[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 179 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53246-53249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21460]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-OW-FRL-8715-3]


Revision of National Recommended Water Quality Criteria for 
Acrolein and Phenol

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of updated draft criteria and request 
for scientific views.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 304(a) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the revision and 
availability of draft updated national recommended water quality 
criteria for the protection of human health for acrolein and phenol. 
The draft criteria are partial updates based on EPA's Methodology for 
Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human 
Health (2000), EPA-822-B-00-004 (2000 Human Health Methodology) and 
will supersede previously published criteria when final. EPA's 
recommended section 304(a) water quality criteria provide guidance to 
States and authorized Tribes in adopting water quality standards for 
protecting human health and provide guidance to EPA for promulgating 
Federal regulations under CWA section 303(c), when such action is 
necessary.

DATES: Scientific views must be received on or before October 30, 2008.

[[Page 53247]]

Comments postmarked after this date may not be considered.

ADDRESSES: Submit your scientific views, identified by Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0553, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; EPA Docket 
Center (EPA/DC) Water Docket, MC 2822T; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., EPA West, Room 3334, Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2008-
0553. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Office of Water 
Docket/EPA/DC, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., EPA West, Room 3334, 
Washington, DC. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 
p.m., EST, Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the Office of Water is (202) 566-2426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heidi L. Bethel, Health and Ecological 
Criteria Division (4304T), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; (202) 566-2054; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What Are Water Quality Criteria?

    Water quality criteria are scientifically derived numeric values 
that protect aquatic life or human health from the deleterious effects 
of pollutants in ambient water.
    Section 304(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires EPA to develop 
and publish and, from time to time, revise, criteria for water quality 
accurately reflecting 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 the chemical concentrations in 
ambient water.
    Section 304(a) criteria provide guidance to States and authorized 
Tribes in adopting water quality standards that ultimately provide a 
basis for controlling discharges or releases of pollutants. The 
criteria also provide guidance to EPA when promulgating federal 
regulations under section 303(c) when such action is necessary. Under 
the CWA and its implementing regulations, States and authorized Tribes 
are to adopt water quality criteria to protect designated uses (e.g., 
public water supply, recreational use, industrial use). EPA's 
recommended human health water quality 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 standards 
that differ from these recommendations.

II. What Are the Criteria Revisions?

    EPA is today publishing an update of national recommended water 
quality criteria (NRWQC) for protecting human health for acrolein and 
phenol. These draft revisions are based on EPA's Methodology for 
Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human 
Health (2000), EPA-822-B-00-004 (2000 Human Health Methodology). This 
methodology describes the Agency's current approach for deriving 
national recommended water quality criteria to protect human health.
    The draft revision of these criteria represents a partial update of 
the 304(a) criteria as described in both the draft Methodology 
revisions and the Federal Register Notice that accompanied the 2000 
Human Health Methodology (65 FR 66444; November 3, 2000). EPA believes 
that updating a limited number of components for which there are 
available data or improved science (i.e., a partial update) is a 
reasonable and efficient means of publishing revised 304(a) criteria 
more frequently. EPA has also previously described its process for 
publishing revised criteria [see National Recommended Water Quality 
Criteria; Notice; Republication (63 FR 68354; December 10, 1998 or EPA 
822-Z-99-001) and National Recommended Water Quality Criteria; Notice; 
Republication; Correction (64 FR 19781; April 22, 1999) or the Federal 
Register Notice for the 2000 Methodology]. EPA indicated that when 
making minor revisions to existing criteria based on new information 
pertaining to individual components of the criteria, it would typically 
publish the recalculated criteria directly as the Agency's national 
recommended water quality criteria.
    The draft criteria for acrolein and phenol are being updated with 
reference dose (RfD) values from EPA's Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS) (http://www.epa.gov/iris). Because recalculation of these 
two criteria results in significant changes, EPA is publishing them in 
today's Notice in order to solicit scientific views. However, EPA does 
not intend to subject this recalculation to additional peer review 
because the IRIS reference doses being updated in this draft partial 
criteria update have been previously peer reviewed.

[[Page 53248]]

    Tables 1 and 2 below containing the current and updated draft 
criteria for acrolein and phenol were prepared to assist reviewers. The 
RfD values used to derive the respective criteria values are also 
included in Tables 1 and 2 below.

