Office of Science and Technology 2008 Annual Report,

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 asui Teduwto

 Office of Water

 U. S. Eww(rttuwn!bd Prfffo&ioit Agency

ANNUAL RE FOR

 v, 1

 United States

 Environmental Protection

 -Agency

 EPA 820-R-09-001

 March 2009

www.epa.gov/waterscience/

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 TaMe ofContents

Foreword iii

2008 Highlights v

Technology-Based Solutions 1

 2008 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 1

 Proposed Rulemaking for the Construction and Development Industry 1

 Development of a Proposed Rule for Airport Deicing Operations 2

 Development of a Proposed Rule for Cooling Water Intake Structures at Existing Large

 Power Plants 2

Water Quality-Based Standards 3

 Implementing the National Water Quality Standards Program 3

 Improving Beach Water Quality, Monitoring and Public Information 4

Application of Sound Science 9

 Drinking Water Support 9

 Developing New Recreational Water Quality Criteria 10

 Establishing a National Baseline of Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic Chemicals in

 Freshwater Fish 11

 Understanding Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water 11

 Expanding EPA's Aquatic Life Criteria Methodology 14

 Refining Existing Ambient Water Quality Criteria 14

 Developing and Using Biocriteria 16

 National Water Program Research Strategy 16

Education and Outreach 19

 Fish Kids Educational Web Site 19

 Educational Products About Water Quality for Grades K-2,3-5 and 6-8 19

 Partnership to Reduce Dental Amalgam Discharges 19

 Earth Day 2008 Collegiate Water Debates 20

 Water Quality Standards Academy. 20

 Providing Training for Indian Tribes 20

Moving Forward in 2009 21

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foreword

The Office of Science and Technology (OST) is one of five offices within EPA's Office of Water.

OSThasthe privilege of bringing sound science, engineering and public policy to bear in the

pursuit of protecting and restoring the quality of America's waters. OST leads a wide range of

activities to advance water quality, public health and environmental protection underthe Clean

Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts. OST is responsible for setting national goals forthe quality

of America's waters and providing tools to measure progress toward achieving those goals.

Additionally, OST helps ensure that federal and state water programs reflect the latest 
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scientific

knowledge about how water becomes polluted and the impacts of water pollutants on human

health and ecosystems. OST produces technology-based regulatory guidelines and analytical

test methods; water quality-based standards and criteria recommendations; health-based

advisories for beach swimming, fish consumption, and drinking water; risk assessments and

special studies to determine the need for regulations; and models and other tools. Collectively,

these help water program managers protect aquatic environments and human health.

Ultimately, OST's standards, guidelines and methods serve as the foundation upon which EPA

water programs are built and progress is measured.

In 2008, OST continued its long tradition of ensuring that sound science is the foundation for

its work and that stakeholder input is actively sought as we formulate public policy. OST made

many advances through collaboration with our regional counterparts; federal partners; and

state, territorial and tribal co-regulators. OST issued proposed regulations forthe construction

and development industry that, when final, will prevent the discharge of nearly 27 billion pounds

of sediment into the nation's surface waters. We also partnered with co-regulators in the states

to ensure effective implementation of water quality standards, including providing the 

scientific,

technical and policy tools to help states advance management of nitrogen and phosphorus

pollution. OST continued to effectively manage the allocation and expenditure of grant funds

for beach monitoring and notification programs, and produced an improved grant allocation

formula and a new Beach Sanitary Survey Tool. OST provided the scientific analysis of data

on dozens of drinking water contaminants and improved coordination with other EPA offices

in water quality criteria development and water research needs. Finally, OST led the Office of

Water's efforts to better understand the occurrence and consequences of Pharmaceuticals and

personal care products in our nation's waters so that EPA can make decisions about managing

these pollutants.

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In the upcoming year, OST will finalize the effluent guidelines for the construction and

development industry, complete Phase II of the National Water Program Research Strategy,

and publish a drinking water treatment technology report and the 2010 Preliminary Effluent

Guidelines Program Plan under Clean Water Act (CWA) section 304(m). OST will continue

to collaborate with states to support their adoption of numeric nitrogen and phosphorus

criteria, support tribes through the Consolidated and Central Tribal Training program, enhance

the effectiveness of the BEACH Act grant program, and improve the Agency's water quality

standards management measures. OST will also continue to provide leadership to the National

Water Program in science application. Through research and collaboration, we will progress

in developing updated recreational criteria, evaluating contaminants of emerging concern,

refining ambient water quality criteria and providing support to EPA's Drinking Water Program.

