[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 124 (Monday, June 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36986-36989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15912]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0135; FRL-9929-85-OW]
Final Updated Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection
of Human Health
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the final
updated recommended ambient water quality criteria for the protection
of human health for ninety-four chemical pollutants to reflect the
latest scientific information and implementation of existing EPA
policies found in Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality
Criteria for the Protection of Human Health (2000). The EPA issued the
draft updated human health criteria on May 13, 2014 and accepted
written views from the public until August 13, 2014. The EPA prepared
responses to those public comments. The EPA's recommended ambient water
quality criteria for the protection of human health provide technical
information for states and authorized tribes to establish water quality
standards (i.e., criteria) to protect human health under the Clean
Water Act. These final 2015 updated section 304(a) human health
criteria recommendations supersede EPA's previous recommendations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamie Strong, Office of Water, Health
[[Page 36987]]
and Ecological Criteria Division (4304T), Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone
number: (202) 566-0056; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?
1. Docket. EPA has established a docket for this action under
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0135; FRL-9929-85-OW. Publicly available
docket materials are available either electronically through
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Water Docket in the EPA
Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave.
NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202)
566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket is (202) 566-
2426.
2. Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document
electronically from the Government Publishing Office under the
``Federal Register'' listings at FDSys (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR). EPA's final criteria
documents for the ninety-four chemical pollutants, the response to
views from the public on the draft criteria, and supporting information
are also available on EPA's Web site http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/health/.
II. What are EPA's recommended water quality criteria?
EPA's recommended water quality criteria are scientifically derived
numeric values that EPA determines will generally protect aquatic life
or human health from the adverse effects of pollutants in ambient
water.
Section 304(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires EPA to
develop and publish and, from time to time, revise criteria for
protection of water quality and human health that accurately reflect
the latest scientific knowledge. Water quality criteria developed under
section 304(a) are based solely on data and scientific judgments on the
relationship between pollutant concentrations and environmental and
human health effects. Section 304(a) criteria do not reflect
consideration of economic impacts or the technological feasibility of
meeting pollutant concentrations in ambient water.
EPA's recommended Section 304(a) criteria provide technical
information for states and authorized tribes to consider and use in
adopting water quality standards that ultimately provide the basis for
assessing water body health and controlling discharges of pollutants
into waters of the United States. Under the CWA and its implementing
regulations, states and authorized tribes are required to adopt water
quality criteria to protect designated uses (e.g., public water supply,
aquatic life, recreational use, or industrial use) and that are based
on sound scientific rationale. EPA's recommended criteria do not
substitute for the CWA or regulations, nor are they regulations
themselves. Thus, EPA's recommended criteria do not impose legally
binding requirements. States and authorized tribes have the discretion
to adopt, where appropriate, other scientifically defensible water
quality criteria that differ from these recommendations. Ultimately,
however, such criteria must protect the designated use and be based on
sound scientific rationale.
III. Information on EPA's 2015 final updated human health criteria
EPA announces the availability of final updated national
recommended water quality criteria for the protection of human health
for ninety-four chemical pollutants. These revisions are based on EPA's
existing methodology for deriving human health criteria in Methodology
for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human
Health (2000) (EPA-822-B-00-004, October 2000). The methodology
describes EPA's approach for deriving national recommended water
quality criteria for the protection of human health. Table 1 presents
the updated human health criteria for ninety-four chemical pollutants.
