Notice of Availability of Final Aquatic Life Ambient Water
Quality Criteria for Nonylphenol
[Federal Register: February 23, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 36)]
[Notices]
[Page 9337-9339]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23fe06-52]
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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 center.water.resource@epa.gov 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;
gostomski.frank@epa.gov.
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:
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Examples of interested
Category entities
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State/Local/Tribal Government............. States and Tribes.
Nonylphenol Dischargers................... Sewage treatment plants.
Nonylphenol Users......................... Producers of surfactants.
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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/.
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
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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; difiore.david@epa.gov.
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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