Regional Guidance

Risk assessments can be used by risk managers to prioritize or sequence

remedial work performed. This document presents risk management options and

requirements for action. In deciding what action to take at a site, the risk manager

must consider the risk information needed, the risk information provided by the

risk assessment, products or deliverables, and risk management options/rationale.

There are also several issues, unrelated to risk, that influence risk management.

These nonrisk issues include available and usable technology for cleanup,

duration of the project, data uncertainty, enforcement, compliance, schedule,

budget, compliance with Federal and state laws, community input, and societal

and economic value of the resources to be protected. It should be noted that "the

NCP recognizes that it is not possible to achieve zero risk in environmental

cleanup; therefore, the approach taken by Superfund is to accept non-zero risk and

return the site to its best current use, not use in the pre-industrial era." All of the

above factors affect the use of risk assessment data by risk managers in HTRW

investigations.

Document: Puget sound dredged disposal analysis reports "Framework for

comparative risk analysis of dredged material disposal options, Seattle District,"

(Tetra Tech 1986).

Document: "Guidance for conducting risk assessments at United States Army

sites (Wentsel et al. 1994).

Regional Guidance

This section reviews risk assessment guidance developed by USEPA Regions.

In particular, it will assess the relationship between regional and state guidance

and its application (if any) to related regulatory programs such as water-quality

certification and coastal zone consistency. Many regions have separate guidance

for conducting risk assessment which may impose distinct requirements on the

performance of risk analysis process and which incorporate changes in approach

not yet adopted by national guidance.

State Guidance

This section reviews human health and ecological risk assessment guidance

developed by various states. The states often integrate a tiered approach to risk

assessment which is amenable for use in evaluating risks at dredged material

management sites. These tiered approaches variously use water-quality criteria,

sediment screening levels or effects levels, and area of contamination in a tiered

approach to risk assessment. Included in this section are the coastal and inland

states bordering major water bodies (e.g. Mississippi; Great Lakes).

Note that these guidance documents are generally directed toward conducting

risk assessments at RCRA or state hazardous waste sites. As such, not all aspects

of these state guidance documents will apply to dredged material management

activities, but the general principles will apply.

A15

Appendix A Summary of Federal, State, and Regional Guidance