SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

Under the CWA, WQS define the desired condition of a water, in part, by designating the use or uses of the water and by setting criteria to protect those uses.^[1] Human health criteria (HHC) are ( printed page 46433) a type of water quality criteria that protect designated uses such as public water supply and recreation.

While states have the primary responsibility for reviewing, establishing, and revising WQS for their waters, CWA section 303(c) directs the EPA to promulgate WQS in two circumstances. Of relevance here, the EPA has the authority to promulgate WQS where the EPA Administrator determines that a new or revised standard is necessary to meet the requirements of the CWA.^[2] Such a determination is referred to as an “Administrator's Determination.” Once the EPA makes an Administrator's Determination, the CWA requires the Agency to “promptly prepare and publish” proposed regulations with new or revised WQS.^[3] The CWA also requires that the Administrator “promulgate any revised or new standard [ . . . ] not later than ninety days after [publishing] such proposed standards.” ^[4]

CWA section 303(c)(2)(B), added to the CWA in the 1987 amendments to the Act,^[5] requires states to adopt numeric criteria for all toxic pollutants listed pursuant to CWA section 307(a)(1) (known as priority toxic pollutants ^[6] ) for which the EPA has published recommended criteria pursuant to CWA section 304(a), and where the discharge or presence of such toxic pollutants could reasonably be expected to interfere with the states' designated uses.^[7] In the 1992 National Toxics Rule, the EPA promulgated water quality criteria for priority toxic pollutants for 14 states, including Florida, based on an Administrator's Determination that the states needed new or revised criteria to comply with the requirements of CWA section 303(c)(2)(B).^[8]

On December 1, 2022, the EPA issued an Administrator's Determination that Florida needed new and revised HHC pursuant to CWA section 303(c)(4)(B).^[9] Specifically, the Agency determined that Florida's existing HHC were not protective of Floridians consuming fish and shellfish because the EPA believed they were derived using data that underestimates how much fish Floridians are currently eating. The EPA also determined that Florida needed HHC for 37 additional priority toxic pollutants for which the State had no HHC. The EPA proposed new and revised HHC for Florida on December 8, 2023.^[10] No final action was taken on the proposed rulemaking.

On August 19, 2025, the Environmental Defense Alliance and Waterkeepers Florida (Plaintiffs) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleging that EPA failed to perform a mandatory duty to promulgate final WQS for Florida waters 90 days after proposing such standards. The complaint asserts that this failure violates both the CWA and the APA.

The parties initiated settlement discussions, which produced the proposed consent decree. Under the proposed consent decree, the EPA Administrator would be required to sign a final rule establishing new and revised HHC for Florida waters on or before December 1, 2026.

For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this Federal Register publication, EPA will accept written comments relating to the proposed consent decree from persons who are not parties to the litigation. EPA or the Department of Justice may withdraw or withhold consent to the proposed consent decree if the comments received disclose facts or considerations that indicate that such consent is inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with the requirements of the CWA.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent Decree

A. How can I get a copy of the proposed consent decree?

The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-5083) contains a copy of the proposed consent decree. The official public docket is available for public viewing at the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the EPA Docket Center, 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 OEI Docket is (202) 566-1752.

The electronic version of the public docket for this action contains a copy of the proposed consent decree and is available through https://www.regulations.gov. You may use https://www.regulations.gov to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, and access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, key in the appropriate docket identification number then select “search.”

B. How and to whom do I submit comments?

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-5083 via https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from this docket. EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's docket at https://www.regulations.gov 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 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 https://www.epa.gov/​dockets/​commenting-epa-dockets. For additional information about submitting information identified as CBI, please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.

If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and an email address or other contact information in the body of your comment. This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance of your comment. Any identifying or contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket ( printed page 46434) and made available in EPA's electronic public docket. 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.

Use of the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. The electronic public docket system is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity, email address, or other contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.

Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified comment period. Comments received after the close of the comment period will be marked “late.” EPA does not plan to consider these late comments.

91 FR 46432