INTRODUCTION

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) lists in its 1998 Report Card for America s Infrastructure a D- grade for hazardous waste. More than 530 million tons of municipal and hazardous waste is generated in the U.S. each year. Since 1980, only 423 (32 percent) of the 1,200 Superfund Sites on the National Priorities List have been cleaned up. The National Priorities List is expected to grow to 2,000 in the next several years. The price tag for Superfund and related cleanup programs is an estimated $750 billion and could rise to $1 trillion over the next 30 years.

In the early 1980s it became apparent that the coastal and river sediments might be contaminated, but the actual extent of the contamination was not very well known. In the middle 1980s the problem of contaminated marine sediments emerged as an environmental issue of national importance. The pervasive and widespread nature of the problem resulted from decades of using coastal waters intentionally or unintentionally for waste disposal. Harbor areas in particular have been found to contain high levels of contaminants in bottom sediments due to wastes from urban, industrial, and riverine sources, as well as navigation.

Legislative authority for the management of contaminated marine sediments falls largely under three statutes: the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (MPRSA),...