[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 36 (Thursday, February 23, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9337-9339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2558]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-OW-8035-8]


Notice of Availability of Final Aquatic Life Ambient Water 
Quality Criteria for Nonylphenol

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 9338]]


ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the 
availability of final recommended aquatic life ambient water quality 
criteria for nonylphenol. 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. These criteria 
provide EPA's recommendations to states and authorized tribes as they 
establish their water quality standards as state or tribal law or 
regulation. An EPA water quality criterion does not substitute for CWA 
or EPA regulations, nor is it a regulation. It does not 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.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the criteria document entitled, Aquatic Life 
Ambient Water Quality Criteria--Nonylphenol--Final (EPA-822-R-05-005) 
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: U.S. 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: Dr. 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 notice 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 the entities likely to be interested in 
this notice. 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 
also consists of the draft criteria document, and scientific views 
received. 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. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either electronically through 
http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the 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 and 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's Internet listings under the Federal 
Register at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ fedrgstr/.

II. Background and Today's Notice

A. What Are EPA Recommended Ambient Water Quality Criteria?

    An EPA recommended ambient water quality criterion is a level of a 
pollutant or other measurable substance in water that, when met, will 
protect aquatic life and/or human health. Section 304 (a) of the Clean 
Water Act (CWA) requires EPA to develop and publish and, from time to 
time, revise, recommended ambient water quality criteria to accurately 
reflect the latest scientific knowledge. Ambient water quality criteria 
developed under section 304 (a) provide guidance to states and tribes 
in adopting water quality criteria into their water quality standards 
under section 303 (c) of the CWA. Once adopted by a state or tribe, the 
water quality standards are then a basis for developing regulatory 
controls on the discharge or release of pollutants and other 
alterations of water quality. EPA's section 304 (a) criteria also 
provide a scientific basis for EPA to develop any necessary federal 
water quality regulations under section 303 (c) of the CWA.
    The recommended criteria in today's notice are based on the factors 
specified in Section 304(a) of the Clean Water Act, including the kind 
and extent of effects of the pollutant on human health and aquatic 
organisms. EPA's recommended criteria are used by the states and tribes 
in developing their regulatory criteria under Section 303(c) of the 
CWA. Under the Clean Water Act, regulatory criteria must protect the 
designated use, independent of the economic and technical feasibility 
of meeting the criteria. Economic and technical feasibility factors are 
considered by states and tribes when they adopt designated uses into 
their water quality standards under Section 303(c) of the Act and when 
states, tribes, and EPA consider variance requests for regulatory 
controls. Moreover, states and tribes may also consider alternative 
scientifically-defensible approaches to adopting criteria into their 
water quality standards.

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

    Nonylphenol is an organic chemical used primarily as an 
intermediate to produce nonionic surfactants of the nonylphenol 
ethoxylate type. It is produced in large quantities in the United 
States. It is toxic to aquatic organisms and is found in ambient 
waters. Environmental exposure occurs mainly from its release as a 
breakdown product from industrial and domestic sewage treatment plant 
effluents. Nonylphenol is moderately soluble and resistant to natural 
degradation in water. Because of nonylphenol's toxicity, chemical 
properties, and widespread use as a chemical intermediate, concerns 
have been raised over the potential risks to aquatic organisms posed by 
exposure to it. For these reasons, EPA has developed ambient water 
quality criteria for nonylphenol.

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

    Freshwater: Aquatic life should not be affected unacceptably if 
the:
    One-hour average concentration of nonylphenol does not exceed 28 
[mu]g/L more than once every three years on the average (Criteria 
Maximum Concentration (CMC) or Acute Criterion); and Four-day average 
concentration of nonylphenol does not

[[Page 9339]]

exceed 6.6 [mu]g/L more than once every three years on the average 
(Criteria Continuous Concentration (CCC) or Chronic Criterion).
    Saltwater: Aquatic life should not be affected unacceptably if the:
    One-hour average concentration of nonylphenol does not exceed 7.0 
[mu]g/L more than once every three years on the average (Criteria 
Maximum Concentration (CMC) or Acute Criterion); and Four-day average 
concentration of nonylphenol does not exceed 1.7 [mu]g/L more than once 
every three years on the average (Criteria Continuous Concentration 
(CCC) or Chronic Criterion).

D. Why Is EPA Notifying the Public About the Final Aquatic Life Ambient 
Water Quality Criteria for Nonylphenol and How Did the Criteria Change?

    Today, EPA is notifying the public that the final aquatic life 
ambient water quality criteria for nonylphenol are available. In a 
separate Federal Register on January 5, 2004 (69 FR 340), EPA notified 
the public that draft aquatic life ambient water quality criteria for 
nonylphenol were available and solicited scientific input. Based on the 
information and data submitted, EPA revised the draft criteria and is 
now making the final aquatic life ambient water quality criteria for 
nonylphenol available to the public. The freshwater acute criterion of 
28 [mu]g/L did not change. Recalculation of the final acute/chronic 
ratio for nonylphenol resulted in changing the final freshwater chronic 
criterion from 5.9 [mu]g/L to 6.6 [mu]g/L. The saltwater acute 
criterion changed from 6.7 [mu]g/L to 7.0 [mu]g/L. The saltwater 
chronic criterion changed from 1.4 [mu]g/L to 1.7 [mu]g/L.

E. What Other Activities Is EPA Engaged in Related to Nonylphenol?

    As part of its Environmental Stewardship program, EPA is developing 
the Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI). The SDSI would help 
ensure the health, safety, and vitality of U.S. waters by encouraging 
the development, manufacture, and use of safer detergents.
    The Agency is initiating this new program, in part, because of the 
increasing levels of nonylphenol in certain receiving streams, which 
appear to correlate with increasing production and use of nonylphenol 
ethoxylate surfactants. By encouraging the manufacture and use of safer 
surfactants, the SDSI aims to reduce the quantity of nonylphenol 
ethoxylates discharged to ambient waters. The SDSI and the recommended 
ambient water quality criteria for nonylphenol complement one another 
as components in EPA's efforts to protect U.S. waters.
    SDSI is cosponsored by the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and 
Toxic Substances (OPPTS) and the Office of Water (OW). To learn more 
about the SDSI, visit http://www.epa.gov/dfe/ or for further 
information, contact David DiFiore, Economics, Exposure and Technology 
Division (7406M), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20460; (202) 564-8796; [email protected].

    Dated: February 16, 2006.
Ephraim S. King,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. E6-2558 Filed 2-22-06; 8:45 am]
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