In addition, OST will explore ways to foster state efforts to restore impaired waters, including

efforts to make incremental progress toward restoration goals. OST will also focus on how

climate change will affect water quality and what steps can be taken to adapt to those

changes.

OST's fundamental strength is the expertise and commitment of its administrative and technical

staff. They have proven their resilience, flexibility and ability to focus on results throughout 

a

challenging 2008. OST's staff reflects the diversity, creativity and exemplary skills needed to

solve today's environmental problems. Our engineers, scientists, economists and environmental

specialists apply the latest technical advances and best science to achieve measurable results

in meeting the national goal of clean and safe water. Whether addressing policy issues, waterquality research ortechnological innovation, OST professionals assure that water programs

are built on an advanced and reliable scientific foundation. As such, I am confident that we 

will

effectively meet whatever environmental challenges we face in the future.

 S. Klna

 Director, Office of Science 

and Technology

 OST's Minion: We develop xrtwid, scientifically defensible stMw&rds, criteria,, 

adwwries,

 quiddities and Uwtitations u*ider the, Cl&aK Water Act Mid the Safe, VriwJdtuj 

Water

 Act. We, work with partners and rtaJkefaddfrrs to develop the, scientific and 

tetkndoaical

 •ouM^ations to atkievt clean water.

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2008

OST accomplished much in protecting the nation's surface and drinking water in 2008. Many

accomplishments are detailed throughout this report, but several stand out as key efforts for

the year, including:

 • Construction and Development Industry—EPA published proposed effluent guidelines

 in November 2008 for national requirements for stormwater discharges from all
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 construction sites greaterthan one acre. This proposal would require that,forthe first

 time ever, large sites with high rainfall intensity and soils with high clay content meet

 an enforceable turbidity limit based on active treatment systems. The final rule will be

 published by December 1, 2009.

 • Published the 2008 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan—The plan included studies for

 several industries. The studies evaluate methods of controlling pollutant discharge.

 • Beach Protection Actions-ln 2008, OST published a report on 2007 Beach Closings and

 Advisories, updated the National List of Beaches, published proposed changes to the

 BEACH Act Grants allocation formula and made available a new Beach Sanitary Survey

 Tool.

 • Nutrient Criteria—In December 2008, OST released the report, "State Adoption of

 Numeric Nutrient Standards: 1998-2008," meeting EPA's commitment to periodically

 report on the progress of the 50 states in adopting numeric nutrient Water Quality

 Standards (WQS). OST also provided states with technical and policy assistance

 through numerous means in 2008.

 • Recreational Water Quality Criteria—OST has taken several key steps under EPA's

 Critical Path Science Plan toward revising the recreational water quality criteria that

 states can use to update their WQS. These criteria protect millions of swimmers from

 water contamination.

 • Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water—Under OST's leadership, EPA began

 implementing a strategy for addressing Pharmaceuticals and other contaminants that

 have recently been discovered at very low levels in surface and drinking water. The

 strategy focuses on four areas: strengthening science, improving public understanding,

 identifying partnerships to promote stewardship and taking regulatory action when

 appropriate.

 • Health Effects Analyses—OST was a key player in the proposal of the third contaminant

 candidate list in 2008. The list is a requirement of the Safe Drinking Water Act. OST

 prepared 126 health assessment documents and identified research needs for drinking

 water contaminants.

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Education, Outreach and Training Efforts—OST created a new Web site to teach

children and parents about safe fish consumption and developed educational water

quality activities for grades K-8. OST also hosted Earth Day collegiate water debates

and collaborated with the American Dental Association and the National Association of

Clean Water Agencies to help prevent mercury-based pollution from dental amalgam. In

addition, OST led the creation of EPA's Consolidated and Central Tribal Training Program

and trained nearly 250 water quality professionals through its Water Quality Standards

Academy classroom-style and online courses in 2008.

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OST develops technology-based solutions to meet Clean Water Act

requirements for controlling point source wastewater pollution and

protecting aquatic life. These solutions are based on the performance,

availability and affordability of treatment and control technologies. OST's

efforts in this area include establishing effluent limitations for industries

that discharge wastewater, improving existing guidelines, identifying new

industrial pollution reduction technologies, and establishing technology

requirements for cooling water intake systems to prevent harm to aquatic life.

