Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Aluminum 2017
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United States Office of Water EPA-822-P-17-001 Environmental Protection 4304T July 2017 Agency DRAFT AQUATIC LIFE AMBIENT WATER QUALITY CRITERIA FOR ALUMINUM 2017 EPA-822-P-17-001 DRAFT AQUATIC LIFE AMBIENT WATER QUALITY CRITERIA FOR ALUMINUM - 2017 (CAS Registry Number 7429-90-05) July 2017 U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY OFFICE OF WATER OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL CRITERIA DIVISION WASHINGTON, D.C. ii NOTICES This document provides information to states and tribes authorized to establish water quality standards under the Clean Water Act (CWA), to protect aquatic life from toxic effects of aluminum. Under the CWA, states and tribes are to establish water quality criteria to protect designated uses. State and tribal decision makers retain the discretion to adopt approaches on a case-by-case basis that differ from these criteria when appropriate. While this document contains EPA’s scientific recommendations regarding ambient concentrations of aluminum that protect aquatic life, it does not substitute for the CWA or EPA’s regulations; nor is it a regulation itself. Thus, it cannot impose legally binding requirements on EPA, states, tribes, or the regulated community, and might not apply to a particular situation based upon the circumstances. EPA may change this document in the future. This document has been approved for publication by the Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. This document can be downloaded from: https://www.epa.gov/wqc/aquatic-life-criteria-and-methods-toxics. iii FOREWORD Section 304(a)(l) of the Clean Water Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-217) requires that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publish water quality criteria that accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge on the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on health and welfare that might be expected from the presence of pollutants in any body of water, including ground water. This document is a draft ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) document for the protection of aquatic life based upon consideration of all available information relating to effects of aluminum on aquatic organisms. The term "water quality criteria" is used in two sections of the Clean Water Act, section 304(a)(l) and section 303(c)(2). The term has a different program impact in each section. In section 304, the term represents a non-regulatory, scientific assessment of ecological effects. Criteria presented in this document are such scientific assessments. If water quality criteria associated with specific surface water uses are adopted by a state or EPA as water quality standards under section 303, they become applicable Clean Water Act water quality standards in ambient waters within that state or authorized tribe. Water quality criteria adopted in state water quality standards could have the same numerical values as criteria developed under section 304. However, in many situations states might want to adjust water quality criteria developed under section 304 to reflect local environmental conditions and human exposure patterns. Alternatively, states and authorized tribes may use derive numeric criteria based on other scientifically defensible methods but the criteria must be protective of designated uses. It is not until their adoption as part of state water quality standards, and subsequent approval by EPA, that criteria become Clean Water Act applicable water quality standards. Guidelines to assist the states and authorized tribes in modifying the criteria presented in this document are contained in the Water Quality Standards Handbook (U.S. EPA 2014). This handbook and additional guidance on the development of water quality standards and other water-related programs of this Agency have been developed by the Office of Water. This draft document presents recommendations only. It does not establish or affect legal rights or obligations. It does not establish a binding norm and cannot be finally determinative of the issues addressed. Agency decisions in any particular situation will be made by applying the Clean Water Act and EPA regulations on the basis of specific facts presented and scientific information then available. Elizabeth Southerland Director Office of Science and Technology iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Technical Analysis Lead Diana Eignor, Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology, Health and Ecological Criteria Division, Washington, DC Reviewers (2017) Elizabeth Behl and Kathryn Gallagher, Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology, Health and Ecological Criteria Division, Washington, DC EPA Peer Reviewers (2017) Nicole Shao and Robert Cantilli, U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Office of Science Policy, Washington, DC Russ Hockett, U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Mid-Continent Ecology Division, Duluth, MN Jan Gilbreath and Joseph Adamson, U.S. EPA, Office of Policy, Office of Regulatory Policy and Management, Washington, DC Lee Schroer and Alexis Wade, U.S. EPA, Office of General Counsel, Washington, DC Steve Ells and Matthew Lambert, U.S. EPA, Office of Land and Emergency Management, Washington, DC Lars Wilcut and Heather Goss, U.S. EPA, Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology, Washington, DC David Hair and Janita Aguirre, U.S. EPA, Office of Water, Office of Wastewater Management, Washington, DC Jennifer Phillips, U.S. EPA Region 5, Chicago, IL Mark Jankowski, U.S. EPA Region 10, Seattle, WA We would like to thank Russ Erikson, U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Mid- Continent Ecology Division, Duluth, MN and Bill Stubblefield, Oregon State University, for their technical support and contributions to this document. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Notices ........................................................................................................................................... iii Foreword ........................................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................... ix Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................ x Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... xi 1 Introduction and Background ................................................................................................. 1 2 Problem Formulation .............................................................................................................. 2 2.1 Overview of Aluminum Sources and Occurrence .............................................................. 2 2.2 Environmental Fate and Transport of Aluminum in the Aquatic Environment ................. 7 2.3 Mode of Action and Toxicity .............................................................................................. 9 2.3.1 Water Quality Parameters Affecting Toxicity .......................................................... 13 2.4 Conceptual Model ............................................................................................................. 14 2.4.1 Conceptual Diagram ................................................................................................. 14 2.5 Assessment Endpoints ...................................................................................................... 17 2.6 Measurement Endpoints.................................................................................................... 18 2.6.1 Overview of Toxicity Data Requirements ................................................................ 19 2.6.2 Measures of Effect .................................................................................................... 20 2.7 Analysis Plan .................................................................................................................... 24 2.7.1 pH, Hardness and DOC Normalization .................................................................... 27 2.7.2 Acute Criterion.......................................................................................................... 35 2.7.3 Chronic Criterion ...................................................................................................... 36 3 Effects Analyses.................................................................................................................... 36 3.1 Acute Toxicity to Aquatic Animals .................................................................................. 37 3.1.1 Freshwater ................................................................................................................. 37 3.1.2 Estuarine/Marine