Water Science

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MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND THE MEETING ON WATER QUALITY STANDARDS,
CRITERIA AND IMPLEMENTATION, INCLUDING WATER QUALITY-BASED PERMITTING

The next “Meeting on Water Quality Standards, Criteria and Implementation, including Water Quality-based Permitting” will be held August 24-27, 1998.  This is the chief vehicle in which EPA communicates technical, policy and scientific information to stakeholder groups about implementation of the water quality standards program.  This year’s meeting will focus on the Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan, a vision and strategy for important new initiatives and improvements that need to be made to the water quality standards program to better protect human health and enhance and maintain the quality of the nation’s waters.   Robert Perciasepe, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Water has been invited to make the keynote address. This year's meeting will feature case studies, break-out sessions and poster sessions at the end of each day.  Mark your calendars for this important event! 

The session will be held at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel, Philadelphia, PA. There is no registration fee, but pre-registration is required.  EPA will post registration  information and a preliminary agenda for the August 24-27 meeting on the Office of Science and Technology's homepage at www.epa.gov/waterscience/, the Office of Wastewater Management's homepage at www.epa.gov/OWM and the Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds homepage at www.epa.gov/owow/.  You may also contact EPA's contractor, the Cadmus Group at (703) 998-6862 (press 2190 or by e-mail:mrm98@cadmusgroup.com. 

A separate Public Meeting on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on the Water Quality Standards Regulation will be held August 27 and 28 at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel in Philadelphia.  The ANPRM when published in the Federal Register (see related article page four) will solicit public comment on potential revisions to the basic water quality standards program regulation governing state adoption and EPA approval of water quality standards under Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act.  The ANPRM will request comment on changes in policy and guidance that support the regulation. 

EPA and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) will co-host three public meetings on the ANPRM.  The purpose of the public meetings is to provide a structured discourse on the future of the water quality standards regulation and program.  This discourse will assist commenters in developing their positions and preparing comments for submittal to the Agency during the 180 day public comment period.  EPA's hope is that written public comments will be better developed as a result of the public meetings. 

During the three public meetings, nationally recognized resource experts will lead discussions on core issues outlined in the ANPRM and members of the public will be given an opportunity to join in the discussions and ask questions.  The format of the three public meetings will be identical.  The meetings will be held in different geographic areas of the country to ensure attendance by a large number of  stakeholders.  EPA is currently identifying locations for the remaining two public meetings.   There is no fee to attend the public meetings.  Individuals will however, be required to pre-register. 

The Office of Science and Technology will post details about the three public meetings on the ANPRM, including registration information on its homepage at www.epa.gov/waterscience/.  The Water Environment Federation will post information about the public meetings on its homepage at http://www.wef.org/conferences/.    You may also contact EPA's contractor, Liz Hiett, Tetra Tech, Inc., at (703) 385-6000, Ex. 168 or on e-mail: hiettli@tetratech-ffx.com. 
 
 

ELIZABETH SOUTHERLAND  ACTING DIRECTOR, STANDARDS  & APPLIED SCIENCE DIVISION

JEANETTE WILTSE  DIRECTOR, HEALTH &  ECOLOGICAL CRITERIA DIVISION

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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Water Quality Standards Academy 

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WATER QUALITY STANDARDS ACADEMY

EPA will hold a session of the “Water Quality Standards Academy” for external groups on August 3-7, 1998.   The “Water Quality Standards Academy” is a highly structured 5-day training course on all aspects of the water quality standards and criteria program aimed at states, Indian tribes, environmental groups, municipalities, the  academic community, industrial groups, federal agencies and other interested parties.  There is no registration fee to attend the course. Individuals must, however, pre-register. 

Information about this training course appear on the Office of Science and Technology's Home Page at: www.epa.gov/waterscience/.  You may also contact EPA's contractor: Crystall Smith, Water Quality Standards Academy Coordinator,  The Cadmus Group, Inc., at 703-998-6862, Ext. 170 for more information. 

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LIST SERVER & WEBSITE NEWS

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Newsletter List Server 
Website for EPA Technical and Public Documents 

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NEWSLETTER LIST SERVER

The Water Quality Criteria and Standards Newsletter is now available electronically.  To subscribe to the WQC&S list server, send an e-mail message to listserver@unixmail.rtpnc.epa.gov and type the following command in the body of the message: subscribe WQS-NEWS Firstname LastName (Example: subscribe WQS-NEWS Joan Smith). NOTE: The message subject should be blank. 

