Presented below are regulations that include water quality standards (WQS) submitted to EPA for review and approval by the state of Washington. Please refer to Actions Summary Table on EPA’s website Water Quality Standards Regulations: Washington to identify which of these WQS are approved, disapproved, or awaiting completion of EPA review. DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY ••• State of Washington Sediment Management Standards Chapter 173-204 WAC Revised February 2013, Effective September 2013 Publication no. 13-09-055 Publication and Contact Information This report is available on the Department of Ecology’s website at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/1309055.html For more information contact: Toxics Cleanup Program P.O. Box 47600 Olympia, WA 98504-7600 Phone: 360-407-7170 Washington State Department of Ecology - www.ecy.wa.gov o Headquarters, Olympia 360-407-6000 o Northwest Regional Office, Bellevue 425-649-7000 o Southwest Regional Office, Olympia 360-407-6300 o Central Regional Office, Yakima 509-575-2490 o Eastern Regional Office, Spokane 509-329-3400 If you need this document in a format for the visually impaired, call the Toxics Cleanup Program at 360-407-7170. Persons with hearing loss can call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability can call 877-833-6341. Washington Department of Ecology Frequently Asked Questions Sediment Management Standards Chapter 173-204 WAC About the • Provide a decision process for the cleanup of Sediment Management Standards contaminated sediment sites. Chapter 173-204 WAC The SMS rule has six sections: Why do we need the Sediment • Part I: General Information. Includes Management Standards? administrative polices. • Part II: Definitions. These definitions apply When contaminants enter the water, they often to Parts I –VI of the rule, unless a definition accumulate in the sediment, especially for in Part V supersedes Part II definitions. contaminants with low solubility. The aquatic • Part III: Sediment Quality Standards (SQS). ecosystem is dependent on clean water and clean This section has numeric chemical and sediment to maintain healthy and diverse biological benthic criteria for marine populations. Sediment standards are needed to sediments and narrative standards for the protect the aquatic ecosystem, especially the freshwater benthic community and animals that live in the sediment or depend on protection of human health. The SQS sediment-dwelling organisms as a food source. correspond to the long-term goals for Sediment standards are also needed to protect sediment quality in Washington State. people who eat fish and shellfish from our Sediments at or below the SQS criteria are state’s waters. expected to have no adverse effects on What are the Sediment Management biological resources. • Part IV: Sediment Source Control. This Standards? What are they used for? section includes a process for managing The Washington State Sediment Management sources of sediment contamination. This Standards (SMS) Chapter 173-204 WAC were portion of the rule includes a process for developed to reduce and ultimately eliminate managing discharges (under the National adverse effects on biological resources and Pollution Discharge Elimination System, or significant threats to human health from surface NPDES) with the potential to impact sediment contamination. The SMS are used to: sediment and managing dredged material • Set standards for sediment quality (both disposal activities. numeric and narrative); • Part V: Sediment Cleanup Standards. This part of the rule is adopted under the Model • Apply the standards to reduce pollutant Toxics Control Act (MTCA) RCW 70.105D discharges; and only. The goal of the sediment cleanup decision process is to provide a framework for timely decisions and expeditious cleanup for 47 chemicals or chemical groups and of contaminated sediment sites. Part VI narrative criteria for chemicals not on the list. Sampling and Testing Plans/Recordkeeping. Some of the marine chemical criteria are based This part of the rule includes requirements on dry weight such as metals, while others are for sampling plans, reporting, and records. normalized with the organic carbon content of the sediment. The marine benthic numeric criteria apply to Parts I – VI of the rule. What are the criteria in the Sediment Management Standards? For sediment in freshwater environments, there are benthic numeric criteria for 35 chemicals or The SMS rule has a two tier decision framework chemical groups and narrative criteria for for managing sediment. This includes two levels chemicals not on the list. These criteria are of criteria for protection of the benthic based on dry weight. The freshwater benthic community, human health, and higher trophic numeric criteria apply to Part V of the rule. level species such as fish. There are also benthic biological criteria related Benthic Community Criteria. For the benthic to acute and chronic effects for both marine and criteria, the SMS contains two different levels of freshwater sediment. These effects