° UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
March 8, 2006
EPA-SAB-CON-06-004 U-S' Ef>* Headquarters Library
^a Code 3404T ^
The Honorable Stephen L. Johnson WawngDCS NW
.A Administrator 202-566-0556
• ) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
, ^ 1 200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Subject: EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Consultation on a Proposed
Framework for Revising the Guidelines for Deriving Water Quality Criteria
for Protection of Aquatic Life
t
''- Dear Administrator Johnson:
EPA's Aquatic Life Criteria Guidelines Committee has developed a proposed
framework for revising and updating the Agency's 1 985 guidelines for deriving water
quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life and aquatic-dependent wildlife
("Guidelines"). The water quality criteria provide guidance to states and tribes for adopting
water quality standards. EPA's Office of Water requested that the EPA Science Advisory
Board (SAB) conduct a consultation on the proposed framework for revising the Guidelines.
Accordingly, the SAB Aquatic Life Criteria Guidelines Consultative Panel ("Panel")
met in a public meeting held in Washington, D.C. on September 21 , 2005, to conduct a
consultation. The Panel provided comments on: 1) the scope of the proposed framework for
revising the Guidelines, and 2) the scientific validity and appropriateness of proposed
approaches and methods for developing water-based, tissue-based, and taxon-specific water
quality criteria.
In general, the Panel was complimentary of the work undertaken by EPA, and
expressed support for the Agency's efforts to incorporate kinetic modeling and a tissue-
based approach into the Guidelines. The Panel provided a number of comments and
suggestions to strengthen the Agency's proposed framework for revising the Guidelines.
The Panel suggested that EPA consider using a tiered approach for completing parts of the
proposed revision. The Panel also emphasized the importance of incorporating ecological
realism, an exposure component, and field data into the revision process.
There will be no formal report from the SAB since this was a consultation. Individual
Panel member comments'and recommendations have been included in the minutes of the
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meeting and provided to the Office of Water. We hope these comments and
recommendations are helpful to EPA as the Agency continues the important work of
revising the Guidelines.
Sincerely,
Dr. M. Granger Morgan, Chair
EPA Science Advisory Board
Dr. Kenneth Dickson, Chair
Aquatic Life Criteria Guidelines
Consultative Panel
EPA Science Advisory Board
U.S. EPA Headquarters Library
Mail Code 3404T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20460
202-566-0556
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