To be removed from the list, send a message to listserver@unixmail.rtpnc.epa.gov and type the following: unsubscribe WQS-NEWS. Contact: Micki Treacy at 202-260-7301 or Treacy.Micki@epamail.epa.gov for more information. 

WEBSITE FOR EPA TECHNICAL AND PUBLIC DOCUMENTS

There is a new EPA website that includes, among other things, the full text of more than 6,000 EPA technical and public documents.  From this site, you can view the full text (including graphics) of a document on-line, print, and order copies of all EPA documents that are in the database.  The site includes instructions for searching the database by title, EPA document number, keywords, or phrases.  The URL for the site is http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/, and you can get to it from the EPA home page by clicking on “Publications.” 

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WATER QUALITY STANDARDS BRANCH/SASD
FRED LEUTNER
(202) 260-1542

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Water Quality Standards Academy Receives National Recognition 
California Toxics Rule 
Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking On The Water Quality Standards Regulation 
What is the Designated Use For Bear Creek?

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Water Quality Standards Academy Receives National Recognition

The Environmental Protection Agency's Water Quality Standards Academy received one of the first National Environmental Education Achievement Awards during a ceremony held in Washington, D. C. on November 7, 1997. The award was presented by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) to recognize innovative and effective environmental education programs that connect people and their environments in a real and meaningful way.  Kevin Coyle, NEETF’s President stated that the “National Environmental Education Achievement Awards provide an opportunity to give outstanding organizations such as the Water Quality Standards Academy the recognition they deserve.  By honoring these innovative programs, we hope to motivate others to initiate similar programs in their own communities.”  The award was presented by Mark DeMichele, Chair, NEETF Board of Trustees. Frances A. Desselle, of the Standards and Applied Science Division accepted the award on  behalf of the EPA. 

The NEETF Awards are made possible through a grant from the Phillips Petroleum Company to recognize excellence in environmental education in ten different categories: Human Health and the Environment, Clean Water/Safe Drinking Water, Conservation of Natural Resources, Eco- tourism, Multi-Cultural Setting, Social Problem, Integration of Environmental Education into a School System, Improving Community Quality of Life, Business-to-Business Education on Pollution Prevention and Environmental Improvement and Corporate Environmental Education Leading to Increased Profitability.  EPA's Water Quality Standards Academy was honored in the Clean Water/Safe Drinking Water category. 

In the six years since EPA began the Water Quality Standards Academy, over 1,300 people in state and local agencies, Indian tribes and others have received high quality, intensive training in the basics of water quality standards.  By continually upgrading the course materials to reflect the latest EPA programs, by using EPA's most knowledgeable standards experts as instructors, and by focusing on implementation not just theory, the Water Quality Standards Academy has set a high mark against which similar environmental training programs should be measured.  There is always a waiting list for these courses.  The NEETF is a national leader in bringing objective and scientifically sound environmental education to America, from business leaders and public officials to adult educators and children. 

CALIFORNIA TOXICS RULE

On August 5, 1997, EPA published a proposed rule (62 FR 42160) which, when finalized, will establish numeric criteria for priority toxic pollutants in the State of California.  This rule (referred to as the California Toxics Rule or CTR) proposes to establish aquatic life criteria for 29 priority toxic pollutants and human health criteria for 65 priority toxic pollutants to replace those rescinded as a result of litigation in California.  This rule, when finalized, will fulfill the need for water quality criteria for priority toxic pollutants (as required by Section 303(c)(2)(B) of the Clean Water Act).  Two public hearings on this proposed rule were held in California (one in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles).  The public comment period for the proposed rule closed on September 26, 1997. 

Currently the Agency is working to develop a final rule.  Additionally, the Agency is consulting with the Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. For additional information, contact Diane Frankel at 415-744-2004 or Karen Gourdine at 202-260- 1328 or gourdine.karen@epamail.epa.gov. 

ADVANCE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING ON THE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS REGULATION

EPA has reported in past issues of this newsletter that it is preparing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making on the Water Quality Standards Regulation (ANPRM).  At this writing, we anticipate publication of it in the Federal Register in June 1998.  EPA had originally expected to publish the ANPRM earlier than 1998.  Public interest in development of the ANPRM was so keen, however, that we decided to spend more time meeting and discussing the scope of the ANPRM with representative stakeholder groups.  The additional discussions with stakeholders have been invaluable to EPA in narrowing the scope of issues outlined in the ANPRM and sharpening the requests for public comment. 

