take

to accomplish the four broad strategic

goals.

In the assessment section of the

Strategy EPA proposes that Agency

program offices all use standard

sediment toxicity test methods and

chemical-specific sediment quality

criteria to determine whether sediments

are contaminated. Actions that EPA has

taken to develop a biennial national

inventory of sites and sources of

sediment contamination (the National

Sediment Quality Survey and National

Sediment Inventory Database) are

described in the assessment section of

the Strategy. EPA plans to use the

National Sediment Inventory Database

(NSI) to identify sites that may be

associated with adverse effects to

human health and the environment.

These assessment actions should enable

EPA to focus on cleaning up the most

contaminated waterbodies and ensuring

that further sediment contamination is

prevented. The National Sediment

Quality Survey is a screening-level

assessment of sediment quality data and

sources of pollution that will be used by

various EPA programs.

EPA’s plan to stop sediment

contaminants from reaching the

environment is described in the

prevention section of the Strategy. In

order to regulate the use of pesticides

and toxic substances that accumulate in

sediment, EPA proposes the use of acute

sediment toxicity tests to support

registration of chemicals under the

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and

Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the

evaluation of chemicals under the Toxic

Substances Control Act (TSCA). In the

prevention section of the Strategy EPA

also proposes: considering sediment

contamination as a factor in determining

which industries should be subject to

new and revised effluent guidelines;

using pollution prevention policies to

reduce or eliminate sediment

contamination resulting from

noncompliance with permits;

developing guidelines for design of new

chemicals to reduce bioavailability and

partitioning of toxic chemicals to

sediment; and implementing point and

nonpoint source controls to protect

sediment quality. EPA’s prevention

actions would minimize further

contamination of sediment and reduce

ecological and human health risks.

In the remediation section of the

Strategy EPA proposes using multiple

statutes to require contaminated

sediment remediation by parties

responsible for pollution. These statutes

include the Comprehensive

Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act

(CERCLA), the Resource Conservation

and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean

Water Act (CWA), TSCA, the Rivers and

Harbors Act, and the Oil Pollution Act.

The Agency will consider whether a

combination of pollution prevention

and source controls will allow

contaminated sediments to recover

naturally without unacceptable impacts

to human health and the environment.

On a site-specific basis, cleanup

programs intend to consider natural

attenuation. EPA’s remediation actions

would clean up existing sediment

contamination that adversely affects the

Nation’s waterbodies.

In the dredged material management

section, EPA describes its commitment

to continue to work with the Corps of

Engineers to ensure that dredged

materials are managed in an

environmentally sound manner.

Physical, chemical and biological test

methods will continue to be used to

guide disposal and management

decisions.

In the research section of the Strategy,

EPA proposes a program of investigative

research that is needed to: develop and

validate chemical-specific sediment

criteria and other sediment assessment

methods; improve EPA’s understanding

of the transfer of sediment contaminants

through the food chain; and develop

and evaluate a range of technologies for

remediating contaminated sediments.

EPA’s proposed research program

would support improved assessment,

prevention, and remediation of

contaminated sediment.

The outreach section of the Strategy

describes actions that EPA intends to

take to demonstrate, through public

involvement, the Agency’s commitment

to, and accountability for, sediment

management efforts. EPA plans to

produce, and make available to the

public, status reports on sediment

management activities as part of the

biennial updates of the National

Sediment Quality Survey Reports.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Notices 25039

Next Steps Toward Implementation of a

Federal Agency Contaminated

Sediment Management Strategy

EPA intends to begin tracking

activities of the Agency’s program

offices as they implement the

Contaminated Sediment Management

Strategy. Future updates of Agencywide contaminated sediment activities

will be included in the biennial

National Sediment Quality Survey

Report to Congress.

EPA’s National Sediment Inventory is

a screening-level assessment of

sediment quality and sources of

pollution that can be used in various

programs. This data base can be used by

Federal, State, and local agencies to

target their pollution prevention and

remediation efforts on the sites where

sediment may be contaminated.

EPA’s Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy will promote EPA

and COE research to develop

technologies for remediation of

contaminated sediment under authority

of the CWA, CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, the

Rivers and Harbors Act, the Oil

Pollution Act, and WRDA.

Guidance provided in future updates

of the Strategy will facilitate the

coordination of dredged material

management activities among Federal

agencies and nongovernmental

organizations. Coordination of dredged

material management activities has been

called for in the December 1994 action

plan, ‘‘The Dredging Process in the

United States: An Action Plan for

Improvement,’’ developed by the

Federal Interagency Working Group on

the Dredging Process (U.S. DOT, 1994).

The Working Group was convened by

the Secretary of Transportation in the

Fall of 1993. The Group has held a

series of outreach sessions throughout

the country to solicit ideas on

improving the dredging process. The

Working Group identified important

activities needed to improve the

dredging process. These activities

include: enhanced research and

monitoring to improve dredged material

disposal decision making, identification

of opportunities to control sources of

sediment contaminants, and effective

education and communication with the

public on the risks and impacts

associated with dredged material

disposal. Future updates of the

Contaminated Sediment Management

Strategy will address these issues.