The effluent guidelines program is intended to reduce pollutant discharges

to the greatest extent that is technologically feasible and economically

achievable for an industry. To date, EPA has issued effluent guidelines for 56

industrial categories that collectively prevent discharges of almost 700 billion

pounds of pollutants annually. For comprehensive information about OST's

effluent guidelines program, visit www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide.

2008 EFFLUENT GUIDELINES PROGRAM PLAN

Every other year EPA publishes a plan and schedule, known as an Effluent

Guidelines Program Plan (Plan), for development and revision of industrial

wastewater regulations. This biennial Plan is required by Section 304(m) of

the Clean Water Act.

In September 2008, OST published EPA's final Plan for 2008, along with final detailed

studies on dental amalgam and coal mining, interim reports of ongoing studies for

the steam electric power generation industry, and unused pharmaceutical disposal

practices. The studies evaluate both the pollutant discharges from these industries

and the availability of technologies to control the discharges. OST also announced

it is continuing to develop regulations for the airport deicing and construction and

development industries. For more information about the 2008 Plan, see OST's Web

site: www.epa.gov/guide/304m/.

PROPOSED RULEMAKING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND

DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY

In November 2008, EPA published in the Federal Register a proposed regulation to
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reduce erosion and control sediment discharges from construction sites. Sediment

is one of the leading causes of water quality impairment nationwide. Discharges

containing sediment degrade aquatic systems and increase water treatment costs.

The proposal covers construction in all sectors—residential, commercial and

transportation—and requires Best Management Practices and sediment basins,

implemented through an EPA or state Construction General Permit (CGP) for all sites.

In addition, larger sites of 30 acres or more located in areas with greater rainfall must

meet numeric limits based on Advanced Treatment Systems. The proposed rule is

innovative and risk-based, targeting those sites that will have the greatest sediment

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discharges. The proposed construction and development requirements would prevent nearly 27 

billion

pounds of sediment from being discharged. Under court order, the final rule is scheduled to be 

published

in the Federal Register no later than December 1,2009. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/

waterscience/guide/construction/.

DEVELOPMENT OF A PROPOSED RULE FOR AIRPORT DEICING OPERATIONS

In 2008, OST drafted a proposed rule to establish effluent guidelines to control pollutant 

runoff

associated with deicing aircraft and runways. More than one-third of deicing fluid is discharged

without

any treatment, resulting in discharges of more than 120 million pounds of chemical oxygen 

demand. EPA

listed this category for rulemaking in its 2004 Effluent Guidelines Plan. In order to draft the 

proposed

rule, OST visited 20 airports to collect information on deicing operations and wastewater 

generation,

collection, treatment and recycling; issued a survey to a representative sample of airlines and 

airports;

and sampled deicing fluid from six airports. OST also worked closely with industry 

representatives to

ensure effective data collection and give them an opportunity to provide input. For more 

information,

visit www. epa.gov/waterscience/guide/airport.

DEVELOPMENT OF A PROPOSED RULE FOR COOLING WATER INTAKE

STRUCTURES AT EXISTING LARGE POWER PLANTS

Clean Water Act section 316(b) mandates technology-based standards for cooling water intakes to

minimize adverse environmental impacts from cooling water intake structures at power plants and

manufacturing facilities. The withdrawal of cooling water harms billions of aquatic organisms 

each

year, including fish, shellfish, and marine mammals. Most damage is done to early life stages of

fish and

shellfish.

EPA issued standards in February 2004 for existing large power plants that withdraw at least 50

million gallons of cooling water each day from surface waters. Environmental groups and industry

representatives challenged the final rule. In January 2007, the Court of Appeals for the Second 

Circuit

remanded key provisions of the rule, and EPA suspended the rule in July 2007, indicating that 

it would

also proceed to amend the rule to address the remanded issues.

OST drafted a proposed rule that includes analysis of many new studies issued since 2004, and 

the

results of over 20 OST-conducted site visits. Upon industry petition, the U.S. Supreme Court 

granted

certiorari on the role of cost/benefits balancing in choosing a national performance standard, 

and oral

argument was held on December 2,2008. OST is currently waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to 

issue its

decision before proceeding.

