[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 340-342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-81]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7606-8]


Notice of Availability of Draft Aquatic Life Criteria Document 
for Nonylphenol and Request for Scientific Views

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for scientific views.

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SUMMARY: This notice informs the public about the availability of a 
draft aquatic life criteria document for nonylphenol and requests 
scientific views. The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires the Environmental 
Protection Agency to develop and publish, and from time to time revise, 
criteria for water accurately reflecting the latest scientific 
knowledge. When final, these criteria will provide EPA's 
recommendations to States and authorized Tribes as they establish their 
water quality standards as State or Tribal law or regulation. Once 
established, an EPA water quality criterion does not substitute for the 
CWA or EPA regulations, nor is it a regulation. It cannot impose 
legally binding requirements on the EPA, States, authorized Tribes or 
the regulated community. State and tribal decision makers have 
discretion to adopt approaches that differ from EPA's guidance on a 
case-by-case basis. At this time the Agency is not making a final 
recommendation. Rather the Agency is requesting scientific views on the 
draft document.

DATES: All scientific information must be submitted to the Agency on or 
before April 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Scientific views must be submitted electronically, by mail, 
or through hand-delivery/courier. Follow detailed instructions as 
provided in section C of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
    Copies of the criteria document entitled, Draft Ambient Aquatic 
Life Water Quality Criteria for Nonylphenol (EPA-822-R-03-029) may be 
obtained from EPA's Water Resource Center by phone at (202) 566-1729, 
or by e-mail to [email protected] or by conventional mail 
to: EPA Water Resource Center, 4101T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. You can also download the document from EPA's Web 
site at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/nonylphenol/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Gostomski, Health and Ecological 
Criteria Division (4304T), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; (202) 566-1105; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Interested Entities

    Entities potentially interested in today's notice are those that 
produce, use, or regulate nonylphenol. Categories and entities 
interested in today's action include:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Examples of interested
                 Category                             entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State/Local/Tribal Government.............  States and Tribes
Nonylphenol Dischargers...................  Sewage treatment plants
Nonylphenol Users.........................  Producers of surfactants
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be interested by this 
notice. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is now aware 
could potentially be interested by this action. Other types of entities 
not listed in the table could also be interested.

B. How Can I Get Copies of This Document and Other Related Information?

    1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this 
notice under Docket ID No. OW-2003-0080. The official public docket 
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this notice, any 
scientific views received, and other information related to this 
notice. Although a part of the official docket, the public docket does 
not include Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The official 
public docket is the collection of materials that is available for 
public viewing at Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA 
West, Room B102, 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. To view these documents 
materials, please call ahead to schedule an appointment. Every user is 
entitled to copy 266 pages per day before incurring a charge. The 
Docket may charge 15 cents a page for each page over the 266-page limit 
plus an administrative fee of $25.00.
    2. Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document 
electronically through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register'' 
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may 
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view 
scientific views, access the index listing of the contents of the 
official public docket, and to access those documents in the public 
docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select 
``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
    Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets. 
Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public 
docket,

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will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public 
docket. EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not be placed in 
EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only in printed, 
paper form in the official public docket. To the extent feasible, 
publicly available docket materials will be made available in EPA's 
electronic public docket. When a document is selected from the index 
list in EPA Dockets, the system will identify whether the document is 
available for viewing in EPA's electronic public docket. Although not 
all docket materials may be available electronically, you may still 
access any of the publicly available docket materials through the 
docket facility identified in section I.B.
    It is important to note that EPA's policy is that scientific views, 
whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available 
for public viewing in EPA's electronic public docket as EPA receives 
them and without change, unless your views and information contain 
copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a scientific view containing 
copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in 
the version of the scientific view that is placed in EPA's electronic 
public docket. The entire printed scientific view, including the 
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
    Scientific views submitted on computer disks that are mailed or 
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public 
docket. Scientific views that are mailed or delivered to the Docket 
will be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where 
practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph 
will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief 
description written by the docket staff.