 

What is the ANPRM?

The ANPRM is a review of the water quality standards regulation (40 CFR 131), the policy and guidance that supports it, and current practice under it.  In the ANPRM, EPA discusses the current water quality standards program in detail and outline EPA's current thinking on important new directions in water quality standards, such as incorporation of new science into water quality protection programs (e.g., biological assessments and criteria) and advancement of the watershed management approach to water quality protection, including iterative problem solving.  The ANPRM will also serve to educate interested parties on the current water quality standards program, inform the public debate over possible changes in the program, and develop workable proposals.  Then, using specific questions, the ANPRM requests public comment on potential changes to the program and regulation, and on current EPA thinking in a number of areas addressed by the current regulation, policy and guidance. 

The ANPRM reviews and requests comment on the three major components of water quality standards: water body designated uses, water quality criteria, and the antidegradation policy, as well as in the general implementation policies for mixing zones and independent application of water quality criteria and assessments.  In the ANPRM, EPA expresses its view that the water quality standards program should continue to evolve into a program in which: the best possible information on whether designated uses are being attained and how to attain and maintain them is available and used, water quality criteria are scientifically sound and tailored to each watershed, and national norms of consistency and flexibility in state and tribal water quality standards programs are clear. 

One of the main themes of the ANPRM is updating and modernizing water quality standards to that standards may be better implemented on a watershed basis using refined use designations and tailored criteria.  New science and assessment methodologies, as well as better data, and new types of data and analysis would need to be used by states and tribes to refine water quality standards in this manner.  Efforts to refine the water quality standards program could, therefore, encounter significant resource constraints in some states and tribes.  In order for a new, data- intensive, watershed-specific approach to succeed, it must be workable for the states and tribes that will have to implement it.  The ANPRM highlights the potential resource challenge for states and tribes and requests comment regarding concerns over resource constraints and ideas for how to address them. 
 

Why?

A rising level of scrutiny of water quality standards is anticipated as EPA, states and tribes work to resolve remaining water quality problems in the nation's waters.  These problems are often difficult to assess, define and solve.  EPA believes that pressure on the regulatory and policy underpinnings of water quality standards will be increasing, making it imperative to identify where these underpinnings may need to be strengthened, clarified or revised.  Through the public discourse the ANPRM will spark, all interested parties will learn about and have the opportunity to evaluate the diverse and creative ways that states, tribes and the public have addressed water quality-related problems through their water quality standards. 
 

What Next?

Once the ANPRM is published in the Federal Register, the public will have 180 days to develop and submit comments.  During this period, EPA, together with the Water Environment Federation, will sponsor three public meetings in which focussed, issue-oriented discussions, led by expert panels will take place.  In these public meetings, participants will have the opportunity to join the debate, learn about the differing views on each issue, and formulate their comments on the ANPRM.  After these public meetings are completed, EPA will request that public comments be submitted to the Agency.  The public meetings are planned for July, August and September 1998 and EPA will mail a flyer with the details as soon as the meetings are set. 

This important and informed public discourse will be  a vehicle to a more informed and effective water quality standards program and ultimately to national water quality improvement. Contact: Rob Wood (202) 260-9536 or Wood.Robert@epamail.epa.gov. 

WHAT IS THE DESIGNATED USE FOR BEAR CREEK?

This is a relatively straightforward question that can be fairly difficult to answer.  The difficulties that can arise in answering the question include determining which Bear Creek is being discussed, what the most current designated use is, what that use (e.g. fish and wildlife) really means, and what site-specific provisions might apply.  Part of the difficulty faced in responding to such questions is that standards, including uses, can and do change over time as states and tribes conduct their triennial reviews, or as site-specific issues develop. Another challenge is based on determining the areal extent of the standard as it relates to Bear Creek (i.e., all of Bear Creek or only part of it). 

The Office of Water has committed to developing a data system that will enable EPA, states, tribes, and the public to know what the designated uses are for the Nation's waters.  To that end, the Water Quality Standards Branch will be working with other EPA offices to perform a requirements analysis and to develop a prototype design for a national relational database system for designated uses this fiscal year.  A commitment has also been made to work with states and others over the next two fiscal years to ensure that the system functions on the several levels required to meet the needs of all users.  All ideas and suggestions are welcome (please contact Jeff Bryan at 202-260-4934). 