For more information about cooling water intake rulemakings, visit www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b/

index.html.

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 Water

Bawd StoAww

Unlike technology-based water programs, which are driven by technological

and economic feasibility, water quality-based programs are driven by scientific

determinations of risk and water quality conditions that must be met for the protection

and restoration of aquatic life and human health. OST determines appropriate water
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quality characteristics for both treated drinking water and ambient surface waters.

OST's drinking water work is discussed in the Application of Sound Science section

of this report, as it is the scientific assessment work that underlies drinking water

regulations. This section focuses on the water quality standards that are established

to protect ambient surface waters.

IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

PROGRAM

WQS are the foundation of the water quality-based

control program mandated by the Clean Water Act.

WQS define the goals for U.S. waters and set the

standards against which all other surface water quality

programs measure success. WQS consist of four

elements:

 • Designated uses for water bodies, such as

 recreation, aquatic life support, public water

 supply, agriculture, etc.

 • Water quality criteria that establish numeric

 pollutant concentrations or narrative

 descriptions of water conditions that must be

 met to attain designated uses

 • Antidegradation policyto maintain and protect

 existing uses and high quality waters

 • Other policies that address the implementation

 of standards.

 The Water Quality-Based Approach

The Water Quality-Based Approach describes a management approach for protecting

and restoring surface waters that is based on the water quality necessary to protect

designated uses of water bodies. Through its Water Quality Standards Program, OST

develops the recommended criteria and reviews the state standards that ultimately

drive the protection and restoration of the nation's water bodies.

The Clean Water Act authorizes states and territories to administer WQS programs.

OST and EPA's regional offices (Regions) provide federal oversight for the state and

territorial programs, but all work together as co-regulators on a daily basis.

Tribes must apply for federal authorization to administer WQS programs under the

Clean Water Act. OST provides technical assistance to tribes in applying for federal

program authorization and in developing and implementing WQS and other water

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quality programs. To date, 44 tribes have federal authority to administer a WQS program, three 

of which

OST assisted in receiving authorization in 2008. Across the U.S., 35 tribes have EPA-approved, 

Clean

Water Act-effective WQS programs. OST also plays an active role in providing training and 

technical

support for tribes (see the Education, Outreach and Training section of this report).

Providing Regional and State Support on WQS

In addition to developing federal regulations, and national policy and guidance, on WQS, OST 

provides

support to the Regions and states on specific WQS actions. In 2008, OST assisted the Regions and

states

in advancing state WQS programs by providing EPA's latest science, helping the Regions 

communicate

EPA's policies and helping states find workable solutions to complex standards implementation 

issues.

For example, OST provided support for approximately 20 lawsuits, notices of intent to sue, and 

petitions

each affecting anywhere between one and 50 states. OST also reviewed numerous state standards

packages submitted to the Regions for review and approval. These included challenging issues such

as combined sewer overflow regulations, revised standards for the Chicago area waterways, thermal

mixing zone provisions, human health criteria and antidegradation policies. OST also took action

to

ensure that WQS apply to160 miles of the Mississippi River near St. Louis, allowing for public 

water uses

such as swimming.

 OST works closely with the Regions to support

 constructive, timely and defensible actions on state

 WQS submissions. Recently, Regions have increasingly

 been working earlier with their states to ensure that

 states' standards revisions are "approvable" before

 they are adopted and submitted to EPA. To help states

 submit approvable WQS, the Agency sets ambitious

 management targets. In FY08, EPA was able to approve

 92.5 percent of the state submissions received.

 For more information about the National Water Quality

 Standards Program, visit www.epa.gov/waterscience/

 standards/.

The Water Quality Standards Process
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IMPROVING BEACH WATER QUALITY, MONITORING AND PUBLIC

INFORMATION

EPA estimates that Americans make 910 million trips to coastal areas each year, spending about 

$44

billion annually. OST's Beach Program works in partnership with the Regions and state and local

governments to protect water quality at U.S. beaches and thereby protect the health of beach 

visitors.

The Beach Program focuses on five areas:

 • Strengthening local beach WQS and monitoring efforts

 • Providing faster laboratory test methods for beach water samples

 • Predicting pollution problems by identifying causal sources and conditions

 • Investing in human health and analytical methods research

 • Informing the public about water quality problems at U.S. beaches.

