Notice2021-17357
Ambient Water Quality Criteria To Address Nutrient Pollution in Lakes and Reservoirs
Primary source
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Published
August 13, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the release of Ambient Water Quality Criteria to Address Nutrient Pollution in Lakes and Reservoirs. These national recommended criteria are models for total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations in lakes and reservoirs to protect three different designated uses--aquatic life, recreation, and drinking water source protection--from the adverse effects of nutrient pollution. Nutrient pollution can degrade the conditions of water bodies worldwide, and the effects of excess nitrogen and phosphorus may be particularly evident in lakes and reservoirs. These recommended criteria are based on stressor-response models, which link nutrient pollution stressors (nitrogen, phosphorus) to responses associated with protection of designated uses. Models and associated criteria provided in this document are based on national data. States and authorized tribes can also incorporate local data, when available, into the national models, helping states and authorized tribes to derive numeric nutrient criteria that apply relationships estimated from national data while accounting for unique local conditions. These recommended criteria replace numeric nutrient criteria recommended by EPA in 2000 and 2001 for lakes and reservoirs for 12 out of 14 ecoregions of the conterminous United States. This document was released for 60-day public comment in the Federal Register on May 22, 2020. The comment period was extended 30 days, for a total comment period of 90 days. EPA has considered the comments, made minor revisions to the draft document in response, and published this final document to provide recommendations for states and authorized tribes interested in establishing water quality standards under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to protect the designated uses of their lakes and reservoirs from nutrient pollution.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44712-44713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17357]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0675; FRL 5880-03-OW]
Ambient Water Quality Criteria To Address Nutrient Pollution in
Lakes and Reservoirs
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the
release of Ambient Water Quality Criteria to Address Nutrient Pollution
in Lakes and Reservoirs. These national recommended criteria are models
for total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations in lakes and
reservoirs to protect three different designated uses--aquatic life,
recreation, and drinking water source protection--from the adverse
effects of nutrient pollution. Nutrient pollution can degrade the
conditions of water bodies worldwide, and the effects of excess
nitrogen and phosphorus may be particularly evident in lakes and
reservoirs. These recommended criteria are based on stressor-response
models, which link nutrient pollution stressors (nitrogen, phosphorus)
to responses associated with protection of designated uses. Models and
associated criteria provided in this document are based on national
data. States and authorized tribes can also incorporate local data,
when available, into the national models, helping states and authorized
tribes to derive numeric nutrient criteria that apply relationships
estimated from national data while accounting for unique local
conditions. These recommended criteria replace numeric nutrient
criteria recommended by EPA in 2000 and 2001 for lakes and reservoirs
for 12 out of 14 ecoregions of the conterminous United States. This
document was released for 60-day public comment in the Federal Register
on May 22, 2020. The comment period was extended 30 days, for a total
comment period of 90 days. EPA has considered the comments, made minor
revisions to the draft document in response, and published this final
document to provide recommendations for states and authorized tribes
interested in establishing water quality standards under the Clean
Water Act (CWA) to protect the designated uses of their lakes and
reservoirs from nutrient pollution.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0675. All documents in the docket are listed on the
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g. confidential business
information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is
not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard
copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available
electronically through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lester Yuan, Health and Ecological
Criteria Division, Office of Water (Mail Code 4304T), Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 566-0908; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c5bcb0a4abeba9a0b6b1a0b785a0b5a4eba2aab3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8af3ffebe4a4e6eff9feeff8caeffaeba4ede5fc">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What is nutrient pollution, and why is EPA concerned about it?
Nutrient pollution, or the excess loading of nitrogen and
phosphorus, can degrade the conditions of water bodies and potentially
make them unsafe for aquatic life, recreation, or to use as drinking
water sources. Nutrient pollution stimulates excess growth of algae,
which can limit the recreational use of lakes and reservoirs.
Overabundant algae also increase the amount of organic matter in a lake
or reservoir, which, when decomposed, can depress dissolved oxygen
concentrations below levels needed to sustain aquatic life. In extreme
cases, the depletion of dissolved oxygen causes fish kills. Nutrient
pollution can also stimulate the excess growth of nuisance algae, such
as cyanobacteria, which can produce cyanotoxins that are toxic to
animals and humans. Elevated concentrations of these cyanotoxins can
reduce the suitability of a lake or reservoir for recreation and as a
source of drinking water.
II. Information on Recommended Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Lakes
and Reservoirs
These recommended ambient water quality criteria for lakes and
reservoirs are part of EPA's ongoing efforts to support states and
authorized tribes in developing and adopting numeric nutrient criteria.
Numeric nutrient criteria provide an important tool for managing the
effects of nutrient pollution by providing nutrient goals that support
the protection and maintenance of the designated uses of the waters of
the United States. Recognizing the utility of such criteria, EPA
published recommended numeric nutrient criteria for lakes and
reservoirs for 12 out of 14 ecoregions of the conterminous United
States from 2000 to 2001. These criteria were derived by analyzing
available data on the concentrations of total nitrogen, total
phosphorus, chlorophyll a, and Secchi depth. Scientific understanding
of the relationships between nutrient concentrations and deleterious
effects in lakes and reservoirs has increased since 2001, and
standardized, high-quality data collected from lakes and reservoirs
across the United States have become available. In this document, EPA
describes analyses of these new data and provides models to derive
numeric nutrient criteria for lakes and reservoirs
[[Page 44713]]
that replace the recommended numeric nutrient criteria of 2000 and
2001. These models and associated criteria are provided in accordance
with the provisions of CWA Section 304(a) for EPA to revise national
recommended ambient water quality criteria from time to time to reflect
the latest scientific knowledge. The ecological responses on which
these models and criteria are based were selected by applying a risk
assessment approach to explicitly link nutrient concentrations to the
protection of designated uses.
