Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-204 - Sediment management standards › Part V - SEDIMENT CLEANUP STANDARDS › Section 173-204-505 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
For purposes of this part, in cases where a definition does
				  not exist in this part or WAC
				  173-204-200 the definitions in
				  chapter 173-340 WAC will apply unless the context indicates otherwise. For the
				  purpose of this part, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Active cleanup action" means a cleanup
				action requiring physical construction to achieve sediment cleanup standards.
				Active cleanup actions include dredging, capping, treatment, and enhanced
				natural recovery. Passive cleanup actions such as monitored natural recovery
				and institutional controls are not active cleanup actions for purposes of
				sediment cleanup only.
(2)
				"Applicable laws" means all legally applicable requirements specified in WAC
				173-340-710(3) and those requirements that the department determines, based on the criteria in
				WAC 173-340-710(4),
				are relevant and appropriate requirements. Relevant and appropriate
				requirements may also include those requirements established under local or
				tribal laws that the department determines meet the criteria in WAC
				173-340-710(4).
(3) "Beneficial reuse" means reuse of
				sediment from the site, or a separated portion of the sediment (such as the
				gravel fraction), that utilizes the physical characteristics and properties of
				the sediment in place of other material without requiring the use of engineered
				or institutional controls to protect human health or the environment. Examples
				of beneficial reuse include habitat restoration or enhancement, mine
				reclamation, landfill cover material, asphalt or concrete aggregate, or use of
				organic fines in manufactured topsoil.
(4) "Biologically active zone" means the
				sediment depth determined by the department where the species critical to the
				function, diversity, and integrity of the benthic community are located.
				Metrics such as biomass and abundance may be used to define the vertical extent
				of the biologically active zone. These species can include endemic and keystone
				animals, plants, or other species. Abiotic factors such as groundwater
				upwelling, salt wedges, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and hyporheic flow
				can affect the vertical distribution of organisms in the biologically active
				zone.
(5) "Cleanup action" means
				any remedial action, except an interim action, taken at a sediment site or
				sediment cleanup unit to eliminate, render less toxic, stabilize, contain,
				immobilize, isolate, treat, destroy, or remove contaminants that complies with
				sediment cleanup standards and other applicable laws. A remedial action that
				does not comply with sediment cleanup standards and other applicable laws is an
				interim action.
(6) "Cleanup
				screening level" means the maximum allowed concentration of any contaminant and
				level of biological effects permissible at the site or sediment cleanup unit
				per procedures in WAC
				173-204-560(4) after completion of the cleanup action. Cleanup screening levels are also used
				to identify and assess the hazard of sites under WAC
				173-204-510 and
				173-204-520.
(7) "Contaminant" means any hazardous
				substance that does not occur naturally or occurs at greater than natural
				background levels.
(8) "Enhanced
				natural recovery" means a cleanup action that uses human intervention to
				accelerate the process of natural recovery. An example of enhanced natural
				recovery is the placement of a thin clean layer of sediment over an area of
				contaminated sediment to naturally mix with the contaminated sediment and
				reduce the contaminant concentrations or toxicity followed by a period of
				monitoring to determine the effectiveness.
(9) "Include" means included, but not limited
				to.
(10) "Monitored natural
				recovery" means a cleanup action that is a form of natural recovery that
				includes regular monitoring of sediment quality, tissue, benthic infauna,
				and/or biota as appropriate to assess the effectiveness of natural recovery to
				restore sediment quality.
(11)
				"Natural background" means the concentration of a hazardous substance
				consistently present in the environment that has not been influenced by
				localized human activities. For example, several metals and radionuclides
				naturally occur in the bedrock, sediment, and soil of Washington state due
				solely to the geologic processes that formed these materials and the
				concentration of these hazardous substances would be considered natural
				background. Also, low concentrations of some particularly persistent organic
				compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be found in surficial
				soils and sediment throughout much of the state due to global distribution of
				these hazardous substances. These low concentrations would be considered
				natural background. Similarly, concentrations of various radionuclides that are
				present at low concentrations throughout the state due to global distribution
				of fallout from bomb testing and nuclear accidents would be considered natural
				background.
(12) "Natural recovery"
				means physical, chemical or biological processes that act, without human
				intervention, to reduce the toxicity or concentration of contaminated sediment.
				An example of natural recovery is the natural deposition of a layer of clean
				sediment over an area of contaminated sediment resulting in burial over time of
				contaminated sediment below the biologically active zone. The natural process
				of sediment mixing, and degradation of some contaminants, such as polycyclic
				aromatic hydrocarbons, can also contribute to natural recovery.
(13) "Point of compliance" means the
				locations within a site or sediment cleanup unit where sediment cleanup levels
				must be met.
(14) "Practicable"
				means capable of being designed, constructed and implemented in a reliable and
				effective manner including consideration of cost. When considering cost under
				this analysis, an alternative shall not be considered practicable if the
				incremental costs of the alternative are disproportionate to the incremental
				degree of benefits provided by the alternative over other lower cost
				alternatives.
(15) "Practical
				quantitation limit" means the lowest concentration that can be reliably
				measured within specified limits of precision, accuracy, representativeness,
				completeness, and comparability during routine laboratory operating conditions,
				using department approved methods. When the limit for an analytical method is
				higher than the concentrations based on protection of human health or the
				environment, the department may require the use of another method to lower the
				practical quantitation limit.
(16)
				"Regional background" means the concentration of a contaminant within a
				department-defined geographic area that is primarily attributable to diffuse
				sources, such as atmospheric deposition or storm water, not attributable to a
				specific source or release. See WAC
				173-204-560(5) for the procedures and requirements for establishing regional
				background.
(17) "Sediment cleanup
				level" means the concentration or level of biological effects for a contaminant
				in sediment that must be achieved and is determined by the department to be
				protective of human health and the environment under the authority of
				chapter
				70.105D RCW. The
				sediment cleanup level can be established between the sediment cleanup
				objective and cleanup screening level in accordance with the requirements in
				WAC 173-204-560(2).
(18) "Sediment cleanup objective" means the
				goal for protection of human health and the environment and is established
				under the authority of
				chapter
				70.105D RCW. The
				sediment cleanup objective is established in accordance with the requirements
				in WAC 173-204-560(3).
				Sediment cleanup objectives are also used to identify and assess the hazard of
				sites under WAC
				173-204-510 and
				173-204-520.
(19) "Sediment cleanup standard" means the
				standards adopted under
				RCW
				   70.105D.030(2)(e).
				Establishing sediment cleanup standards requires specification of the
				following:
(a) The chemical concentration or
				level of biological effects for a contaminant in sediment that is determined by
				the department to be protective of human health and the environment (sediment
				cleanup level);
(b) The location at
				the site or sediment cleanup unit where those sediment cleanup levels must be
				achieved (point of compliance); and
(c) Additional regulatory requirements that
				apply to a cleanup action because of the type of action and/or the location of
				the site. These requirements are specified in applicable laws and are generally
				established in conjunction with the selection of a specific cleanup
				action.