In addition to the database, new technologies and technically advanced computer software programs improve our ability to respond to many water quality related questions.  These technologies include geographic information systems (GIS), georeferencing tools, and reach indexing.  A GIS makes it possible to retrieve and manipulate information that has been georeferenced.   In water programs, georeferencing tools such as the Reach File (RF) make it possible to conduct more sophisticated analyses based on which sites are located upstream or downstream from other sites.  An example of designated use information georeferenced to EPA's RF-3 stream segments (e.g., Bear Creek) is: 
 

Designated Use	Catalog Unit	Segment #	Beginning Mile Point	Ending Mile Point
Recreation	02010402	011017	0.0	7.2

A simultaneous effort is underway to develop a system that will be able to field questions that cover several Office of Water programs.  The system would be able to search several databases (e.g., STORET, PCS, 305(b), 303(d), Designated Uses).  An example of the type of query this system could accommodate would be, “Show the water bodies with municipal dischargers that have less than fishable/swimmable use designations.”   (Or with a nonpoint slant... “Show the water bodies without municipal dischargers that have less than fishable/swimmable use designations.”) 

The goal for these systems is to make water quality standards information accessible to the widest possible audience, including making the system available over the Internet. 
 
Future issues of the Newsletter will provide progress reports on these efforts.  We are open to comments and suggestions, and would be particularly interested in working with others who have already started efforts along these lines.  Please feel free to call or write Jeff Bryan at 202-260-4934, bryan.jeffrey@epamail.epa.gov with your ideas. 

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RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT BRANCH/SASD
TOM ARMITAGE
(202) 260-5388

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EPA's Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy 
EPA Releases National Inventory Of Contaminated Sediments 

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EPA'S CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 

To address the ecological and human health risks that contaminated sediment poses in many U.S. watersheds, EPA announces publication of its Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy. Also available, through the Office of Water Docket, is the Response to Public Comments Document.  The Strategy is an Agency workplan describing actions the Agency believes are needed to bring about consideration and reduction of risks posed by contaminated sediments. In the Strategy, EPA summarizes its understanding of the extent and severity of sediment contamination, including uncertainties about the dimension of the problem and describes the cross-program policy framework in which the Agency intends to promote consideration and reduction of ecological and human health risks posed by sediment contamination. 

The Strategy establishes four goals to manage the problem of contaminated sediment, and describes actions the Agency intends to take to accomplish these goals. The goals are: 1) to control sources of sediment contamination and prevent the volume of contaminated sediment from increasing; 2) to reduce the volume of existing (in-place) contaminated sediment; 3) to ensure that sediment dredging and dredged material disposal are managed in an environmentally sound manner; and 4) to develop a range of scientifically sound sediment management tools for use in pollution prevention, source control, remediation and dredged material management. 

Concerns About Sediment Contamination   

Recent studies of the quality of the nation's lakes, rivers, and bays, and concerns about the economic impacts associated with contaminated fish and disposal of contaminated dredged material make sediment contamination an important issue. 
 

• EPA estimates that 10 percent of the nation's lakes, rivers, and bays have sediment contaminated with toxic chemicals that can kill fish living in those waters or impair the health of people and wildlife who eat contaminated fish (Listing of Fish and Wildlife Consumption Advisories, EPA 823-C-97-004, 1997; The Incidence and Severity of Sediment Contamination in Surface Water of  the United States, EPA 823-R-97-006, 007, 008, 1998). 
• Fifteen percent of the nation's lake acreage and five percent of the nation's river miles are under state-issued fish consumption advisories. All of the Great Lakes and a large portion of the nation's coastal waters are also under advisory (Listing of Fish and Wildlife Consumption Advisories, EPA 823-C-97-004, 1997). 
• Billions of dollars of economic activity are potentially affected by contaminated sediment because of the loss of recreational and commercial fishing and the increased cost of disposing of contaminated material dredged to aid navigation.

Why EPA Needs a Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy   

EPA needs an Agency-wide Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy because contaminated sediment is an environmental problem in the nation's water bodies that is not handled by a single EPA office or authority, and the multimedia sources of ongoing contamination and the need to remediate historical contamination require coordinated Agency-wide actions. 

What the Strategy Will Accomplish   

The Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy sets forth an EPA plan to accomplish a number of key actions. 
 

• Agency programs will use consistent and scientifically sound sediment assessment methods in their prevention or remediation processes. 