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 SWIMMING

BY RECOMMENOATIOH OF

 COUNTY HEALTH DEFT

 1

Providing Funding for State Beach Programs

To improve water quality testing at the beach and to help beach

managers better inform the public about water quality issues,

Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and

Coastal Health (BEACH) Act in October 2000. The Act authorizes

EPA to award grants to eligible states to develop and implement

beach water quality monitoring programs at coastal and Great

Lakes recreational waters near beaches. These grants also support

programs to inform the public about the risk of exposure to diseasecausing microorganisms in the waters at the nation's beaches. In

addition to notifying the public, states must also send EPA data

on beach monitoring and notification for their coastal recreation

waters, which EPA must maintain in a database.

 In 2001, EPA started a BEACH Act grant program to help the 35 coastal and Great Lakes states 

develop

and implement their monitoring and notification programs. Since then, the Agency has awarded 

more

than $71 million in grant funds to eligible states to protect the nation's beaches, including 

$9.75 million in

2008. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/grants/.

Improving the BEACH Act Grant Allocation Formula

A decade ago, state and local monitoring and notification programs differed across the country. 

EPA

grants are designed to consistently protect and inform the public about beach waters in 35 

eligible

states. EPA uses an allocation formula to distribute these grant funds. The Agency consulted 

with states

and the Coastal States Organization to develop the allocation formula, which considers three 

factors:

beach season length, beach miles and beach use.

OST published a Federal Register Notice in August 2008 announcing

proposed changes to the formula used to allocate BEACH Act grants

to participating coastal and Great Lakes states (see www.epa.

gov/waterscience/beaches/grants/alloc-fs.html). The incremental

change to the formula, produced with the assistance of a multi-state

stakeholder group, retains the existing formula distribution for the

current level of funding while redistributing funds from states that

are not spending grant funds in a timely or effective manner to other

states. These reallocated funds and future grants appropriations are

allocated on the basis of beach miles and beach use by the public.

EPA is considering three changes to its current BEACH Act

implementation grant allocation formula, which would become

effective in 2010:

 (1) Making shoreline miles and coastal county population permanent factors in the 

allocation

 formula for the first $10 million of annual BEACH Act grant funds.

 (2) Including a financial incentive component as part of the allocation formula to 

encourage states

 to spend their grant funds as efficiently and effectively as possible.

 (3) Redistributing underutilized funds using a new allocation formula composed of values for

beach

 miles and beach use.

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National List of Beaches
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The BEACH Act also requires that EPA publish and periodically update a National List of Beaches,

which provides a national baseline and measure of improvement of state beach monitoring across 

the

country. It also provides information to the public about beaches in their state. OST published 

the first

National List of Beaches in May 2004 and an updated list in September 2008. EPA compiled the 

2008 list

using information submitted by states from their 2007 swimming seasons. This list showed that in

2007,

states identified 6,247 beaches, 59 percent of which were monitored and 41 percent of which were

not monitored. These statistics represent an increase over the 2004 List, which showed that of 

6,099

identified beaches, 57 percent were monitored and 43 percent were not. For more information, 

visit

www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/list/index.htm.

Keeping Track of States' Beach Closings and Advisories

Each spring, OST releases a report summarizing the number, location and duration of beach 

closings

and advisories ("notification actions") in the U.S. during the previous year's swimming season. 

In May

2008, OST released a national summary report of state data on beach closings and advisories 

during the

2007 beach season. In July 2008, the report was supplemented by state reports that include 

programspecific accomplishments, issues and other information provided by the states and made available

on

EPA's Beach Monitoring and Notification Web site (www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/seasons/}.

The report informs the public about how many beaches had notification actions, how many 

notification

actions were reported and how long they lasted, and what percentage of days beaches were under a

notification action.

Making Beach Sanitary Surveys Easier to Conduct

EPA developed the Beach Sanitary Survey Tool as a follow-up action to the 2004 Great Lakes 

Regional

Collaboration (GLRC).The GLRC is a cooperative effort to design and implement a strategy for the

restoration, protection and sustainable use of the Great Lakes. OST, Region 5 and EPA's Great 

Lakes

National Program Office worked in collaboration with state beach managers to develop a draft 

Beach

Sanitary Survey Tool in 2006. In the summer of 2007, the tool was tested at 61 beaches in the 

Great

Lakes region, under a one-time EPA grant of $525,000. The state and local governments testing 

the tool

provided comments to EPA, who then developed the final Beach Sanitary Survey Tool and announced 

its

availability in May 2008.