C. How and To Whom Do I Submit Scientific Views?

    You may submit scientific views electronically, by mail, or through 
hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the 
appropriate docket identification number in the subject line on the 
first page of your scientific views. Please ensure that your scientific 
views are submitted within the specified period. Scientific views 
received after the close of the review period will be marked ``late.'' 
EPA is not required to consider these late scientific views.
    1. Electronically. If you submit electronic information as 
prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing 
address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in the body 
of your scientific views. Also include this contact information on the 
outside of any disk or CD-ROM you submit, and in any cover letter 
accompanying the disk or CD-ROM. This ensures that you can be 
identified as the submitter of the scientific information and allows 
EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your scientific views due to 
technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance of 
your scientific views. EPA's policy is that EPA will not edit your 
scientific views, and any identifying or contact information provided 
in the body of the scientific views will be included as part of the 
scientific views that are placed in the official public docket, and 
made available in EPA's electronic public docket. If EPA cannot read 
your scientific views due to technical difficulties and cannot contact 
you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your scientific 
views.
    i. EPA Dockets. Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to 
submit scientific views to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method 
for receiving scientific views. Go directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, and follow the online instructions for submitting 
scientific views. To access EPA's electronic public docket from the EPA 
Internet Home Page, select ``Information Sources,'' ``Dockets,'' and 
``EPA Dockets.'' Once in the system, select ``search,'' and then key in 
Docket ID No. OW-2003-0080. The system is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or 
other contact information unless you provide it in the body of your 
information.
    ii. E-mail. Scientific views may be sent by electronic mail (e-
mail) to [email protected], Attention Docket No. OW-2003-0080. In 
contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not 
an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail with scientific 
views directly to the Docket without going through EPA's electronic 
public docket, EPA's e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail 
address. E-mail addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-
mail system are included as part of the information that is placed in 
the official public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic 
public docket.
    iii. Disk or CD-ROM. You may submit scientific views on a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to the mailing address identified in section 
I.C.2. These electronic submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect or 
ASCII file format. Avoid the use of special characters and any form of 
encryption.
    2. By Mail. Send your scientific views to: Water Docket in the EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode 4101T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. 
OW-2001-0010.
    3. By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your scientific views to: 
Water Docket, EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID No. OW-2001-0080. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation as identified in section I.B.1.

D. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Scientific Views for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
scientific views:
    1. Explain your scientific views as clearly as possible.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide any technical information and/or data you used that 
support your scientific views.
    4. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
    5. Offer alternatives.
    6. Make sure to submit your scientific views by the deadline 
identified.
    7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate docket 
identification number in the subject line on the first page of your 
response. It would also be helpful if you provided the name, date, and 
Federal Register citation related to your scientific views.

II. Background and Today's Notice

A. What Are Recommended Water Quality Criteria?

    Recommended water quality criteria represent the concentrations of 
a chemical in water at or below which aquatic life are protected from 
acute and chronic adverse effects of the chemical. Section 304(a)(1) of 
the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires EPA to develop and publish, and from 
time to time revise, criteria for water accurately reflecting the 
latest scientific knowledge. Water quality criteria developed 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) criteria provide 
guidance to States and Tribes in adopting water quality standards. The 
criteria also provide a scientific basis for EPA to develop

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Federally promulgated water quality standards under section 303(c) of 
the CWA.

B. What Is Nonylphenol and Why Are We Concerned About It?

    Nonylphenol is an organic chemical produced in large quantities in 
the United States. It is used as an intermediate chemical to produce 
nonionic surfactants of the nonylphenol ethoxylate type. The nonionic 
surfactants are used as oil soluble detergents and emulsifiers to 
produce anionic detergents, lubricants, antistatic agents, high 
performance textile scouring agents, emulsifiers for agrichemicals, 
antioxidants for rubber manufacture, and lubricant oil additives. 
Environmental exposure occurs mainly from its release as a breakdown 
product from industrial and domestic sewage treatment plant effluents 
but may also occur from industrial manufacture, distribution releases, 
and other sources. Nonylphenol is moderately soluble and resistant to 
natural degradation in water. Because of nonylphenol's chemical 
properties and widespread use as a chemical intermediate, concerns have 
been raised over the potential risks posed by exposure of aquatic 
organisms to it. For these reasons, EPA has developed draft ambient 
water quality criteria for nonylphenol.

C. What Are the Draft National Recommended Water Quality Criteria for 
Nonylphenol?

Freshwater
    Aquatic life should not be affected unacceptably if the: One-hour 
average concentration of nonylphenol does not exceed 27.9 ug/l more 
than once every three years on the average (Acute Criterion); and Four-
day average concentration of nonylphenol does not exceed 5.9 ug/l more 
than once every three years on the average (Chronic Criterion).
Saltwater
    Aquatic life should not be affected unacceptably if the: One-hour 
average concentration of nonylphenol does not exceed 6.7 ug/l more than 
once every three years on the average (Acute Criterion); and Four-day 
average concentration of nonylphenol does not exceed 1.4 ug/l more than 
once every three years on the average (Chronic Criterion).

D. Why Is EPA Notifying the Public About the Draft Nonylphenol Criteria 
Document?

    Today, EPA is notifying the public about the availability of this 
draft aquatic life criteria document for nonylphenol to elicit 
scientific input on this document. EPA notified the public of its 
intent to develop aquatic life criteria for nonylphenol in the Federal 
Register on October 29, 1999 (64 FR 58409). At that time EPA made 
available to the public all references identified by a recent 
literature review and solicited any additional pertinent data or 
scientific views that would be useful in developing the draft aquatic 
life criteria for nonylphenol. EPA is now making the draft aquatic life 
criteria document for nonylphenol available to the public and 
soliciting scientific input.

E. 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 criteria in the Federal Register on 
December 10, 1998 (63 FR 68354) and in the EPA document entitled, 
National Recommended Water Quality--Correction (EPA 822-Z-99-001, April 
1999). The purpose of the revised process is to provide expanded 
opportunities for public input, and to make the criteria development 
process more efficient.

    Dated: December 27, 2003.
Geoffrey H. Grubbs,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 04-81 Filed 1-2-04; 8:45 am]
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