Table 1--Revised Human Health Water Quality Criteria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Human health water quality
criteria for the consumption
of
Pollutant CAS No. -------------------------------
Water +
organism Organism only
([mu]g/L) ([mu]g/L)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,1,1-Trichloroethane........................................... 71-55-6 10,000 200,000
1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane....................................... 79-34-5 0.2 3
1,1,2-Trichloroethane........................................... 79-00-5 0.55 8.9
1,1-Dichloroethylene............................................ 75-35-4 300 20,000
1,2,4,5-Tetrachlorobenzene...................................... 95-94-3 0.03 0.03
1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene.......................................... 120-82-1 0.071 0.076
1,2-Dichlorobenzene............................................. 95-50-1 1,000 3,000
1,2-Dichloroethane.............................................. 107-06-2 9.9 650
1,2-Dichloropropane............................................. 78-87-5 0.90 31
1,2-Diphenylhydrazine........................................... 122-66-7 0.03 0.2
1,3-Dichlorobenzene............................................. 541-73-1 7 10
1,3-Dichloropropene............................................. 542-75-6 0.27 12
1,4-Dichlorobenzene............................................. 106-46-7 300 900
2,4,5-Trichlorophenol........................................... 95-95-4 300 600
2,4,6-Trichlorophenol........................................... 88-06-2 1.5 2.8
2,4-Dichlorophenol.............................................. 120-83-2 10 60
2,4-Dimethylphenol.............................................. 105-67-9 100 3,000
2,4-Dinitrophenol............................................... 51-28-5 10 300
2,4-Dinitrotoluene.............................................. 121-14-2 0.049 1.7
2-Chloronaphthalene............................................. 91-58-7 800 1,000
2-Chlorophenol.................................................. 95-57-8 30 800
2-Methyl-4,6-Dinitrophenol...................................... 534-52-1 2 30
[[Page 36988]]
3,3'-Dichlorobenzidine.......................................... 91-94-1 0.049 0.15
3-Methyl-4-Chlorophenol......................................... 59-50-7 500 2,000
Acenaphthene.................................................... 83-32-9 70 90
Acrolein........................................................ 107-02-8 3 400
Acrylonitrile................................................... 107-13-1 0.061 7.0
Aldrin.......................................................... 309-00-2 0.00000077 0.00000077
alpha-Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)............................... 319-84-6 0.00036 0.00039
alpha-Endosulfan................................................ 959-98-8 20 30
Anthracene...................................................... 120-12-7 300 400
Benzene......................................................... 71-43-2 0.58-2.1 16-58
Benzidine....................................................... 92-87-5 0.00014 0.011
Benzo(a)anthracene.............................................. 56-55-3 0.0012 0.0013
Benzo(a)pyrene.................................................. 50-32-8 0.00012 0.00013
Benzo(b)fluoranthene............................................ 205-99-2 0.0012 0.0013
Benzo(k)fluoranthene............................................ 207-08-9 0.012 0.013
beta-Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)................................ 319-85-7 0.0080 0.014
beta-Endosulfan................................................. 33213-65-9 20 40
Bis(2-Chloro-1-Methylethyl) Ether............................... 108-60-1 200 4,000
Bis(2-Chloroethyl) Ether........................................ 111-44-4 0.030 2.2
Bis(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate..................................... 117-81-7 0.32 0.37
Bis(Chloromethyl) Ether......................................... 542-88-1 0.00015 0.017
Bromoform....................................................... 75-25-2 7.0 120
Butylbenzyl Phthalate........................................... 85-68-7 0.10 0.10
Carbon Tetrachloride............................................ 56-23-5 0.4 5
Chlordane....................................................... 57-74-9 0.00031 0.00032
Chlorobenzene................................................... 108-90-7 100 800
Chlorodibromomethane............................................ 124-48-1 0.80 21
Chloroform...................................................... 67-66-3 60 2,000
Chlorophenoxy Herbicide (2,4-D)................................. 94-75-7 1,300 12,000
Chlorophenoxy Herbicide (2,4,5-TP) [Silvex]..................... 93-72-1 100 400
Chrysene........................................................ 218-01-9 0.12 0.13
Cyanide......................................................... 57-12-5 4 400
Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene.......................................... 53-70-3 0.00012 0.00013
Dichlorobromomethane............................................ 75-27-4 0.95 27
Dieldrin........................................................ 60-57-1 0.0000012 0.0000012
Diethyl Phthalate............................................... 84-66-2 600 600
Dimethyl Phthalate.............................................. 131-11-3 2,000 2,000
Di-n-Butyl Phthalate............................................ 84-74-2 20 30
Dinitrophenols.................................................. 25550-58-7 10 1,000
Endosulfan Sulfate.............................................. 1031-07-8 20 40
Endrin.......................................................... 72-20-8 0.03 0.03
Endrin Aldehyde................................................. 7421-93-4 1 1
Ethylbenzene.................................................... 100-41-4 68 130
Fluoranthene.................................................... 206-44-0 20 20
Fluorene........................................................ 86-73-7 50 70
gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)............................... 58-89-9 4.2 4.4