                                  Table 1--Updated Draft Criteria for Acrolein
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          Acrolein              Current criteria                       Updated draft criteria
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IRIS RfD....................  0.0156 mg/(kg-d)      0.0005 mg/(kg-d) (published 6/03)
                               (published 1977).    (http://www.epa.gov/ncea/iris/subst/0364.htm).
Water + Organisms...........  190 [mu]g/l.........  6 [mu]g/l
Organisms Only..............  290 [mu]g/l.........  9 [mu]g/l.
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                                   Table 2--Updated Draft Criteria for Phenol
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           Phenol               Current criteria                       Updated draft criteria
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IRIS RfD....................  0.60 mg/(kg-d)        0.30 mg/(kg-d) (published 9/02)
                               (published 2/90).    (http://www.epa.gov/ncea/iris/subst/0088.htm).
Water + Organisms...........  20,700 [mu]g/l......  10,400 [mu]g/l.
Organisms Only..............  1,700,000 [mu]g/l...  857,000 [mu]g/l.
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    EPA decided to revise the existing criteria based on partially 
updated components of the criteria equations in order to increase the 
frequency of scientific improvements to the nationally recommended 
criteria using acceptable, currently-available information. For a water 
quality criterion revision based on a partial update to be considered 
acceptable to EPA, a component of the criterion (e.g., the 
toxicological risk assessment) should be comprehensive (e.g., a new or 
revised reference dose (RfD)) or cancer dose-response assessment, as 
opposed to simply a new scaling factor), stand alone, and be based on 
new national or local data. The criteria for phenol and acrolein are 
being updated with more recent reference doses available from EPA's 
Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). IRIS is an electronic data 
base maintained by the EPA that provides chemical-specific risk 
information on the relationship between chemical exposures and 
estimated human health effects. Risk assessment information contained 
in IRIS, except as specifically noted, has been reviewed and agreed 
upon by an interdisciplinary group of scientists representing various 
Program Offices within the Agency and represents Agency-wide consensus. 
Therefore, updated IRIS values reflect the most current Agency science 
and should be used by States and Tribes in updating or developing new 
human health criteria. The Office of Science and Technology will 
publish these partial updates of water quality criteria via their Water 
Science Web Site (http://www.epa.gov/waterscience).

IV. What Is the Relationship Between the Water Quality Criteria and 
Your State or Tribal Water Quality Standards?

    As part of the water quality standards triennial review process 
defined in Section 303(c)(1) of the CWA, the States and authorized 
Tribes are responsible for maintaining and revising water quality 
standards. Water quality standards consist of designated uses, water 
quality criteria to protect those uses, a policy for antidegradation, 
and general policies for application and implementation. Section 
303(c)(1) requires States and authorized Tribes to review and modify, 
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. Protective criteria are based on a sound 
scientific rationale and contain sufficient parameters or constituents 
to protect the designated uses.
    Consistent with 40 CFR131.21 [see: EPA Review and Approval of State 
and Tribal Water Quality Standards (65 FR 24641, April 27, 2000)], 
water quality criteria adopted by law or regulation by States and 
authorized Tribes prior to May 30, 2000, are in effect for CWA purposes 
unless superseded by federal regulations (see, for example, the 
National Toxics Rule, 40 CFR 131.36; Water Quality Standards for Idaho, 
40 CFR 131.33). New or revised water quality criteria adopted into law 
or regulation by States and authorized Tribes on or after May 30, 2000 
are in effect for CWA purposes only after EPA approval.

V. What Is the Status of Existing Recommended Criteria While They Are 
Under Revision?

    Water quality criteria published by EPA remain the Agency's 
recommended water quality criteria until EPA revises or withdraws the 
criteria. The current criteria for acrolein and phenol will remain in 
effect until EPA publishes the updated criteria.

VI. Where Can I Find More Information About Water Quality Criteria and 
Water Quality Standards?

    For more information about water quality criteria and Water Quality 
Standards refer to the following: Water Quality Standards Handbook (EPA 
823-B94-005a); Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM), (63 FR 
36742); Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan--Priorities for the 
Future (EPA 822-R-98-003); Guidelines and Methodologies Used in the 
Preparation of Health Effects Assessment Chapters of the Consent Decree 
Water Criteria Documents (45 FR 79347); Methodology for Deriving 
Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health 
(2000), (EPA-822-B-00-004); Guidelines for Deriving Numerical National 
Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and 
Their Uses (EPA 822/R-85-100); National Strategy for the Development of 
Regional Nutrient Criteria (EPA 822-R-98-002); and EPA Review and 
Approval of State and Tribal Water Quality Standards (65 FR 24641).
    You can find these publications through EPA's National Service 
Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP, previously NCEPI) or on 
the Office of Science and Technology's Home-page (http://www.epa.gov/waterscience).


[[Page 53249]]


    Dated: August 28, 2008.
Ephraim S. King,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. E8-21460 Filed 9-12-08; 8:45 am]
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