The recommended ambient water quality criteria for lakes and
reservoirs are based on the available data from EPA's National Lakes
Assessment (NLA) survey. The NLA surveys are carried out under EPA's
National Aquatic Resource Survey program, which conducts water quality
and biological surveys of the nation's surface waters in partnerships
with state and authorized tribal water quality monitoring programs
(<a href="https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys">https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys</a>). The NLA
surveys were designed using random sampling of lakes and reservoirs
across the United States, and as a result, the collected data represent
the characteristics of the full population of United States lakes and
reservoirs. The NLA surveys were implemented using standardized field
sampling and analytical methods, with internal oversight and
independent quality control surveillance yielding data of high quality
and statistical rigor.
The stressor-response models used in generating the recommended
ambient water quality criteria are based on previously published EPA
technical guidance (U.S. EPA 2010, Using stressor-response
relationships to derive numeric nutrient criteria, Office of Water,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA-820-S-10-
001), as well as scientific peer-reviewed statistical and modeling
techniques. Models provided in the recommended criteria document are
based on national data, but states and authorized tribes may have
additional data collected during routine monitoring. Incorporating
these local data into the national models can refine and improve the
precision of the stressor-response relationships on a site-specific
basis. EPA stands ready to assist states and authorized tribes to add
their data into the models through the Nutrient Scientific Technical
Exchange Partnership & Support (N-STEPS) program. In the appendices of
the criteria document, EPA describes case studies in which state
monitoring data have been combined with national data, yielding models
that can be used to derive numeric nutrient criteria that account for
both unique local conditions and national, large-scale trends.
III. What are CWA Section 304(a) recommended water quality criteria?
CWA Section 304(a) water quality criteria are non-binding
recommendations developed by EPA under authority of CWA Section 304(a)
based on the latest scientific knowledge on the effects that pollutant
concentrations have on aquatic species, recreation, and/or human
health.
CWA Section 304(a)(1) directs EPA to develop, publish, and, from
time to time, revise criteria for water quality accurately reflecting
the latest scientific knowledge. Water quality criteria developed under
CWA Section 304(a) are based on data and scientific judgments on the
relationship between pollutant concentrations and environmental and
human health effects. CWA Section 304(a) recommended criteria do not
reflect consideration of economic impacts or the technological
feasibility of meeting pollutant concentrations in ambient water.
CWA Section 304(a) recommended criteria provide non-binding
guidance to states and authorized tribes in adopting water quality
standards that ultimately provide a basis for controlling discharges of
pollutants. Under the CWA 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
recommended water quality criteria are not regulations and do not
constitute legally binding requirements. States and authorized tribes
may adopt other scientifically defensible water quality criteria that
differ from these recommendations. The CWA and its implementing
regulations require that any new or revised water quality standards
adopted by the states and authorized tribes be scientifically
defensible and protective of the designated uses of the bodies of
water. States and authorized tribes have the flexibility to do this by
adopting criteria based on (1) EPA's recommended criteria, (2) EPA's
criteria modified to reflect site-specific conditions, or (3) other
scientifically defensible methods.
IV. Use of the Recommended Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Lakes and
Reservoirs by States and Authorized Tribes
EPA is publishing the recommended ambient water quality criteria
for lakes and reservoirs for consideration by states and authorized
tribes as they adopt numeric nutrient criteria to protect aquatic life,
recreation, and drinking water sources from nutrient pollution. States
and authorized tribes could consider using the recommendations as an
alternative to or as a supplement of other scientifically defensible
approaches. States and authorized tribes may also modify the criteria
to reflect site-specific conditions or establish criteria based on
other scientifically defensible methods (40 CFR 131.11(b)). These
updated CWA Section 304(a) recommended nutrient criteria for lakes do
not, as a general matter, compel a state or authorized tribe to revise
current EPA approved and adopted criteria, Total Maximum Daily Load
nutrient load targets, or nitrogen or phosphorus numeric values
established by other scientifically defensible methods. As part of its
triennial review, if a state or authorized tribe uses its discretion to
not adopt new or revised nutrient criteria based on these CWA Section
304(a) recommended criteria, then the state or authorized tribe shall
provide an explanation when it submits the results of its triennial
review (40 CFR 131.20(a)).
V. What changed between the draft and final criteria?
Changes in the final recommended criteria document, compared to the
May 2020 draft posted for public comment, include technical revisions
to the models limited to the parameter estimates for the zooplankton
model, which were updated to reflect a slight change in how the model
calculates seasonal mean biomasses of phytoplankton and zooplankton.
Other changes include the addition of an appendix that provides an
example workflow for identifying appropriately protective numeric
nutrient criteria using the interactive tools, as well as minor
editorial revisions that clarify or expand on existing text.
Radhika Fox,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021-17357 Filed 8-12-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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