are criteria for marine and freshwater sediment, the determined by laboratory toxicity tests or “no adverse effects” and “minor adverse effects” benthic abundance tests as compared to levels: reference sediment sites. Both the chemical and • The no adverse effects level is defined as biological criteria are used to evaluate sediment impact to the benthic community, not to quality, but the results of the benthic biological individual benthic animals or species. The effects tests can override the benthic chemical no adverse effects level includes: concentration results. For example, if the . The Sediment Quality Standards (SQS) sediment sample does not exceed the benthic criteria in Part III of the rule, WAC 173- chemical criteria but the biological tests result in 204-320. an exceedance(s) of the benthic biological . The Sediment Cleanup Objective criteria, then the sample would be considered an (SCO) criteria in Part V of the rule, exceedance of the benthic criteria. WAC 173-204-562 (Tables III and IV) and 173-204-563 (Tables VI and VII). Human Health Criteria. For protection of human health, the SMS contain two different • The minor adverse effects level is defined levels of criteria for marine and freshwater as impact to the benthic community, not to sediment for cleanup under Part V of the rule, individual benthic animals or species. The WAC 173-204-561. This includes: minor adverse effects level includes: . The Sediment Impact Zone Maximum • The SCO criteria which corresponds to a (SIZMax) criteria in Part IV of the rule, risk level of one in one million (10-6) for WAC 173-204-420. carcinogenic chemicals and a hazard . The Cleanup Screening Level (CSL) in quotient of one for non carcinogenic Part V of the rule, WAC 173-204-562 chemicals. (Tables III and IV) and 173-204-563 • The CSL which corresponds to a risk level (Tables VI and VII). of one in one hundred thousand (10-5) for For sediment in marine and low salinity carcinogenic chemicals and a hazard environments, there are benthic numeric criteria 2 quotient of one for non carcinogenic document, go here: chemicals. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/smu/sed_st andards.htm. For Parts III and IV of the rule, the human health criteria remain a narrative standard of “no Freshwater Standards Technical Report. significant risk to human health’ and is Publication number 11-09-054. This scientific determined on a case by case basis. report was developed to support the adoption of the benthic chemical criteria for freshwater Higher Trophic Levels Criteria. sediment. You may access the document here: For the protection of higher trophic levels, the https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/summary SMS contains one level of criteria for marine pages/1109054.html and freshwater sediment, the Sediment Cleanup Objective which is defined as “no adverse Model Toxics Control Act Law (RCW effects” level in Part V of the rule, WAC 173- 70.105D) and Rule (Chapter 173-340 WAC). 204-564. You may access the MTCA law and rule here: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/Summar What is the authority for the Sediment yPages/9406.html Management Standards? Fish Consumption Rates Technical The SMS has been adopted under different Report. Publication number 12-09-058. You authorities for different parts of the rule: may access information on the development • Part V is adopted under the Model Toxics of this technical report and the final report Control Act RCW 70.105D. here: • Parts I – IV and Part VI are adopted under http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/regs/fish/20 the Model Toxics Control Act RCW 12/FCR-doc.html 70.105D and the Water Pollution Control Act RCW 90.48 as well as other authorities. Water Pollution Control Act (RCW 90.48) and Water Quality for Surface Waters Rule (Chapter 173-201A WAC). You may access What additional resources are there to the law and rule here: learn about sediment management and https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/Summar cleanup? yPages/0610091.html Sediment Management Standards Rule Water Quality for Surface Waters Rule (Chapter 173-204 WAC). You may access the (Chapter 173-201A WAC) Rulemaking: 2013 revised rule here: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/swqs/Currs http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/regs/SMS/2 wqsruleactiv.html. 013/Adopted-Rule.html Sediment Cleanup Users Manual II (SCUM II). Publication number 12-09-057. This guidance document was originally published in 1991 and a preliminary draft was completed in August 2012. This preliminary draft was posted to Ecology’s website during the SMS draft rule public comment period in 2012. For information on the updated guidance 3 About the 2013 Revisions to the The original SMS included numeric chemical and biological criteria for marine sediments that Sediment Management Standards are protective of the benthic community. The Chapter 173-204 WAC amendments include new chemical and biological criteria for freshwater sediments that are protective of the benthic community.