x>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water EPA- 800-F-12-001
4305T
March 2012
EPA Withdraws Federal Water Quality Criteria for
New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and California
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is proposing to amend the federal water
quality standards regulations by withdrawing (1)
all remaining federal human health and aquatic
life water quality criteria covered by the
National Toxics Rule and applicable to all
waters in New Jersey and Puerto Rico, and (2)
certain federal aquatic life criteria covered by
the National Toxics Rule and the California
Toxics Rule and applicable to the San Francisco
Bay in California. These jurisdictions have
adopted EPA-approved state criteria and
therefore no longer need such federal criteria to
meet Clean Water Act requirements.
EPA is seeking public comment on its action
with respect to those state criteria that are less
stringent than the federally promulgated criteria.
The withdrawal of the federally-issued criteria
will enable New Jersey, Puerto Rico and
California to implement their state-adopted,
EPA-approved water quality criteria.
Background
In 1992, EPA issued the National Toxics Rule to
establish numeric water quality criteria for 12
states and two territories that had failed to
comply fully with the Clean Water Act. These
included New Jersey, Puerto Rico and parts of
California. The criteria became the applicable
water quality standards in those 14 states,
effective February 5, 1993.
In 2000, EPA issued the California Toxics Rule
in order to establish numeric water quality
criteria for priority toxic pollutants for the State
of California; the criteria were not previously in
the National Toxics Rule. At that time, any
criteria promulgated as part of the National
Toxics Rule for California were included in the
criteria tables for the California Toxics Rule.
State Primacy
The water quality standards program was
developed with an emphasis on state primacy.
Although EPA promulgated toxic criteria for the
certain states in the National Toxics Rule and
California Toxics Rule, the Agency prefers that
states maintain primacy, revise their own
standards, and achieve full compliance. As
described in the preambles to the final National
Toxics Rule and California Toxics Rule, when a
state adopts ~ and EPA approves ~ water
quality criteria that meet the requirements of the
Clean Water Act, the Agency issues a rule
amending the National Toxics Rule ~ and
California Toxics Rule, as applicable ~ to
withdraw the federal criteria for that state.
EPA has been coordinating closely with New
Jersey, Puerto Rico and California on issues
related to implementation of the Clean Water
Act and EPA regulations.
Federal Criteria Withdrawals
EPA is proposing to amend the federal
regulations in the National Toxics Rule to
withdraw certain human health and aquatic life
criteria applicable in New Jersey and Puerto
Rico. The Agency does not anticipate public
comment on these actions because the state-
adopted, EPA- approved criteria are no less
stringent than the federally-issued criteria.
In addition, EPA is proposing to amend the
federal regulations in the National Toxics Rule
and the California Toxics Rule to withdraw
certain human health and aquatic life criteria
applicable in New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and
California that are less stringent than the
federally-issued criteria. Some of these criteria
are the same as EPA's most recent criteria
recommendations issued under the Clean Water
Act, while others are state-specific criteria
calculated using EPA-approved methods.
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For these withdrawals, the Agency is providing
an opportunity for public comment.
About this Rulemaking
This rulemaking will have no economic impact,
since it does not establish any requirements
directly applicable to regulated entities.
For More Information
Contact Bryan "Ibrahim" Goodwin at
goodwin.bryan@epa.gov or 202-566-0762.
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