United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
(4301)
March 1995
EPA-820-S-95-Q01
vvEPA
Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative
A Summary
The Great Lakes, collectively, are one of the outstanding natural resources of the World. In
recent years, Congress, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the States and
local governments of the Great Lakes basin have devoted a great deal of scientific study and
resources to the protection and restoration of these irreplaceable waters.
The Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative (the Initiative) is a key element of the environmental
protection efforts undertaken in the Great Lakes basin. Through this Initiative, and with the
joint cooperation of all of the States in the basin, EPA developed the final 'Water Quality
Guidance for the Great Lakes System" (the Guidance). This Guidance describes how the Great
Lakes States and Indian Tribes will adopt consistent, Great Lakes-specific water quality criteria
for toxic pollutants in their water quality standards. These standards establish the minimum
water quality levels for the waters of the Great Lakes and their tributaries and are the basis for
controlling discharges of pollutants throughout the basin. The new criteria will help restore,
maintain, and protect the waters of this valuable and sensitive ecosystem.
EPA issued the Guidance under the terms of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act. Now that
the Guidance is available, the next step is for the States and Indian Tribes to incorporate
provisions consistent with the Guidance into their laws and regulations within two years.
THE GREAT LAKES RESOURCE
The Great Lakes-Superior, Michigan,
Huron, Erie, and Ontariocontain 20
percent of the world's and 95 percent of
the United States' fresh surface water.
The Great Lakes basin, the area that
drains into these five lakes, includes parts
of .the States of Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New York,
and Pennsylvania, and part of the
Canadian province of Ontario. More than
40 million people live in the basin,
including nearly 20 percent of the U.S.
population and 50 percent of the
Canadian population. Over 23 million
people depend on the Great Lakes for
drinking water.
The Great Lakes are a unique natural
resource, affording habitat for a vast array
of living organisms and providing both
recreational opportunities and inestimable
aesthetic beauty for people living in the
region. Hundreds of species of mammals,
birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, and
untold thousands of plant species are
native to the' Great Lakes basin.
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Enormous economic benefits are derived
from sport fishing, recreational boating,
campgrounds, resorts, and lakefront real
estate development throughout the region.
The Great Lakes form the North Coast of
the U.S. which includes over 4,500 miles
of coastline, six national parks and
lakeshores, six national forests, seven
national wildlife refuges, and hundreds of
State parks, forests, and sanctuaries. On
this magnificent resource is founded the
largest bilateral trade relationship in the
world. Trade between Canada and the
eight Great Lakes States in 1992 was
valued at $106 billion, or over 56 percent
of the U.S. - Canada total. On the Great
Lakes alone, between 900,000 and 1
million U.S. and Canadian boats operate
each year, infusing more than $2 billion
into the regional economy. In 1991, over
two and one-half million American anglers
fished in the Great Lakes expending over
$1.3 billion.
THE SENSITIVITY OF THE GREAT
LAKES ECOSYSTEM
Despite their great size, the Great Lakes
are extremely sensitive to toxic pollutants
because the water, and the pollutants,
remain in the system for many years.
Many of these toxic pollutants are a
serious threat, even in small amounts,
because they are harmful to humans,
animals, and plants. They are generally
long-lasting and some can become more
concentrated as they move through the
food chain from plants to fish and on to
'wildlife and humans. The waters of the
Great Lakes basin are particularly
vulnerable to toxic pollutants because of
several important characteristics of the
Lakes:
The depth and size of the Lakes cause
water to be retained in the basin for
extremely long periods of time, which
make the Lakes essentially a closed
system;
Lake waters have relatively low sus-
pended solids concentrations and low
biological productivity making toxic
pollutants more potent biologically;
. and
Fish and wildlife populations in the
basin are almost wholly dependent on
the Great Lakes system for water,
habitat, and food.
Taken together, these characteristics result
in a natural system that retains persistent
pollutants for exceptionally long periods of
time. The effects of some of these toxic
pollutants on humans and wildlife
potentially include increased risk of
cancer, birth defects, kidney disorders,
reproductive system and developmental
damage. Studies show that women of
child-bearing age may store these
pollutants in their bodies, and nursing
mothers may, in turn, pass them on to
their children. Other studies have also
shown that animals that depend on fish for
food, such as mink, gulls, and bald eagles,
can experience birth defects and reduced
populations due to consuming long-lasting
pollutants that are stored in the fish.