• Agency programs will use the first National Sediment Quality Survey Report to Congress (EPA 823-R-97-006) and future biennial updates to target chemicals and watersheds for further assessment, pollution prevention, and remediation.
• Where watersheds are clean, EPA will prevent sediment contamination through point and nonpoint source controls, promoting best management practices, and by testing new pesticides and other chemicals to ensure they will not cause sediment contamination.
• Where watersheds are being contaminated, EPA will take appropriate action through its point and nonpoint source control programs to reduce or eliminate contaminant inputs. 
• Where watersheds are already contaminated, EPA will develop risk management strategies and  implement source controls, and undertake remediation of contaminated sediment to limit serious risks to human health and the environment and restore designated uses.

To Obtain Copies of the Strategy 

Copies of EPA's Contaminated Sediment Management Strategy (document number EPA-823-F-98-001) are available from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Publications and Information, 11029 Kenwood Road, Building 5, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45242. They may be ordered by phone at 800-490-9198; by fax at 513-489-8695; or on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/orderpub.html.  The Strategy can be viewed or downloaded from the Office of Science and Technology's home page, at http://www.epa.gov/ost. 

EPA RELEASES NATIONAL INVENTORY OF CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as requested by Congress, released its first-ever national report on the quality of sediments in the nation's rivers and other inland and coastal waterways on January 7, 1998.  The report finds that every state has some sediment contamination -- accumulation of toxic chemicals sufficient to pose potential risk to people who eat fish and to fish and wildlife -- and that streams, lakes and harbors can be affected.  Sites where the highest levels of sediment contamination were measured tend to cluster around larger urban areas and industrial centers and in regions affected by agricultural and urban runoff. 

The Incidence and Severity of Sediment Contamination in Surface Waters of the United States is the first comprehensive EPA analysis of existing sediment chemistry and related biological data to assess the national incidence and severity of sediment contamination. The 3-volume report describes areas where chemical contaminants are present in river, lake, ocean, and estuary sediments and includes an assessment of the potential for associated adverse effects on human and aquatic life: 
 

Volume 1: National Sediment Quality Survey (EPA 823-R-97-006):  Assesses the probability of associated adverse human or ecological effects with contaminated  sediment based on a weight-of-evidence evaluation.

Volume 2: Data Summaries for Watersheds Containing Areas of Probable Concern  (APCs) (EPA 823- R-97-007): Presents sampling station location maps and chemical and   biological summary data for watersheds containing APC's.

Volume 3: National Sediment Contaminant Point Source Inventory (EPA 823-R-97-008):  A screening analysis that identifies probable point source contributors of sediment pollutants.

“The report confirms that contaminated sediment is a significant problem in many  watersheds around the country.  The report underscores the need to finish the job of  cleaning up our nation's waters and to prevent their continued pollution to protect  public health.”    Robert Perciasepe, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water

In preparing this report, EPA assembled the largest set of sediment chemistry and related biological data ever compiled into a national database called the National Sediment Inventory.  EPA advocates using a “weight- of-evidence” approach to sediment contamination assessment based on many types of measures.  EPA examined approximately two million records from more than 21,000 sampling stations that are located in 1,363 of the 2,111 watersheds (65 percent) in the continental United States. The locations were sampled between 1980 and 1993.  Because the data were collected over a relatively long period of time, the results represent conditions over the past 15 years and serve as a baseline for future assessments. 

Each of the sampling stations was classified into one of three tiers based on data recorded for that location: 26 percent of the sampling stations fell into Tier 1 - adverse effects are probable; 49 percent of the sampling stations fell into Tier 2 - adverse effects are possible but expected infrequently; and 25 percent of the sampling stations fell into Tier 3 - no indication of adverse effects.  Adjusting for sampling bias towards known or suspected contamination, and the efficiency of screening-level assessment guidelines to predict adverse effects, EPA estimates that approximately six to 12 percent of the sediment underlying the nation's surface water poses a potential environmental threat. 

EPA identified 96 watersheds (seven percent of the watersheds evaluated) that contain “areas of probable concern” where potential adverse effects of sediment contamination are more likely to be found.  Watersheds were classified as “areas of probable concern” if they contained 10 or more Tier 1 sampling stations and if 75 percent or more of all the sampling stations were classified as either Tier 1 or Tier 2.  These areas, identified in this figure  are on the Atlantic, Gulf, Great Lakes, and Pacific coasts, as well as in inland waterways, in regions affected by urban and agricultural runoff, municipal and industrial waste discharges, and other pollution sources.  In portions of these watersheds, conditions may not be viable for bottom dwelling creatures.  Also, contaminants in sediment can move up through the food chain, and fish that live in these waters may contain chemicals at levels unsafe for regular consumption.  Because EPA relied on readily-available electronic data, primarily from national and regional scale data bases, some well-known highly contaminated areas are not identified in the report.

