1.5 Organization and Approach for Evaluations

the U.S. is regulated under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The ITM

contains guidance for determining the potential for contaminant-related

impacts associated with the discharge of dredged material in waters of the

United States (nearshore, estuarine, riverine, and lake waters) through

chemical, physical, and biological evaluations. The ITM provides

detailed procedures for evaluating the suitability of dredged material for

open water disposal, focusing, in a manner similar to the OTM, on

potential contaminant-related water column and benthic effects.

"Evaluation of Dredged Material Proposed for Disposal at Island,

Nearshore, or Upland Confined Disposal Facilities Testing Manual"

(this document), commonly referred to as the Upland Testing Manual or

UTM. The UTM supplements the Technical Framework document by

providing more detailed procedures for evaluation of contaminant-related

impacts related to CDF pathways.

The Technical Framework and supporting manuals such as the OTM, ITM,

and UTM provide guidance for thorough evaluation of potential contaminant-

related impacts of major dredged material management options.

1.5 Organization and Approach for Evaluations

The UTM is organized into 10 chapters and a number of appendices.

Chapter 1 (this chapter) provides the background related to evaluation of

effects outside a CDF of contaminants associated with dredged material during

and after disposal; the purpose, scope, and approach for the evaluations; and a

discussion of regulatory considerations for disposal of dredged material in CDFs.

Chapter 2 provides general considerations common to evaluation of all the

contaminant pathways. These include fundamentals of the evaluation and testing

process and the tiered approach for testing and evaluations used throughout the

manual. The tiered approach for each pathway is consistent. Tier I is concerned

with initial evaluations of existing information common to each pathway. Tiers II

and III generate site-specific information relevant to the CDF and dredged

material being evaluated. Tier IV is concerned with risk assessment for the

pathways of concern. While this manual does not include detailed guidance for

conducting risk assessments, it is important to note that all the testing and

evaluation approaches in the earlier tiers are risk-based, and the results directly

support the conduct of a formal risk assessment if necessary.

Chapter 3 describes the Initial Evaluations common to all pathways conducted

under Tier I. These include consideration of the need for evaluations, evaluation

of existing project information to include prior evaluations and testing,

identification of pathways of concern, and identification of contaminants of

concern.

Each pathway of concern requires a separate evaluation, each with its own

tiered approach. Therefore, Chapters 4 through 9 are similarly structured chapters

1-7

Chapter 1

Introduction