These occurrences have been documented
for a wide range of species throughout the
Great Lakes ecosystem and it is for these
reasons and the related impact on human
populations that the Great,Lakes Water
Quality Initiative was begun and the
Water Quality Guidance for the Great
Lakes System was developed.
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THE GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY
GUIDANCE
The purpose of the Guidance is to put in
place programs that will reduce the kinds
and amounts of toxic chemicals and other
pollutants that are released into the Great
Lakes System. These programs are to be
applied consistently by all of the Great
Lakes States arid Indian Tribes to
maintain, protect, and restore water
quality throughout the entire basin and
preserve the economic foundation of the
region.
The Guidance consists of five protective
elements that States and Tribes will
incorporate into their water pollution
control programs:
Water quality criteria that will protect
human health;
Water quality criteria that will protect
wildlife; ,
Water quality criteria that will protect
aquatic life;
Anti-degradation requirements to
maintain, water quality where current
water quality is better than minimum
requirements; and,
Requirements that will ensure more
consistent implementation throughout
'the basin.
The Guidance defines minimum levels of
protection that are needed for pollutants
that might threaten water quality'. It is an
important part of a comprehensive, place-
based partnership involving federal, State,
tribal, and local governments to protect
and restore the Great Lakes ecosystem.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE GUIDANCE
Efforts to reduce the amount of persistent
toxic chemicals introduced into the Great
Lakes environment have been under way
for many years. The Great Lakes Water
Quality Agreement, which was signed by
"the U.S. and Canada in 1978, had as a
goal the virtual elimination of toxic
substances in the region. This agreement
called for the development/of Lakewide
Management Plans (also called "LaMPs")
for the open waters of the Great Lakes
and Remedial Action Plans (or "RAPs")
for designated Areas of Concern.
While this agreement remains in effect
and real environmental gains are being
achieved, studies have shown that more
needs to be done to further reduce the
inflow of persistent toxic chemicals into
the environment.
In .the late 1980's, a major effort was
undertaken to further assess the presence
of toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes
environment and review the risks that they
presented to humans and the environment.
This effort lead to the formation of the
Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative
which was organized by EPA at the
request of the Great Lakes States in 1989.
The Initiative was designed to assemble
the best, most up-to-date scientific
information on persistent toxic chemicals
in the Great Lakes basin. A great deal of
data were collected and analyzed,
regulations were reviewed, and health
risks were assessed with the goal of
developing new approaches to reduce the
flow of persistent toxic chemicals into the
basin's ecosystem.
The management structure for the
Initiative includes a Steering Committee,
a Technical Work Group, and a Public
Participation Group. The three groups
worked together to produce the basic
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technical contents of the Guidance which,
at that time, was to be implemented
voluntarily throughout the Great Lakes
basin.
A Steering Committee of the Great
Lakes State water program directors
and staff from EPA Regional and
Headquarters offices. This committee
discussed policy issues, directed the
Technical Work Group, and ratified
work group products for EPA
consideration.
A Technical Work Group of staff from
the Great Lakes State water program
agencies, EPA, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and the U.S.
National Park .Service. This work
group prepared the various proposals
and submitted them for consideration
by the Steering Committee.
A Public Participation Group of
representatives from environmental
groups, municipalities, industries, and
academia that were located in the
region. This group monitored the
deliberations of the Steering
Committee and the Technical Work
Group, advised them of the public's
concerns, and kept its many
constituencies apprised of the
activities associated with the Initiative.
The Initiative was well underway in 1990
when Congress amended the Clean Water
Act. In so doing, Congress formalized the
process for developing the Guidance and
the way it was to be adopted in the region.
The Act requires EPA to publish the
Guidance and requires the Great Lakes
States to adopt provisions consistent with
the Guidance into their water quality
standards within two years after the
Guidance is published. Congress also
required that the Guidance conform with
the objectives of the U.S./Canadian Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1987
and that it be no less restrictive than
current U.S. national water quality criteria
guidance.