The health risks posed in the 96 areas of probable concern pertain to subsistence fishers and others who fish those contaminated waters for food.  People who regularly eat fish caught from areas where sediment is contaminated may increase their risk of cancer or other long-term adverse health effects because of the toxic chemicals that can accumulate in the edible portions of those fish.  Most states routinely issue consumption warnings for waters where fish are contaminated. More than two-thirds of the watersheds containing areas of probable concern already have active fish consumption advisories in place.  Not all of the areas of probable concern are based on potential human health risk; many are based solely on potential risk to aquatic life. 

Sediment at many sites throughout the United States was polluted years ago by chemicals such as DDT,  polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and mercury.  While use of these substances has been banned or restricted for many years, these chemicals can--and do--persist for many years in the sediment, and continue to be a source of concern for the environment and public health.  Other chemicals that are released to surface waters from industrial and municipal discharges and polluted runoff from urban and agricultural areas continue to accumulate to harmful levels in sediments. 

Ecological and human health impairment due to contaminated sediment imposes costs on society.  Fish diseases causing tumors and fin rot and loss of species and communities that cannot tolerate sediment contamination can severely damage aquatic ecosystems.  Contaminants in sediment can also poison the food chain.  Fish and shellfish can become unsafe for human or wildlife consumption.  Potential costs to society include lost recreational enjoyment and revenues or, worse, possible long-term adverse health effects such as cancer or children’s neurological and IQ impairment if fish consumption warnings are not issued and heeded.  The health and ecological risks posed by contaminated sediment dredged from harbors can boost disposal costs and eliminate opportunities for beneficial uses, such as habitat restoration. 

Based on the results of this study, EPA's primary recommendation is for further evaluations of 
the 96 watersheds containing APCs that focus on: 
 

•  Collecting and analyzing additional sediment chemistry and related biological data 
•  Further evaluating the potential for human health and ecological risk 
•  Determining spatial and temporal trends 
•  Identifying potential sources of contaminants, and determining whether potential sources are adequately controlled

Other EPA recommendations resulting from the evaluation are: 
 

• Federal, state, and local government agencies should coordinate efforts to address sediment quality through watershed management programs.
• Future sediment monitoring programs should incorporate a weight-of-evidence approach and measures of chemical bioavailability.
• EPA should evaluate the National Sediment Inventory's coverage and capabilities and provide better access to information contained therein.
• EPA should develop better sediment monitoring and assessment tools.

An electronic copy of the report is available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/  

Printed copies of the report are available from: 
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency 
National Center for Environmental Publications and Information (NCEPI) 
11029 Kenwood Rd., Bldg. 5 
Cincinnati, Ohio, 45242 

They may be ordered by phone at 800-490-9198; fax at 513-489-8695; 
or on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/orderpub.html. 

They may also be ordered from the National Technical Information Services (NTIS) by phone at 1-800-553-NTIS (U.S. customers): 703-605-6000 (other countries): fax at 703-321-8547: and e- mail at order@ntis.fedworld.gov.  NTIS is located at 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, USA. 

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EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT BRANCH/SASD
RUSS KINERSON
(202) 260-1330

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BASINS HOME PAGE UPDATED AND EXPANDED

We recently completed a major update of our BASINS (Better Assessment Science Integrating point and Nonpoint Sources) web site at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/BASINS/ . BASINS is an integrated GIS-modeling system that contains nonpoint source and water quality models, and the supporting data for most of the U.S.  BASINS requires a computer with Microsoft Windows and Arc-View to run. 

There are several updates to the web pages, The BASINS fact sheet has been revised to include the new BASINS 2 features, there is a page of BASINS and TMDL related links, and an announcement of an upcoming BASINS List Server.  A very significant addition is that we now have all the components of BASINS available for downloading.  A user can install  BASINS and the supporting data for any State completely from the web site. 

BASINS data: BASINS CDS started running low last summer, so we extracted and placed the GIS data on-line. There are now data for each state available for downloading.  Currently, we are all out of BASINS CDS for Regions III and IV, so this is the only way people who want data from States in these regions can get them. 

