Sediment Quality Criteria & Support Documents; Re-opening of Notice of Availability and Request for Comment

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OW-FRL-4875-8]

Sediment Quality Criteria & Support Documents; Re-opening of

Notice of Availability and Request for Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to re-open the comment period

for OW-FRL-4827-2 entitled ``Sediment Quality Criteria'' for 60 days.

The comment period will close on June 27, 1994.

The original notice was published on January 18, 1994, and the

public comment period closed on April 18, 1994. The notice announced

the availability of seven documents presenting proposed Sediment

Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic Organisms for five

priority pollutant (Section 307(a)) chemicals, guidelines for deriving

these criteria on a site-specific basis, and the technical basis for

deriving the criteria for public comment. The documents are entitled:

``Technical Basis for Deriving Sediment Quality Criteria for Nonionic

Organic Contaminants for the Protection of Benthic Organisms by Using

Equilibrium Partitioning,'' ``Guidelines for Deriving Site-Specific

Sediment Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic Organisms,''

and ``Sediment Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic

Organisms: Dieldrin, Endrin, Acenaphthene, Fluoranthene, Phenanthrene''

(individual documents per chemical).

DATES: Written comments must be postmarked or submitted by hand on or

before June 27, 1994, and should be addressed as indicated below.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed or delivered to: Sediment Quality

Clerk, Water Docket MC-4101, Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M

Street, SW., room L102, Washington, DC 20460. Commenters are requested

to submit any references cited in their comments. Commenters are also

requested to submit an original and 3 copies of their written comments

and enclosures. Commenters who want receipt of their comments

acknowledged should include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. No

facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted.

Requests for documents should be sent to: Sediment, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental

Publications and Information, 11029 Kenwood Road, Building 5,

Cincinnati, Ohio 45242; telephone: 513-891-6561, fax: 513-891-6685.

These documents are also available for public inspection and copying

during normal business hours at the Water Docket Room L-102 (basement),

Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC

20460. For access to Docket materials, call (202) 260-3027 between 9

a.m. and 3:30 p.m. for an appointment. Copies of these documents are

also available for review in the EPA Regional office libraries. For the

Regional Office library in your area contact: EPA Library, (202) 260-

3944. EPA's response to public comment will be available upon request,

no sooner than December 1994, from the Office of Water Resource Center

(202) 260-7786 and Sediment Public Comment, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Publications and

Information, 11029 Kenwood Road, Building 5, Cincinnati, OH 45242;

telephone: 513-891-6561, fax: 513-891-6685. As provided in 40 CFR Part

2, a reasonable fee may be charged for copying services.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary C. Reiley, Sediment Quality

Criteria Program, Office of Science and Technology, Mail Code 4304, 401

M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, phone: 202-260-0658.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Agency has received requests to extend

the comment period for a minimum of 30 days to ensure an adequate and

thorough evaluation of the criteria's technical merit. In light of

this, the comment period is reopened for 60 days, June 27, 1994.

The seven documents for which public comment is requested are:

Sediment Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic

Organisms: Acenaphthene (EPA-822-R-93-013).

Sediment Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic

Organisms: Dieldrin (EPA-822-R-93-015).

Sediment Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic

Organisms: Endrin (EPA-822-R-93-016).

Sediment Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic

Organisms: Fluoranthene (EPA-822-R-93-012).

Sediment Quality Criteria for the Protection of Benthic

Organisms: Phenanthrene (EPA-822-R-93-014).

Technical Basis for Deriving Sediment Quality Criteria for

Nonionic Organic Contaminants for the Protection of Benthic Organisms

by Using Equilibrium Partitioning (EPA-822-R-93-011).

Guidelines for Deriving Site-Specific Sediment Quality

Criteria for the Protection of Benthic Organisms (EPA-822-R-93-017).

Background Information

Toxic contaminants in bottom sediments of the nation's lakes,

rivers, wetlands, and coastal waters create the potential for continued

environmental impact even where water column contaminant levels comply

with established water quality criteria. In addition, contaminated

sediments can have impacts on water quality even when additional

pollutants are no longer being added by any other source. It is

intended that sediment quality criteria be protective of benthic

organisms and be used to: Assess the extent of sediment contamination,

aid in implementing measures that limit or prevent additional

contamination, and identify when appropriate remediation activities are

needed.

Section 304 (a)(1) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1314(a)(1)),

directs EPA to develop and publish criteria reflecting the latest

scientific knowledge on the identifiable effects of pollutants on

public health and welfare, aquatic life, wildlife and recreation. EPA

has periodically issued ambient water quality criteria guidance,

beginning with the publication of ``Water Quality Criteria 1972''. All

criteria guidance through late 1986 was summarized in an EPA document

entitled ``Quality Criteria for Water, 1986.'' EPA has subsequently

published, from time to time, new ambient water quality criteria

guidance for additional pollutants or revised existing criteria

guidance.

EPA's criteria documents are intended to provide a comprehensive

toxicological evaluation of each chemical addressed therein, based on

available information. For toxic pollutants, the documents tabulate the

numeric acute and chronic toxicity information for aquatic life and,

where sufficient information is available, derive the numeric criteria

maximum concentrations (acute criteria) and the numeric criteria

continuous concentrations (chronic criteria) that the Agency recommends

to protect aquatic life resources. The documents also provide

recommended criteria to protect human health. EPA has published numeric

aquatic life criteria for 30 priority pollutants and human health

criteria for 91 priority pollutants. Aquatic life criteria address

potential water column impacts only.

EPA is now proposing sediment quality criteria for five priority

pollutant chemicals (endrin, dieldrin, fluoranthene, phenanthrene, and

acenaphthene) that EPA has determined are present in the sediment of

the Nation's waters and cause or have the potential to cause adverse

effects to the water column and benthic assemblages and their

hierarchical foodchains including humans. Pursuant to Section 104 of

the Clean Water Act, the Agency has conducted research, experiments and

demonstrations and has studied the effects of contaminated sediment on

freshwater, marine, and estuarine aquatic life. EPA used this

information to develop the proposed sediment quality criteria, which

represent EPA's first effort to develop sediment quality criteria.

These five chemicals were selected because of their known toxicity,

hydrophobicity, and persistence.

EPA developed the proposed sediment quality criteria using a

methodology called the Equilibrium Partitioning Approach which was

selected after considering a variety of approaches that could be used

to assess sediment contamination. Technical reviews of the methodology

and supporting science was conducted by the EPA Science Advisory Board

(SAB) in February 1989 and June 1992. Data collected in support of the

ambient aquatic life water quality criteria or an equivalent data base

were also used to derive the proposed sediment quality criteria.

Sediment criteria concentrations are expressed as micrograms chemical

per gram organic carbon and apply to sediments with >/=0.2% organic

carbon.

Dated: April 20, 1994.

Robert Perciasepe,

Assistant Administrator for Water.

[FR Doc. 94-10055 Filed 4-25-94; 8:45 am]

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