82 FR 35198 - Request for Scientific Views: Draft Updated Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Aluminum in Freshwater

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 144 (July 28, 2017)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of Draft Updated Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Aluminum in Freshwater for public comment. EPA first released freshwater criteria for aluminum in 1988 to protect aquatic life from harmful effects of aluminum toxicity. EPA is updating its recommended aluminum criteria to reflect the latest science and to provide users the flexibility to develop site-specific criteria based on site-specific water chemistry. The draft document provides a scientific assessment of ecological effects and is not a regulation. Following closure of this 60-day public comment period, EPA will consider the comments, revise the draft document, as appropriate, and then publish a final document that will provide recommendations for states and authorized tribes to establish water quality standards. The recommendations found in this draft document do not replace or supersede EPA's 1988 national recommended criteria for aluminum in ambient water.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 144 (Friday, July 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35198-35200]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15968]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0260; FRL-9965-39-OW]


Request for Scientific Views: Draft Updated Aquatic Life Ambient 
Water Quality Criteria for Aluminum in Freshwater

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
availability of Draft Updated Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality 
Criteria for Aluminum in Freshwater for public comment. EPA first 
released freshwater criteria for aluminum in 1988 to protect aquatic 
life from harmful effects of aluminum toxicity. EPA is updating its 
recommended aluminum criteria to reflect the latest science and to 
provide users the flexibility to develop site-specific criteria based 
on site-specific water chemistry. The draft document provides a 
scientific assessment of ecological effects and is not a regulation. 
Following closure of this 60-day public comment period, EPA will 
consider the comments, revise the draft document, as appropriate, and 
then publish a final document that will provide recommendations for 
states and authorized tribes to establish water quality standards. The 
recommendations found in this draft document do not replace or 
supersede EPA's 1988 national recommended criteria for aluminum in 
ambient water.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 26, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2017-0260 to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. EPA 
may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit 
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 
accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the

[[Page 35199]]

official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish 
to make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents 
located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 
other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full 
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia 
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please 
visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diana Eignor, Health and Ecological 
Criteria Division, Office of Water (Mail Code 4304T), Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 566-1143; or email: [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-2017-0260. Publicly available docket materials 
are available either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in 
hard copy at the 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 Printing Office under the ``Federal 
Register'' listings FDSys (http://www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR).

II. What is Aluminum and how does it affect aquatic life?

    Aluminum is found in most soils and rocks and is the third most 
abundant element and the most common metal in the earth's crust. 
Aluminum can enter the water via natural processes, like weathering of 
rocks. Aluminum is also released to water by mining, industrial 
processes using aluminum, and waste water treated with alum, an 
aluminum compound. Aluminum is considered a non-essential metal because 
fish and other aquatic life do not need it to function. Elevated levels 
of aluminum can affect some species ability to regulate ions and 
inhibit respiratory functions. Aquatic plants are generally less 
sensitive to aluminum than fish and other aquatic life.

III. What are EPA's updated recommended levels of aluminum in 
freshwater?

    The recommended level of aluminum in freshwater depends on a site's 
water quality parameters. Studies have shown that three water chemistry 
parameters, pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and hardness, can 
affect the toxicity of aluminum by affecting the bioavailability of 
aluminum in the water to aquatic species. Unlike the fixed criteria 
values in EPA's 1988 criteria document, these updated draft criteria 
use a Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model to normalize the data, and 
the resulting criteria are based on site pH, DOC, and hardness. This 
allows users to develop site-specific aluminum criteria for fresh 
waters that appropriately reflect water quality parameters. See Table 1 
for a comparison of EPA's currently recommended and updated draft 
criteria values.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN28JY17.011

IV. What are section 304(a) water quality criteria?

    Section 304(a) water quality criteria are recommendations developed 
by EPA under authority of section 304(a) of the Clean Water Act based 
on the latest scientific information which examines the effect of a 
particular constituent concentration on an aquatic species and/or human 
health.
    Section 304(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act directs the 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 pollutant 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 of pollutants. The criteria also 
provide guidance that EPA considers when promulgating federal 
regulations under section 303(c) when such action is necessary. Under 
the Clean Water Act and its implementing regulations, states and 
authorized tribes are to adopt water quality criteria to protect 
designated uses (e.g., aquatic life, recreational use). EPA's water 
quality criteria recommendations are not regulations. Thus, EPA's 
recommended criteria do not constitute legally binding requirements. 
States and authorized tribes may adopt other scientifically defensible 
water quality criteria that differ from these recommendations. As part 
of the WQS

[[Page 35200]]

triennial review process defined in section 303(c)(1) of the CWA, the 
states and authorized tribes are responsible for maintaining and 
revising WQS. Standards consist of designated uses, water quality 
criteria to protect those uses, a policy for antidegradation, and may 
include general policies for application and implementation. Section 
303(c)(1) requires states and authorized tribes to review and modify, 
if appropriate, their WQS at least once every three years. States and 
authorized tribes must adopt water quality criteria that protect 
designated uses. Consistent with EPA's regulations at 40 CFR 131.11(a), 
protective criteria must be based on a sound scientific rationale and 
contain sufficient parameters or constituents to protect the designated 
uses. Criteria may be expressed in either narrative or numeric form. 
States and authorized tribes have four options when adopting water 
quality criteria for which EPA has published section 304(a) criteria. 
They may: (1) Establish numerical values based on recommended section 
304(a) criteria; (2) Adopt section 304(a) criteria modified to reflect 
site-specific conditions; (3) Adopt criteria derived using other 
scientifically defensible methods; or (4) Establish narrative criteria 
where numeric criteria cannot be established or to supplement numeric 
criteria (40 CFR 131.11(b)).

V. Solicitation of Scientific Views

    EPA is soliciting additional scientific views, data, and 
information regarding the science and technical approach used in the 
derivation of the draft criteria.

    Dated: July 17, 2017.
Michael H. Shapiro,
Acting Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2017-15968 Filed 7-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P