[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 122 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34648-34650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16941]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OW-FRL-6116-6]
Notice of National Strategy for the Development of Regional
Nutrient Criteria
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of National Strategy for the Development of Regional
Nutrient Criteria, and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the
availability of a National Strategy for the Development of Regional
Nutrient Criteria. The Strategy describes the aspproach the Agency is
taking to develop scientific information relating to nutrient
overenrichment of the Nation's surface waters and to working with
States to assure that State water quality standards reflect this
nutrient information.
This Strategy has been through Agency review and external peer
review. If you have comments on this document please provide them to
the address below. They will be addressed in future updates of the
Strategy.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted to the person listed by
August 24, 1998.
Comments should be sent to: Nicholas A. Baer, Health and Ecological
Criteria Division (4304), Office of Science and Technology, Office of
Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street SW,
Washington, DC 20460.
ADDRESSES: This notice contains a summary of the National Strategy for
the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria. Copies of the complete
document or a fact sheet summarizing the Strategy may be obtained from
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
[[Page 34649]]
National Center for Environmental Publication and Information, 11029
Kenwood Road, Bldg. 5, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242; fax 1-513-489-8695 or 1-
800-490-9198. The fact sheet and the Strategy are also available on the
Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/orderpub.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Cantilli, Health and Ecological
Criteria Division (4304), Office of Science and Technology, Office of
Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street SW,
Washington, DC 20460, (202) 260-5546, Fax (202) 260-1036, email:
cantilli.robert@epamail.epa.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Nutrients are essential to the health and diversity of surface
waters. In excess amounts, however, nutrients cause hypereutrophication
resulting in an overabundance of primary producers and decline of the
biological community as well as potential human health risks. The
National Water Quality Inventory 1996 Report to Congress cites
nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) as one of the leading causes of
water quality impairment in our Nation's rivers, lakes and estuaries.
Nutrients have also been implicated with the large hypoxic zone in the
Gulf of Mexico, and Pfiesteria-induced fish kills and human health
problems in the coastal waters of several East Coast States as well as
events in the Gulf States.
Nutrient Strategy
A number of States have identified the specific concentration
levels at which nutrient overenrichment occurs in their waters, but
many States have not adopted such nutrient criteria into their State
water quality standards. As a result, nutrient overenrichment problems
are underestimated and the response authorities of the Clean Water Act
and other laws are not fully engaged. This Strategy describes the
approach EPA will take for development of scientific information
relating to nutrients (i.e., water quality criteria pursuant to Section
304(a) of the Clean Water Act) and to working with States to assure
adoption of nutrient criteria into State water quality standards
pursuant to Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act.
The major elements of this strategy include:
Use of regional and waterbody-type approach for the
development of nutrient water quality criteria.
Development of technical guidance documents that will
serve as ``user manuals'' for assessing trophic state and developing
nutrient criteria specific to a region and waterbody-type. These
guidance documents will establish nutrient water quality criteria in
the form of numerical regional target ranges. EPA expects States and
Tribes to use these criteria as a basis for the development of nutrient
provision of water quality standards. These water quality standards
will provide a basis for a range of pollution control activities
including NPDES permits and total maximum daily loads (TMDLs).
Establishment of a EPA National Nutrient Team with
Regional Nutrient Coordinators to development regional databases and to
promote State and Tribal involvement.
Monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of nutrient
management programs as they are implemented.
Regional and Waterbody-Type Approach
There is a great deal of variability in nutrient levels and
nutrient responses throughout the country. This natural variability is
due to differences in geology, climate and waterbody type. For these
reasons, EPA's custom of developing water quality criteria guidance in
the form of single numbers for nationwide application is not
appropriate for nutrients. EPA believes that distinct geographic
regions and types of aquatic ecosystems need to be evaluated
differently and that criteria specific to those regions and ecosystems
need to be developed.
Waterbody-Type Technical Guidance
An essential technical element of this strategy will be waterbody-
type guidance documents describing the techniques for assessing the
trophic state of a waterbody and methodologies for developing regional
nutrient criteria. In addition, each technical document will provide
criteria guidance under section 304(a) of the Clean Water Act in the
form of Regional numerical target ranges for phosphorus, nitrogen, and
other nutrient endpoints. EPA expects States and Tribes to use these
target ranges as the basis for adopting nutrient criteria into water
quality standards in the absence of more site-specifically developed
water quality criteria and standards. EPA intends to use State
databases to develop these regional target ranges, supplemented with
new regional case studies and demonstration projects to provide
additional information. EPA intends to complete these technical
guidance documents by the end of the year 2001.
Revision of State Water Quality Standards
As technical guidance is developed and regional nutrient ranges are
established, EPA expects States and Tribes to revise water quality
standards to include appropriate regional nutrient criteria by
waterbody type. Once adopted as part of State or Tribal water quality
standards, the nutrient values become the basis for making many
management decisions to reduce the overenrichment of our nation's
waters, e.g., through the TMDL and NPDES permitting processes. These
values used together with best management practices (BMPs) and other
management techniques should form the basis of a State management
program for nutrients.
EPA expects all States and Tribes to adopt and implement numerical
nutrient criteria into their water quality standards by December 31,
2003. States and Tribes may accomplish this by developing their own
regional criteria values in watersheds where applicable data are
available or by using the EPA target nutrient ranges. EPA will review
the new or revised standards under Section 303(c)(3) of the Clean Water
Act. If EPA disapproves the new or revised standard submitted by a
State or Tribe (e.g., because EPA determines that it is not
scientifically defensible or is not protective of designated uses), or
if EPA determines that a new or revised nutrient standard is necessary
for a State or Tribe (e.g., because EPA determines that the State or
Tribe has not demonstrated reasonable progress toward developing
numerical nutrient standards), EPA will initiate rulemaking to
promulgate nutrient criteria appropriate to the region and waterbody
types. Any resulting water quality standard would apply until the State
or Tribe adopts and EPA approves a revised standard.
National and Regional Nutrient Teams
EPA will provide additional technical and financial assistance to
the Regions and States to accelerate the development of nutrient
criteria. This will include the establishment of a National Nutrient
Team which includes coordinators from each EPA Region. The Regional
Coordinator will foster the development and implementation of State
projects, databases, nutrient criteria and standards, and the award of
financial assistance to States and Tribes to support these endeavors.
Each coordinator will be responsible for nutrient management activities
for her/his Region and its member States and Tribes consistent with
decisions of the
[[Page 34650]]
national nutrient program. It is expected that each Regional
coordinator will form their own teams which include State and Tribal
representatives and other federal and local representatives, as needed,
to develop nutrient databases and nutrient target ranges.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Once regulatory controls are in place, EPA and the States/Tribes
will need to evaluate their effectiveness. The databases and monitoring
systems, together with the derived criteria, should be used to assess
actual progress toward eliminating overenrichment conditions.
Dated: June 18, 1998.
Robert Perciasepe,
Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. 98-16941 Filed 6-24-98; 8:45 am]
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