EPA proposed the Guidance in the
Federal Register in April 1993 and
encouraged public comment. Along with
the proposed Guidance, EPA also
published for comment a preliminary
analysis of the expected costs and benefits
associated with its implementation.
During the comment period that followed,
the States and EPA conducted public
meetings throughout the Great Lakes
States, and EPA held public hearings on
the proposed regulations in August 1993
and April 1994. As a result of this public
process, EPA considered over 26,500
pages of comments from over 6,000
commenters in preparing the final
Guidance.
The following sections describe the
protective features of the Guidance.
CRITERIA TO PROTECT HUMAN
HEALTH
The Guidance contains numeric human
health criteria for 18 pollutants. It also
includes Tier I and Tier II methodologies
for States to derive cancer and non-cancer
human health criteria for additional
pollutants. Tier I human health criteria
are used to establish ambient
concentrations of chemicals which, if not
exceeded in the Great Lakes System, will
protect humans from adverse health
impacts from that chemical due to
consumption of aquatic organisms and
water.
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For each chemical, the chronic criteria
reflect long-term consumption of food arid
water from the Great Lakes System.
Human health criteria in the Guidance
are based on fish consumption rates that *
are higher than the rates used elsewhere
in the country to reflect more accurately
the fish consumption rates of people in
the basin.
CRITERIA TO PROTECT AQUATIC
LIFE -
Aquatic life criteria, developed by EPA,
are used to establish ambient concen-
trations for pollutants, which, if not
exceeded, will protect fish and other
aquatic life from adverse effects. The
Guidance contains numeric, Great Lakes
specific, criteria to protect aquatic life for
15 pollutants. These are referred to in the
Guidance'as Tier /criteria. They are
based on an extensive amount of
laboratory toxicity data for a variety of
aquatic species (e.g., fish, benthic
invertebrates, and plants) that are
representative of aquatic species as a
whole.
The Guidance also includes Tier II
methodologies so that the States and
Tribes may develop consistent values for
chemicals when not enough data for Tier
I criteria exist. Both criteria and values
are used to set water quality-based
effluent limits in permits that are issued to
dischargers.
Use of the two-tiered methodologies in
these situations improves the current
practice where regulatory authorities
translate narrative criteria in their
standards on a case-by-case basis to
calculate total maximum daily loads and
individual discharge permit limits. The
Guidance will help States do this more
uniformly throughout the basin.
Both acute and chronic criteria to protect
aquatic life from short and long-term
exposures to pollutants are addressed in
the Guidance. The acute criterion sets the
maximum concentration of a chemical that
can exist in a water body and still protect
organisms from short exposures. A
chronic criterion sets the maximum
concentration of a chemical that can exist
in a water body that will protect organisms
from exposures over an entire lifetime.
CRITERIA TO PROTECT WILDLIFE
Wildlife criteria are used to establish
ambient concentrations of chemicals
which, if not exceeded, will protect
mammals and birds from adverse impacts
due to consumption of contaminated food
or water. The Guidance' contains numeric,
Great Lakes specific, criteria for four
chemicals (PCBs, mercury, DDT, arid
dioxin) and provides a methodology for
deriving criteria for other bioaccumulative
chemicals.
In developing wildlife criteria, EPA used
pollutant-specific hazard data and species-
specific exposure parameters for mammals
and birds that reside in the basin. For
each chemical, only a chronic (long
duration) criterion is expressed because
adverse effects to wildlife normally occur
only over relatively long periods of time
through continued exposure.
BIO ACCUMULATION FACTORS (BAFs)
A major innovation in the Guidance is the
use of Bioaccumulation Factors (BAFs) in
calculating wildlife and human health
criteria. BAFs are used to account for the
property of certain chemicals to
concentrate at higher levels in the food
chain than may be found in the water.
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For example, a plant species may
concentrate a chemical from the water,
and an invertebrate species may further
concentrate the chemical by'eating that
species of plant. A bottom-feeding fish
species may concentrate the chemical even
further by eating that invertebrate and a
predator fish may concentrate it even
further by eating that fish.
Historically, most States and EPA have
generally used the concept of
"bioconcentration" instead of
"bioaccumulation." Bioconcentration
considers only uptake from the water, not
the food chain steps discussed above.
