[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 198 (Thursday, October 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60664-60665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-26222]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-OW-6883-9]


Notice of Intent To Develop Ambient Water Quality Criteria for 
Protection of Human Health--Arsenic, Methylmercury, and Carbofuran; 
Notice of Data Availability; Request for Data and Information

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of intent to revise ambient water quality criterion for 
protection of human health for arsenic; notice of intent to develop 
ambient water quality criteria for methylmercury and carbofuran; notice 
of data availability; request for data and information.

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SUMMARY: Section 304(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and publish, and from 
time to time revise, ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) that 
accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge. Today, EPA is 
notifying the public of its intent to revise the current, recommended 
human health water quality criterion for arsenic, and to develop 
recommended criteria for methylmercury, and carbofuran. This notice 
does not establish a schedule for revision or development of the 
criteria; the criteria will be revised or developed on differing 
schedules. EPA expects to have a peer review draft of the methylmercury 
criterion on the Office of Water web page, http://www.epa.gov/ost/standards/humanhealth/ in the fall of 2000. The arsenic criteria 
revisions will parallel the development of the Safe Drinking Water 
Standard for arsenic. Carbofuran criteria development is on a one-year 
schedule.
    The pertinent list of references on the adverse health effects of 
arsenic is available for viewing at the Office of Water's Docket (W-99-
16) for the proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, 65 FR 
38888; June 22, 2000. The Agency will be using these references and 
scientific views and data submitted in response to the proposed maximum 
contaminant level (MCL) for arsenic in drinking water in revising the 
human health AWQC for arsenic. Thus, persons who have submitted health 
effects data to the docket for that proposal or any subsequent notice 
of data availability with respect to that proposal need not resubmit 
the same information. However, information about bioaccumulation of 
arsenic is relevant specifically to the AWQC and should be submitted as 
noted under the ADDRESSES section. References for methylmercury and 
carbofuran will be posted on the Office of Science and Technology's 
website at www.epa.gov/ost/humanhealth/ when they are available. EPA is 
soliciting any additional pertinent data or scientific views that may 
be useful in revising the criteria for arsenic, and developing criteria 
for methylmercury and carbofuran.

DATES: Information submissions should be submitted by November 13, 2000 
for methylmercury and by December 11, 2000 for carbofuran and arsenic. 
Information submitted after this date and too near to the end of the 
document preparation may not receive the degree of consideration of 
data submitted earlier.

ADDRESSES: By US mail, send an original and three copies of any data, 
references or information to W-00-19 Comment Clerk for arsenic; to W-
00-20 Comment Clerk for methylmercury; or to W-00-21 Comment Clerk for 
carbofuran at the Water Docket, MC 4101, US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. 
NW, Washington, D.C. 20460. Material may also be hand delivered to Room 
EB 57, 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460 between 9:00 am and 3:30 
pm EST. When using a private delivery company, send to Room EB 57, 401 
M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460 or to Charles O. Abernathy, US EPA 
(4304), 401 M Street SW, Room 543 West Tower, Washington, DC 20460. 
Information may also be submitted electronically to [email protected]. 
Information should be submitted as a WP5.1, 6.1 and/or 8.0 or an ASCII 
file with no form of encryption.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles O. Abernathy, Health and 
Ecological Criteria Division (4304), US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, D.C. 20460, Washington, D.C. 20460; (202) 260-5374; 
[email protected] (data on toxicity of arsenic); Keith 
Sappington, Health and Ecological Criteria Division (4304), US EPA, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20460; (202) 260-9898; 
[email protected] or

[[Page 60665]]

Erik Winchester, Health and Ecological Criteria Division (4304), US 
EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20460; (202) 260-6107; 
[email protected] (data pertaining to bioaccumulation of arsenic, 
methylmercury, and carbofuran in fish and shellfish); Mary Manibusan, 
Health and Ecological Criteria Division (4304), US EPA,1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20460; (202) 260-3688; 
[email protected] (data on the toxicity of methylmercury); Amal 
Mahfouz, Health and Ecological Criteria Division (4304), US EPA, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460; (202) 260-9568, 
[email protected] (data on toxicity of carbofuran).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What Are Human Health Criteria?