Listing of Actions Identified in EPA’s

Contaminated Sediment Management

Strategy

EPA’s Contaminated Sediment

Management Strategy proposes that

Agency program offices take the

following actions.

Assessment

All EPA program offices intend to use

standard sediment testing methods to

determine whether sediments are

contaminated. The Office of Water (OW)

intends to use standard sediment

toxicity and bioaccumulation test

methods for monitoring, interpretation

of narrative water quality standards, and

dredged material disposal testing. The

Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) and

the Office of Pollution Prevention and

Toxics (OPPT) intend to use standard

sediment toxicity tests to assess the

toxicity of pesticides when registering

or re-registering these chemicals for use

and for evaluating new and existing

chemicals under TSCA. The Office of

Emergency and Remedial Response

(OERR) intends to use standard

sediment toxicity and bioaccumulation

test methods for Superfund Remedial

Investigation/Feasibility Studies. The

Office of Solid Waste (OSW) intends to

use biological sediment toxicity test

methods for site-specific risk

assessments and monitoring at

hazardous waste facilities.

Where appropriate, EPA program

offices intend to use sediment quality

criteria, when they are published, to

assess contaminated sediment sites. All

EPA programs conducting sediment

monitoring intend to use the criteria to

interpret sediment chemistry data. Upon

publication, the criteria may be used

along with appropriate test endpoints

from chronic sediment bioassays to

interpret the narrative state water

quality standard of ‘‘no toxics in toxic

amounts’’. National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (NPDES) permit

limits would be based on applicable

water quality standards which may

include the State’s narrative standard.

EPA intends to use the sediment criteria

(as appropriate) with other information

to make site-specific decisions

concerning corrective action at

hazardous waste facilities, and to assess

Superfund sites. The Agency has begun

to develop a more detailed ‘‘User’s

Guide for Multi-Program

Implementation of Sediment Quality

Criteria in Aquatic Ecosystems,’’

describing how the Agency’s programs

intend to use these criteria. This

document will be submitted for public

review when it is drafted.

EPA program offices intend to use the

NSI as a screening-level assessment tool

of sediment quality and sources of

pollution. The NSI can be used by the

various EPA program offices to identify

sites for further assessment. The

inventory can be used to: identify

potentially contaminated sediment sites

for consideration for remedial action;

identify sites for further assessment that

may be candidates for injunctive relief

or supplemental enforcement projects;

identify problem pesticides and toxic

substances that may require further

regulation or be evaluated for possible

enforcement action; identify impaired

waters for National Water Quality

Inventory reports or possible

development of Total Maximum Daily

Loads; target watersheds for nonpoint

source best management practices; and

help select industries for effluent

guidelines development.

Prevention

In order to regulate the use of

pesticides that may accumulate to toxic

levels in sediment, EPA intends to

propose that acute sediment toxicity

tests be included in procedures required

to support registration, re-registration,

and special review of pesticides likely

to sorb to sediment. In fiscal year 1996,

EPA proposed incorporating acute

toxicity bioassays and spiking protocols

into the Agency’s pesticide assessment

guidelines (40 CFR Part 158). To prevent

other toxic substances from

accumulating in sediment, EPA also

intends to propose incorporating acute

sediment toxicity tests and sediment

bioaccumulation tests into routine

chemical review processes required

under TSCA. In addition, EPA intends

to develop guidelines for design of new

chemicals to reduce bioavailability and

partitioning of toxic chemicals to

sediment.

EPA’s Office of Enforcement and

Compliance Assurance (OECA) plans to

take action to prevent sediment

contamination by negotiating, in

appropriate cases of noncompliance

with permits, enforceable settlement

agreements to require source recycling

and source reduction activities. The

Office of Regulatory Enforcement within

OECA also intends to monitor the

progress of Federal facilities toward the

goal of halving toxic emissions by the

year 1999 and plans to monitor the

reporting of toxic releases to the public.

OW and other EPA program offices

intend to work with nongovernmental

organizations and the States to prevent

point and nonpoint source

contaminants from accumulating in

sediments. EPA intends to: (1)

Promulgate new and revised

technology-based effluent guidelines for

industries that discharge sediment

contaminants; (2) encourage the States

to use biological sediment test methods

and sediment quality criteria to

interpret the narrative standard of ‘‘no

toxics in toxic amounts;’’ (3) encourage
25040 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 87 /Wednesday, May 6, 1998 / Notices

the States to develop Total Maximum

Daily Loads for impaired watersheds

specifying point and nonpoint source

load reductions necessary to protect

sediment quality; (4) use the NSI to

identify point sources of sediment

contaminants for potential permit

compliance tracking after further

evaluation using program-specific

criteria to confirm sediment quality

problems; (5) ensure that discharges

from CERCLA sites and RCRA facilities

subject to NPDES permits comply with

future NPDES permit requirements to

protect sediment quality; and (6) use the

NSI to identify watersheds where

technical assistance and grants could

effectively be used to reduce nonpoint

source loads of sediment contaminants.