BASINS systems files: In addition to the data files, users also need a number of supporting programs to use BASINS, such as HSPF, and the model interfaces.  These programs are all bundled in a compressed file we call a system file. There are two different system files on our web.  The first version is for BASINS 1; the original version we released in 1996.  The second version is for the beta version of BASINS 2, a newer version with significantly more modeling capabilities.  By combining one of these system file sets with the BASINS data above, a complete working version of BASINS can be created. 

Not everything is finished for BASINS 2.  We do not have weather data for much of the country, and the documentation for BASINS 2 is not completed.  However, there is enough of the system completed to provide for a good beta test, and we have made provisions to add additional data and documentation to the site as they are completed. An announcement of the updated BASINS site has been sent to all the EPA Regional TMDL coordinators, and the many people who asked to be part of the beta testing program.  In particular, we have had a number of requests for access to the data and programs from people who took the BASINS training courses last year and wanted to apply the system in their states. The availability of BASINS 2 via the web will allow a larger number of users to be involved in the evaluation of BASINS 2, and that in turn will ensure we have a well  tested product for release this year.  Contact: Jerry LaVeck at 202-260-7771 or LaVeck.Jerry@epamail.epa.gov.

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ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT BRANCH/HECD
ALAN HAIS
(202) 260-0658

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Water Quality Criteria Steering Committee (WQCSC)
Development of Sediment Quality Criteria (SQC)
About Those Mutant Croakers 
Water Quality Criteria Methodology Revisions for Protecting Human Health

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WATER QUALITY CRITERIA STEERING COMMITTEE (WQCSC)
The Water Quality Criteria Steering Committee (WQCSC), which consists of staff from EPA Regional Offices, Office of Water (OW), Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Office of General Counsel (OGC), was established to provide a forum for discussion and
communication between the Regional and Headquarters Offices on developing water quality issues.  The 18-person Committee has most recently discussed the process for and selection of specific chemicals for the development of new or revised water quality criteria. 

According to the EPA's “Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan,” the Health and Ecological Criteria Division (HECD) is responsible for producing 5-10 new or revised criteria documents, for both human health and aquatic life, per year.  The Steering Committee has provided feedback
and discussion on prioritizing a list of specific chemicals for which criteria are needed.  Thus, this forum provides the state and regional offices with an opportunity to identify criteria needs to HQ, and, at the same time, allows HQ to prioritize the list of chemical criteria based upon this
feedback. 

Upcoming WQCSC conference calls will focus on finalizing the prioritized list of chemicals and reestablishing the process by which new criteria are selected and developed. For more information, contact the Steering Committee Coordinator, Heidi Bell at 202-260-5464 or
Bell.Heidi@epamail.epa.gov.
 

DEVELOPMENT OF SEDIMENT QUALITY CRITERIA  (SQC)

Sediments serve as a sink for many pollutants in the aquatic environment; in particular, for nonionic organics, metals and bioaccumulative chemicals.  Due to the accumulation of chemicals in sediments, the quality and quantity of benthic organisms may be reduced by direct and indirect
toxicity, thus impacting the health and abundance of higher trophic level organisms, including fish, wildlife and humans.  EPA has been developing sediment quality criteria (SQC) for certain nonionic organic chemicals and metals to establish safe thresholds for these chemicals in
sediment.

EPA has taken public comment on the Equilibrium Partitioning Approach for Deriving Sediment Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic Organisms for Nonionic Organic Chemicals (dieldrin, endrin, acenapthene, phenanthrene, and fluoranthene).  It is anticipated that the final dieldrin and endrin sediment criteria will be published in 1998 along with the following important supporting documents:  a technical basis document, a site-specific modification document, and a draft user’s guide. 

The Agency held a consultation with the Science Advisory Board (SAB) on May 13, 1997, on an approach for developing sediment quality criteria for PAH mixtures.  The proposed individual PAH criteria will be withdrawn in favor of the PAH mixtures approach.  A draft of the PAH
Mixtures document is anticipated in summer 1998 following the completion of additional laboratory toxicity testing. 

In January 1995, the SAB reviewed an approach for deriving sediment quality criteria for 5 divalent cationic metals (lead, nickel, cadmium, copper, and zinc).  The Agency is proceeding with research to address issues identified during that review and anticipates a draft of the Metals
Mixtures document in 1998.