EPA believes that using BAFs is more
appropriate and protective of the Great
Lakes System.
PROTECTION OF CURRENT WATER
QUALITY - ANTIDEGRADATION
The term antidegradation refers to the
policy that a State or Tribe must follow
when an action, such as construction of a
new facility that will discharge into a.
water body or increased discharges from
an existing facility, is proposed that may
lower the quality of water in a river,
stream, or lake. The Guidance reinforces
national regulations and underscores the
importance of ensuring that such actions
are carefully weighed against the benefits
.of the proposed actions -- with full public
participation in that process.
The Guidance includes instructions on the
kinds of reviews and public participation
that must be carried out so that all States
and Tribes implement these requirements
in a consistent and environmentally
protective manner. For example:
If a State or Tribe has designated a
water body as an Outstanding National
Resource Water (ONRW), then no
permanent lowering of water quality is
allowed under any circumstances.
This designation is reserved for waters
of exceptional importance or
sensitivity, such as those in national
parks or wildlife refuges.
The Guidance provides procedures on
how the States and Tribes are to
determine when a proposed action
involving persistent bioaccumulative
Chemicals of Concern (BCCs) will
result in a significant lowering of
water quality, and outlines the
procedures to be followed in
determining ;whether such lowering is
necessary.
Water quality can not be degraded
below existing uses (i.e., any uses that
a water body has actually supported
since 1978). For example, if a water
body has supported a fishery, no
pollutant can be discharged at a level
that would harm that fishery and
therby ensure that use.
IMPLEMENTATION: TRANSLATING
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS INTO
REGULATORY CONTROLS
The Clean Water Act requires all
dischargers to surface waters in the U.S.
obtain a permit from the appropriate
permitting authority. The permit specifies
the pollutants 'and the amounts of each
that may be discharged by a facility to
ensure that water quality standards are
met in the receiving waters. Until this
Guidance was developed, the process for
determining these amounts, however, has
varied from State to State in the basin.
The implementation procedures included
in the Guidance are designed to bring a
more consistent method of calculating
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allowable pollutant discharges based on
water quality standards.
Selected implementation procedures are
addressed in the Guidance, but they are
not meant to address the entire water
pollution control program. The
procedures included are the ones that
were identified by the Technical Work
Group and the Steering Committee of the
Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative as
most critical to assuring consistency.
Specific implementation procedures
included in the Guidance are:
How much mixing and dilution, if any,
is to be allowed, in calculating
discharge permit limits;
How discharge permit limits should be
expressed, monitored, and evaluated
when the amount that can be
discharged is below levels that can be
quantified by analytical techniques;
f -
How Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDLs) should be calculated for
waters not expected to meet water
quality standards after the
implementation of technology-based
controls. This is a computation of the
amounts of pollutants that can be
added to a water body while still, with
a margin of safety, maintaining water
quality standards. They are the basis
for limiting point and nonpoint source
discharges; '
How adjustments to water quality
criteria should account for the unique
characteristics of particular locations
within the basin;
How background concentrations (i.e.,
chemicals already in a water body)
should be considered when
determining discharge limits;
How and when variances from water
quality standards should be granted;
When water quality-based permit limits
will be required for dischargers;
How the various water quality criteria
will be applied to different types of
water bodies; and >
How much time dischargers will be
given to come into compliance with
new controls.
The water quality criteria and implemen-
tation procedures contain special
provisions for Bioaccumulative Chemicals
of Concern', including phasing out of
mixing zones whenever possible. They
also include provisions to account for
pollutants present in intake waters, so that
dischargers are provided some relief for
pollutants in their wastewater that they did
not generate.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For additional information on the Great
Lakes Water Quality Initiative process or
the Water Quality Guidance for the Great
Lakes System, please contact the EPA
offices listed below:
Contact for the Great Lakes basin State of
New York:
Uf S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region II
Public Information Office
345 3rd Street, Suite 530
Niagara Falls, New York 14303
Phone: 716-285-8842
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Contact for the Great Lakes basin State of
Pennsylvania:
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region III
841 Chestnut Building
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 800-438-2474
Contact for the Great Lakes basin States
of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, and Ohio:
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region V
77 West Jackson Blvd.,
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: 800-621-8431
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