Heptachlor...................................................... 76-44-8 0.0000059 0.0000059
Heptachlor Epoxide.............................................. 1024-57-3 0.000032 0.000032
Hexachlorobenzene............................................... 118-74-1 0.000079 0.000079
Hexachlorobutadiene............................................. 87-68-3 0.01 0.01
Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)-Technical........................... 608-73-1 0.0066 0.010
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene....................................... 77-47-4 4 4
Hexachloroethane................................................ 67-72-1 0.1 0.1
Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene.......................................... 193-39-5 0.0012 0.0013
Isophorone...................................................... 78-59-1 34 1,800
Methoxychlor.................................................... 72-43-5 0.02 0.02
Methyl Bromide.................................................. 74-83-9 100 10,000
Methylene Chloride.............................................. 75-09-2 20 1,000
Nitrobenzene.................................................... 98-95-3 10 600
Pentachlorobenzene.............................................. 608-93-5 0.1 0.1
Pentachlorophenol............................................... 87-86-5 0.03 0.04
Phenol.......................................................... 108-95-2 4,000 300,000
p,p'-Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD)....................... 72-54-8 0.00012 0.00012
p,p'-Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE)..................... 72-55-9 0.000018 0.000018
p,p'-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)...................... 50-29-3 0.000030 0.000030
Pyrene.......................................................... 129-00-0 20 30
Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene)......................... 127-18-4 10 29
Toluene......................................................... 108-88-3 57 520
[[Page 36989]]
Toxaphene....................................................... 8001-35-2 0.00070 0.00071
trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene (DCE)................................ 156-60-5 100 4,000
Trichloroethylene (TCE)......................................... 79-01-6 0.6 7
Vinyl Chloride.................................................. 75-01-4 0.022 1.6
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The revision of these criteria is a systematic update of EPA's
national recommended human health criteria. EPA previously described
its process for publishing revised criteria [see National Recommended
Water Quality Criteria--Correction (64 FR 19781; or EPA-822-Z-99-001)
or the Federal Register Notice for EPA's 2000 Methodology (65 FR
66444)]. EPA updated the human health criteria using externally peer-
reviewed information sources.
On May 13, 2014, EPA announced the availability of the draft
updated human health criteria in the Federal Register notice ``Updated
National Recommended Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human
Health'' (79 FR 27303) and announced that written views would be
accepted from the public until July 14, 2014. In response to
stakeholder requests, on June 23, 2014, EPA announced in the Federal
Register (79 FR 35545) an extension of the public comment period for an
additional 30 days, until August 13, 2014. EPA reviewed and considered
all public comments received and prepared responses to those comments.
EPA developed chemical-specific science documents for each of the
ninety-four chemical pollutants. These documents detail the latest
scientific information supporting the final human health criteria,
particularly the updated toxicity and exposure input values. A fact
sheet and a summary of updated input parameters (e.g., health toxicity
values, bioaccumulation factors) used to derive the final updated
criteria are provided. All these documents, including EPA's responses
to views received during the comment period, are available on EPA's Web
site at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/health/.
IV. What is the relationship between EPA's 2015 final updated human
health criteria and state or tribal water quality standards?
Section 303(a)-(c) of the CWA requires states and authorized tribes
to adopt water quality standards for their waters. As part of the water
quality standards triennial review process set forth in section 303(c)
of the CWA, states and authorized tribes are required to review and
revise, if appropriate, their water quality standards at least once
every three years.
States and authorized tribes must adopt water quality criteria that
protect designated uses. 40 CFR 131.11(a)(1). Criteria must be based on
a sound scientific rationale and contain sufficient parameters or
constituents to protect the designated uses. Id. Criteria may be
expressed in either narrative or numeric form. EPA's regulations
provide that states and authorized tribes should adopt numeric water
quality criteria based on:
(1) EPA's recommended section 304(a) criteria; or
(2) EPA's recommended section 304(a) criteria modified to reflect
site-specific conditions; or
(3) Other scientifically defensible methods. (40 CFR 131.11(b)).
It is important for states and authorized tribes to consider any
new or updated section 304(a) recommended criteria as part of their
triennial review process to ensure that state or tribal water quality
criteria reflect sound science and protect applicable designated uses.
EPA recently proposed revisions to its water quality standards
regulations that would, if finalized without substantive change,
require states during their triennial reviews to consider new or
updated section 304(a) recommended criteria and, if they do not adopt
new or revised criteria for such pollutants, provide an explanation to
EPA and the public as to why the state did not do so. These final
updated section 304(a) human health criteria recommendations supersede
EPA's previous recommendations.
Dated: June 22, 2015.
Kenneth J. Kopocis,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2015-15912 Filed 6-26-15; 8:45 am]
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