 A sanitary survey is a method of investigating the sources of fecal

 contamination to a water body. Beach sanitary surveys involve 

collecting

 information at the beach, as well as in the surrounding watershed. The

 Beach Sanitary Survey Tool helps beach managers in the Great Lakes

 identify sources of bacterial contamination at their beaches so that 

these

 sources can be corrected, resulting in more days that beaches are open

 for swimming. Beach managers can also use the sanitary survey results to

 prioritize state or county resource allocations to help target further 

testing

 and improve beach water quality.

 EPA's Sanitary Survey Tool consists of a user's manual and three types 

of

 beach sanitary surveys in paper and electronic form (see www.epa.gov/

 waterscience/beaches/sanitarysurvey/). EPA expects that use of the tool 

will

 result in cleaner beaches in the Great Lakes. The tool can also be used 

by

 other states in the future for other marine and inland waters.

 Great Lakes Beach

 Sanitary Survey

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Partnering with States to Develop Numeric Nutrient Standards

Nutrient pollution, especially nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, is

a leading cause of water quality impairments in the United States.

As a consequence, EPA has made protecting and restoring the

nation s waters from nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient pollution

a top priority. Over the past ten years, OST and the Regions have

worked with states and certain river basin commissions to help them
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adopt numeric nutrient criteria into state WQS. These standards are

critical because they facilitate more efficient and effective water

quality assessments and watershed protection management. To be

most effective, nutrient standards should include numeric criteria

for total nitrogen and total phosphorus levels (pollutants that cause

impairments) and water clarity and chlorophyll a (indicators of the

extent of a water body's pollution).

In December 2008, OST published the report "State Adoption of Numeric Nutrient Standards: 1998-

2008." The report covers state progress since 1998, when EPA released its national strategy for 

helping

states develop numeric nutrient WQS for their major water body types (lakes and reservoirs, 

rivers and

streams, estuaries and wetlands). It also implemented EPA's 2007 commitment to report 

periodically on

state progress in adopting such standards. The report can be found on OST's Web site at 

www.epa.gov/

waterscience/criteria/nutrien1/files/report1998-2008.pdf.

OST continues supporting the development and state adoption of nutrient standards by:

 • Providing implementation and policy assistance directly to states that are close to 

adopting

 numeric criteria.

 • Building capacity of states that are less prepared to adopt numeric criteria by assisting

them

 with data and statistical analysis.

 • Building a science-based foundation for developing new nutrient criteria for estuaries, 

wetlands

 and large rivers by continuing to develop new technical guidance.

 • Communicating effectively the consequences of nutrient pollution and the benefits of 

nutrient

 controls to watershed groups and the general public.

Examples of the support OST provided in 2008 included:

 • Assisting Arkansas and North Dakota with completion of their nutrient criteria 

development

 plans.

 • Completing data analysis for certain water body types in Kentucky, West Virginia, 

Wisconsin,

 Colorado, Illinois, Montana, Puerto Rico and Indiana.

 • Providing technical reviews of Minnesota and West Virginia lakes nutrient criteria and 

the

 Hoopa Tribe Klamath River criteria.

 • Conducting technical Webcasts on Nutrient Criteria Development for Michigan Streams and

 Lakes: Site-Specific & Effects-Based and Minnesota River Nutrient Criteria Development:

 Emphasis on Biological Indicators & Relationships.

 • Holding two workshops in September 2008 for the Region 4/6 Regional Technical Assistance

 Group. The first workshop focused on statistical tools for deriving nutrient criteria and

the

 second one focused on how to use periphyton data from all Region 4 states in developing 

actual

 candidate criteria.

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 Conducting a Webcast for watershed groups on Managing Nutrients in Your Backyard and

 releasing online and CD versions of an educational presentation, Sowing the Seeds for

Healthy

 Waterways: How Your Gardening Choices Can Have a Positive Impact in Your Watershed,

 that can be used by naturalist instructors, community garden clubs and other 

organizations to

 educate the public about gardening practices that minimize the runoff of nutrients to

waterways

 (see www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/nutrient/garden.html}.

