°   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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