Water Quality Standards; Establishment of a Numeric Criterion for Selenium for the State of California

<RULE> ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 131</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0056; FRL 6322-03-OW]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2040-AF79</RIN> <SUBJECT>Water Quality Standards; Establishment of a Numeric Criterion for Selenium for the State of California</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA or the Agency) is amending a Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) rule, the California Toxics Rule, to promulgate a final, revised statewide chronic freshwater selenium water quality criterion applicable to certain California waters to protect aquatic life and aquatic-dependent wildlife from exposure to toxic levels of selenium. This revised criterion builds upon the science underlying the EPA's current national CWA section 304(a) recommended aquatic life freshwater criterion for selenium. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective on January 16, 2025. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> as of January 16, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> The EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0056. All documents in the docket are listed on the <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, <E T="03">e.g.,</E> confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available electronically through <E T="03">www.regulations.gov.</E> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Maria Letourneau, Office of Water, Standards and Health Protection Division (4305T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-2700; email address: <E T="03">letourneau.maria@epa.gov;</E> or Diane Fleck, Water Division (WTR-2-1), Environmental Protection Agency Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; telephone number: (213) 244-1836; email address: <E T="03">fleck.diane@epa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> This final rule is organized as follows: <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. General Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Applicability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. The EPA's Development of the Final Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Statutory and Regulatory Authority</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Applicable Selenium Criteria in California</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. California Toxics Rule and Endangered Species Act Consultation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Litigation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Selenium and Sources of Selenium</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Final Freshwater Chronic Selenium Criterion</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. The EPA's Approach</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Administrator's Determination of Necessity</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Final Chronic Selenium Criterion for California's Fresh Waters</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Implementation of the Final Chronic Selenium Criterion in California</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Incorporation by Reference</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Endangered Species Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Applicability of the EPA-Promulgated Water Quality Standards</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Conditions When Federal Standards Would Be Withdrawn</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VII. Alternative Regulatory Approaches</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VIII. Economic Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IX. Statutory and Executive Orders</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) and Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Executive Order 13175 (Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Executive Order 13045 (Protection of Children From Environmental Health and Safety Risks)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Executive Order 13211 (Actions That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations) and Executive Order 14096 (Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">K. Congressional Review Act (CRA)</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. General Information</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Applicability</HD> Federal water quality standards (WQS) promulgated by the EPA in this rule will be the applicable WQS for certain waters in California for Clean Water Act (CWA) purposes after the effective date of this rule. Specifically, the chronic freshwater selenium criterion in the final rule will apply to California waters in a manner consistent with the California Toxics Rule (CTR) and the EPA's proposed rulemaking for this action (83 FR 64059, December 13, 2018). The freshwater and saltwater aquatic life criteria listed in the CTR apply as follows: (1) the freshwater criteria apply at salinities of 1 part per thousand and below at locations where this occurs 95% or more of the time; (2) saltwater criteria apply at salinities of 10 parts per thousand and above at locations where this occurs 95% or more of the time; and (3) the more stringent of the two apply at salinities between 1 and 10 parts per thousand. As a result, many estuarine waters will be covered by this rule. WQS serve as the basis for CWA programs, such as National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting and identifying impaired waters under CWA section 303(d). Categories and entities that could potentially be affected by this rule include the following: <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s50,r150"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Category</CHED> <CHED H="1">Examples of potentially affected entities</CHED> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>Industries discharging pollutants to certain waters of California.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Municipalities</ENT> <ENT>Publicly owned treatment works or other facilities discharging pollutants to certain waters of California.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Stormwater Management Districts</ENT> <ENT>Entities responsible for managing stormwater discharges to certain waters of California.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Agriculture</ENT> <ENT>Agricultural entities discharging to certain waters of California.</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> This table is not exhaustive but, rather, it provides a guide that identifies entities that could be affected by this action. If you have questions regarding the effect of this action on a particular entity, please consult the person listed in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. The EPA's Development of the Final Rule</HD> On November 29, 2018, the Administrator of the EPA signed a proposed rulemaking to establish a selenium water quality criterion applicable to California that protects aquatic life and aquatic-dependent wildlife in certain waters of California. The proposal was published in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> at 83 FR 64059 on December 13, 2018. For the proposed rulemaking, the EPA provided a 60-day public comment period with a 45-day extension and held two public hearings on March 19 and March 20, 2019, to accept verbal public comments. By the end of the public comment period on March 28, 2019, the EPA received a total of 32 comments on a range of issues submitted by organizations and individuals to the docket for the rule and during the two public hearings. For the final rule, the EPA carefully considered the public comments and feedback the Agency received on the proposed rulemaking. In relevant sections of the preamble below, the EPA provides brief summaries of certain comments. Some comments addressed issues beyond the scope of this rule. For all the comments the EPA received and the EPA's responses, see the EPA's Response to Comments document in the public docket for this rule: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0056. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Statutory and Regulatory Authority</HD> The CWA establishes the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges from point sources into the waters of the United States. In the CWA, Congress established the national objective to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. The CWA also sets forth the interim goal of achieving water quality, wherever attainable, that provides for both: (1) the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife; and (2) recreation in and on the water (sections 101(a) and 101(a)(2)). 33 U.S.C. 1251(a), (a)(2). To help achieve these goals, the CWA created two complementary structures for regulating discharges in CWA section 402 NPDES permits: first, technology-based effluent limitations (TBELs) that set a floor for the performance for categories of regulated dischargers; and second, water quality-based effluent limitations (WQBELs) that are established where TBELs are insufficient to meet applicable WQS or site-specific water quality goals. <E T="03">See</E> 33 U.S.C. 1342(a). TBELs in NPDES permits are derived from secondary treatment ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 104k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━