 State-adopted and EPA-approved numeric nutrient standards

 are critical for preventing the harmful effects of nitrogen 

and

 phosphorus pollution in the nation's waters and for 

restoring water

 quality from impairment caused by this pollution. Over the 

past ten

 years, OST has worked in close partnership with states, 

territories,

 authorized tribes and certain river basin commissions to 

help them

 progress toward the goal of adopting numeric nutrient 

criteria into

 their WQS. Their progress has been uneven, however, as 

indicated

 in the report. OST will continue to make this work a high 

priority

 throughout 2009.
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 For more information about nutrient criteria development, 

visit www.

 epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/nutrienl/.

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EPA uses the best scientific information available to anticipate

potential environmental threats, evaluate risks, identify solutions and

develop protective standards. Sound science helps EPA askthe right

questions, assess information and characterize problems clearly

to inform Agency decision makers. OST leads the National Water

Program in applying sound science through its development of tools,

data, recommendations, policies and regulations that serve as the

foundation upon which all other EPA water programs are built and

against which they measure progress.

In 2008, OST led a variety of projects that resulted in EPA gaining

important scientific knowledge that will help protect water

resources. OST's efforts in these areas provide other EPA offices and state coregulators with access to important data to support their projects and programs:

 • Prepared health effects documents for 46 unregulated contaminants,

 toxicological data updates on 73 regulated contaminants, quantitative risk

 assessments on four flame-retardants and draft toxicological reviews of three

 additional contaminants in support of drinking water protection.

 • Developed and began implementing a Critical Path Science Plan that is

 providing answers to scientific questions about how to establish more

 protective recreational water quality criteria.

 • Completed the National Lake Fish Tissue Study, the first study of its kind with

 the largest set of chemicals ever studied in fish.

 • Furthered research and information gathering and dissemination regarding

 contaminants of emerging concern in water.

 • Expanded EPA's aquatic life criteria methodology to allow for development of

 criteria for contaminants of emerging concern.

 • Continued work to develop new recommended ambient water quality criteria

 for selenium, atrazine, ammonia, acrolein and phenol.

 • Published a draft National Water Program Research Strategy identifying the

 research, science and technology needs of the National Water Program.

DRINKING WATER SUPPORT

OST develops risk assessments for drinking water contaminants

in support of regulatory decisions made by EPA's Office of Ground

Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW). This support includes

development of contaminant candidate lists (CCL), regulatory

determinations and six-year reviews of currently regulated drinking

water contaminants.

OGWDW publishes a CCL every 5 years determining which

contaminants are most likely to pose a risk to human health. OST

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"A ,.•..,

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helps OGWDW identify the health effects used to determine the list. In 2008, EPA published its 

proposed

third CCL (CCL3). OST provided support by developing the approach used to group contaminants 

based

on the potency and severity of effects. To support CCL3, OST prepared health effects background

documents summarizing available toxicological information and identifying research needs for the 

35

contaminants that have available occurrence data.

In July 2008, EPA finalized the regulatory determinations for 11 chemicals from CCL2. OST 

prepared the

health effects support documents for each of these contaminants. "Do not regulate decisions" 

were

made for the 11 chemicals because they did not occur at levels of concern on a national basis. 

OST

developed health advisories forthree of these contaminants because data indicated they occurred 

in

certain regions of the country. Health advisory values can be used by the states and local 

public health

departments to make local decisions regarding drinking water contamination. Several chemicals 

were

deferred for later consideration because of deficiencies in the occurrence data. All of the 

deferred

chemicals are on the proposed CCL3.

EPA reviews each drinking water regulation at least every six years. In support of the Agency's 

second

six-year review, OST updated the toxicological data for 73 regulated chemicals in 2008. These 
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updates

identify changes that might impact the health basis of the current regulations or suggest a 

need to

revise the current health assessment due to research results published since the completion of 

the first

six-year review in 2003.

In partnership with the Office of Research and Development (ORD), OST developed toxicological

reviews for several chemicals of concern as ambient or drinking water contaminants that may 

affect

human health. In June 2008, OST finalized quantitative health risk assessments for four 

brominated

diphenylether flame-retardants. The assessments are available online at www.epa.gov/iris. OST 

also

provided ORD with draft toxicological reviews for inorganic arsenic, copper and uranium.