For further information on these sediment activities, contact Heidi Bell at 202-260-5464 or Bell.Heidi@epamail.epa.gov.
 

ABOUT THOSE MUTANT CROAKERS

Over the past year, the public and scientific press was abuzz with reports of multi-legged and missing-legged frogs in several states; most notably  Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont and New York.  Particularly alarming, was a press release on September 30, 1997 from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), on the results of toxicity tests with ground water and drinking water samples from two wetland sites where high numbers of deformed frogs have been found. 

Using a laboratory test called a FETAX assay (Frog-Embryo-Toxicity-Assay-Xenopus), embryos of the Xenopus frog species (African clawed frog) were grown in water from the two sites.  The test, which takes four days to complete, was run multiple times using dilutions of the water from the Minnesota sites ranging from zero to 100 percent.  At concentrations above 50 percent, a high percentage of the frog embryos developed a wide range of abnormalities, similar to those observed in frog larvae in the field in Minnesota. In addition, the number of deformities increased with the concentration of the water from the sites.  Water from ‘normal sites’ (no deformed frogs found) did not produce harmful effects in the frogs.  In response to these results, MPCA informed the residents in these areas of their findings and offered them the option for the
state to provide them with bottled drinking water.

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) conducted chemical analyses of the Minnesota water samples.  To date, the results of these chemical tests have not identified a particular chemical or pollutant responsible for producing the observed deformities.  Although a specific chemical may be contributing to these amphibian deformities, expert opinion has identified the following possible hypotheses: (1) disruption of developmental pathways (e.g., the retinoic acid pathway which controls limb development) through the action of xenobiotic/endocrine-disrupting chemicals; (2) increased abundance of parasites (e.g., flatworm or trematode metacercaria) which attack developing limb buds and results in limb deformities; (3) increased incidence of UV-B radiation which could result in the photoactivation of xenobiotic chemicals and produce teratogenic effects in amphibians; (4) the interaction of these and/or multiple stressors.

Additional field research and chemical analysis is underway by MPCA and NIEHS.  Several states and regional EPA offices have begun their own monitoring and sampling projects to document the range and distribution of deformed amphibians and to continue investigation of the causative agent(s) responsible for producing these deformities.  For further information, contact Heidi Bell at 202-260-5464 or Bell.Heidi@epamail.epa.gov.

WATER QUALITY CRITERIA METHODOLOGY REVISIONS FOR PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH

Section 304 (a)(1) of the Clean Water Act requires EPA to revise criteria for water quality accurately reflecting the latest scientific knowledge.  In 1980, EPA published ambient water quality criteria for 64 pollutants/pollutant classes and provided a methodology for deriving the criteria.  In the past 17 years, science and policy have evolved.  For example, several risk assessment (cancer and noncancer) and exposure assessment guidelines were published in the mid-1980s and early 1990s.  EPA is now in the process of updating the 1980 methodology to reflect advances in science and policy, and to develop consistency between risk assessments performed in support of the CWA and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

EPA has developed both a draft Federal Register Notice and Technical Support Document (TSD).  The TSD includes more technical detail and is supplemented by 3 proposed criteria (acrylonitrile, 1,2-dichloropropene, and hexachlorobutadiene) which were developed using the revised methodology.  The draft of the methodology has undergone revisions based on comments submitted by the Agency Workgroup and is currently undergoing a last review in anticipation of the Final Agency Review process.  Proposal of the revised methodology in the Federal Register
is expected by July 1998.

In the past, EPA developed a methodology and criteria at the same time.  With the revised methodology, EPA anticipates developing several "example" criteria (i.e., the three proposed) and following up with a phased approach where EPA will focus on several criteria at a time (in particular, highly bioaccumulative chemicals) until high priority toxic pollutant human health criteria are updated.  EPA Regional Offices have expressed the desire to have the Agency develop a revised methodology and updated criteria simultaneously.  EPA's Office of Water is exploring ways to expedite the criteria updating process; this may include sharing the workload with EPA's Regional Offices.  The revised methodology will provide more flexibility for decision-making at the State, Tribal and regional level.  It is most likely that the methodology will result in more stringent criteria for bioaccumulatives (due to the use of BAFs instead of BCFs) and potentially similar, or more or less stringent values for nonbioaccumulatives, depending on the chemical.  Contact: Denis Borum at 202-260-8996 or Borum.Denis@epamail.epa.gov.