    Section 304(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires the EPA to 
develop and publish, and from time to time revise, criteria for water 
accurately reflecting the latest scientific knowledge. AWQC recommended 
for protection of human health under section 304(a) are based solely on 
data and scientific judgments. They do not consider economic impacts or 
the technological feasibility of meeting the criteria in ambient water. 
Section 304(a) recommended criteria provide guidance to States, 
Territories and authorized Tribes in adopting water quality standards 
for protection of human health and provide a scientific basis for 
developing controls of discharges or releases of pollutants. The 
criteria also provide a scientific basis for EPA to develop federal 
regulations under section 303(c).

What Type of Information Does EPA Want From the Public?

    Today, EPA is notifying the public of its intent to revise the 
current human health water quality criterion for arsenic, and to 
develop criteria for methylmercury and carbofuran. Revisions to the 
human health section of the water quality criterion for arsenic will be 
based on the adverse health effects of arsenic as recently reviewed by 
the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council (NRC) in 
the 1999 peer-reviewed report entitled ``Arsenic in Drinking Water'', 
and on other peer-reviewed data in the docket for the MCL proposal; 
there will be no separate peer review for the health effects 
information in support of the arsenic AWQC. However, the EPA also 
consider the potential for bioaccumulation as part of the AWQC and the 
NRC report does not address this facet. Accordingly, EPA is soliciting 
any additional pertinent data or scientific views that may be useful in 
revising or developing the human health section including the available 
data on the toxicity and bioaccumulation of arsenic and arsenic 
compounds in fish and shellfish. The lists of references identified by 
the Agency on health effects of arsenic will be available at the Water 
Docket W-99-16 or on the Office of Science and Technology's website at: 
www.epa.gov/ost/humanhealth/. In particular, EPA is interested in 
obtaining; (1) any data, not discussed by the NRC report or identified 
by the Agency's literature review on the chronic toxicity of arsenic 
and arsenic compounds to human health [Refer to Water Docket W-99-16] , 
(2) any data or scientific view on the toxicity and bioaccumulation of 
arsenic and arsenic compounds in fish and shellfish and, (3) scientific 
views on the interpretation of data or on the application of the 
Agency's methodology for deriving the human health criteria for 
arsenic. Any data submitted must be adequately documented and contain 
enough supporting information to indicate that acceptable test 
procedures were used and that the results are likely reliable.
    The Agency has recently completed a comprehensive literature review 
on the human health effects of methylmercury and carbofuran. In 
addition EPA has received the recent report of the National Academy of 
Sciences, National Research Council on methylmercury: Toxicological 
Effects of Methylmercury. EPA will be considering this report in the 
development of the human health criterion for methylmercury. References 
identified by the Agency for these chemicals will be put on the Office 
of Science and Technology's web site at: www.epa.gov/ost/humanhealth/. 
EPA is soliciting any additional pertinent data or scientific views 
that may be useful in revising or developing the ambient water human 
health criteria for arsenic, methylmercury and carbofuran. In 
particular, the Agency is interested in acquiring from the public any 
new data that have not been identified by EPA. When the Agency has 
developed new human health water quality criteria for arsenic, 
methylmercury and carbofuran, their availability will be announced in 
the Federal Register. Additional data and comments will be considered 
in any subsequent revisions to the criteria.

Where Can I Find More Information on EPA's Revised Process for 
Developing New or Revised Criteria?

    The Agency published detailed information about its revised process 
for developing and revising AWQC in the Federal Register on December 
10, 1998 (63 FR68354) and in the EPA document entitled, National 
Recommended Water Quality Criteria--Correction (EPA 822-Z-99-001, April 
1999). The revised process is to provide additional opportunities for 
public input, and to increase the efficiency of the water quality 
criteria development process.

    Dated: October 2, 2000.
Geoffrey H. Grubbs,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 00-26222 Filed 10-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P