Remediation

OW, OERR, and OECA intend to use

the NSI to help target sites for further

study which may lead to enforcement

action requiring contaminated sediment

remediation. EPA plans to use standard

sediment toxicity, bioaccumulation

tests, and site-specific field-based

methods to identify potential sites for

remediation, to assist in determining

clean-up goals for contaminated sites,

and to monitor the effectiveness of

remedial actions. RCRA Corrective

Action sites are generally determined by

facilities seeking a RCRA permit, not by

the program identifying contaminated

areas, except in enforcement under 7003

orders.

Dredged Material Management

Guidance provided in future updates

of the Strategy will facilitate the

coordination of dredged material

management activities among Federal

agencies and nongovernmental

organizations.

Research

EPA’s Office of Research and

Development (ORD), through its

Environmental Monitoring and

Assessment Program (EMAP), intends to

continue to collect new chemical and

biological data on sediment quality.

These data would be included in the

Agency’s NSI. ORD is developing: new

biological methods to assess the

ecological and human health effects of

sediment contaminants, chemicalspecific sediment quality criteria,

methods to conduct sediment toxicity

identification evaluations and methods

to identify bioaccumulative chemicals

in sediment. ORD intends to develop

dredged material disposal fate and

transport models, sediment wasteload

allocation models, and technologies for

remediation of contaminated sediment.

Outreach

EPA plans to undertake a program of

outreach and technology transfer to

educate target audiences about

contaminated sediment risk

management. Target audiences would

include: other Federal agencies, State

and local agencies, the regulated

community, the scientific community,

environmental advocacy groups, the

news media, and the general public.

EPA plans to provide technical and

nontechnical information to these

audiences by developing a range of

outreach products. Future updates to

the Strategy will be reported in biennial

updates of the National Sediment

Quality Survey Report to Congress.

Dated: April 30, 1998.

Carol M. Browner,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 98–12032 Filed 5–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[OPPTS–44648; FRL–5788–9]

TSCA Chemical Testing; Receipt of

Test Data

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces EPA’s

receipt of test data on alkyl glycidyl

ether (CAS No. 120547–52–6) and

tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) (CAS

No. 994–05–8). These data were

submitted pursuant to enforceable

testing consent agreements/orders

issued by EPA under section 4 of the

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Publication of this notice is in

compliance with section 4(d) of TSCA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan B. Hazen, Director,

Environmental Assistance Division

(7408), Office of Pollution Prevention

and Toxics, Environmental Protection

Agency, Rm. E–543B, 401 M St., SW.,

Washington, DC 20460, (202) 554–1404,

TDD (202) 554–0551; e-mail: TSCAHotline@epamail.epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 40

CFR 790.60, all TSCA section 4

enforceable consent agreements/orders

must contain a statement that results of

testing conducted pursuant to testing

enforceable consent agreements/orders

will be announced to the public in

accordance with procedures specified in

section 4(d) of TSCA.

I. Test Data Submissions

Test data for alkyl glycidyl ether were

submitted by the Society of the Plastics

Industry, Inc. (SPI) Epoxy Resin

Systems Alkyl Glycidyl Ether Task

Force. The report was submitted

pursuant to a TSCA section 4

enforceable testing consent agreement/

order at 40 CFR 799.5000 and was

received by EPA on March 18, 1998.

The submission includes a final report

entitled ‘‘In Vitro Mammalian Cell Gene

Mutation Test with an Independent

Repeat Assay.’’ This chemical is used as

an epoxy resin additive and as a

modifier for other epoxides in flooring

adhesives.

Test data for tertiary amyl methyl

ether were submitted by the American

Petroleum Institute (API), on behalf of

the Tertiary Amyl Methyl Ether (TAME)

Consortium. The report was also

submitted pursuant to a TSCA section 4

enforceable consent agreement/order at

40 CFR 799.5000. EPA received the

report on March 27, 1998. The

submission includes a final report

entitled ‘‘Two-Generation Reproductive

Toxicity Evaluation of Inhaled Tertiary

Amyl Methyl Ether (TAME) Vapor in

CD (Sprague-Dawley) Rats.’’ This

chemical is widely seen as a possible

additive to gasoline.

EPA has initiated its review and

evaluation process for these data

submissions. At this time, the Agency is

unable to provide any determination as

to the completeness of the submissions.

II. Public Record

EPA has established a public record

for this TSCA section 4(d) receipt of

data notice (docket number OPPTS–

44648). This record includes copies of

all studies reported in this notice. The

record is available for inspection from

12 noon to 4 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except legal holidays, in the

TSCA Nonconfidential Information

Center (also known as the TSCA Public

Docket Office), Rm. B–607 Northeast

Mall, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC

20460. Requests for documents should

be sent in writing to: Environmental

Protection Agency, TSCA

Nonconfidential Information Center

(7407), 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC

20460 or fax: (202) 260–5069 or e-mail:

oppt.ncic@epamail.epa.gov.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2603.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Test data.