DEVELOPING NEW RECREATIONAL WATER QUALITY CRITERIA

 A critical component of OST's work is publishing new 

recreational

 water quality criteria that states can use to strengthen their

 WQS programs. The BEACH Act requires OST to develop these

 criteria, which protect millions of swimmers in the United 

States

 from illnesses associated with fecal water contamination. To

 revise the criteria to reflect current scientific data, OST and

 ORD are implementing the Critical Path Science Plan (Science

 Plan) developed by U.S. and international scientific experts and

 published by EPA in 2007. The Science Plan describes the high-

 priority research, overall research goals and key science 

questions

associated with data gaps in the existing science that EPA will pursue, setting the foundation 

for the

development of new or revised recreational water quality criteria recommendations.

In keeping with the Science Plan, OST met with stakeholders in February 2008 to communicate

its research activities and obtain input on criteria implementation challenges. Through continued

collaboration with ORD and experts in the stakeholder community, OST will help ensure research

clarifies key questions and creates sound recreational water quality criteria.

For more information on the status of this research and OST's work to develop new recreational 

criteria,

visit www. epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/recreation.

 10

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Distribution of Sampling Locations

 Number oi Target Likei •

 1 I MLltH

 i 1 t10U*M

 EH ii-zujfcM

ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL

BASELINE OF PERSISTENT,

BIOACCUMULATIVE AND TOXIC

CHEMICALS IN FRESHWATER FISH

In December 2008, the first of two articles about

EPA's National Lake Fish Tissue Study was

published in the journal Environmental Monitoring

and Assessment. The article describes the

statistical design of the study, which allowed OST

to develop national estimates for 268 persistent,

bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals in fish

tissue from lakes and reservoirs in the lower 48

states. The study represents EPA's first effort to

take a broad look at fish contamination since the

late 1980s.

The study is the first national freshwater fish contamination survey

based on a random sampling design. It also generated data that will

define a national baseline against which EPA programs can assess

the progress of pollution control activities to limit the release of

these chemicals into the environment.

Preliminary results of the study have yielded compelling information.

For example, mercury and PCBs were detected in all fish samples

collected during the four-year sampling period (2000-2003).

Dioxins and furans were detected in predator and bottom-dweller

samples at 81 percent and 99 percent of the sites, respectively.

DDT was detected in predator and bottom-dweller samples at 78

percent and 98 percent of the sites, respectively. The mercury concentrations for predators 

exceed

EPA's recommended tissue-based criterion of 0.3 parts per million (ppm) for about half of the 

sampled

population of lakes. EPA is using these data to support Agency efforts such as developing an 

Agency-
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wide strategy for monitoring PBT chemicals, assessing mercury in the environment and 

characterizing

the state of the environment.

OST collaborated with ORD and worked with the Regions, 47 states, three tribes and two other

federal agencies to conduct the study. A second journal article expected in mid-2009 will focus

on

implementation of the study and the final results.

For more information about this study, see OST's Web site at

www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/study/.

UNDERSTANDING CONTAMINANTS OF

EMERGING CONCERN IN WATER

The phrase "contaminants of emerging concern" (CECs) refers

broadly to chemicals or microbiological organisms that are newly

recognized in the environment as being of concern because of

their known or suspected adverse ecological or human health

effects. EPA needs to further study the occurrence, fate, and

 Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Water

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transport of and exposure to these contaminants to better evaluate risk and determine whether 

they

need to be controlled through federal regulations. EPA is aggressively pursuing efforts to 

improve its

understanding of CECs. A key subgroup of CECs on which EPA and others are focusing attention is

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs).

EPA's Strategy for Addressing PPCPs in Water

In 2008, OST led the Office of Water in developing and implementing a strategy to improve the 

Agency's

understanding of PPCPs in water and ability to take actions to address them. The strategy 

focuses EPA's

efforts on four areas:

 • Strengthening Science-identifying PPCPs in surface water and drinking water and 

targeting the

 collection of needed information on their occurrence, concentrations and effects

 • Improving Public Understanding-providing information to help the public understand the 

issues

 and inform EPA's policy decisions

 • Identifying Partnerships and Promoting Stewardship Opportunities-working with others to

 prevent CECs, particularly Pharmaceuticals, from entering waters

 • Taking Regulatory Action When Appropriate-using EPA's regulatory tools when sufficient 

data is

 available.

In 2008, OST made significant progress in implementing EPA's strategy by initiating or 

completing many

projects with special emphasis on the areas of sound science and technology.

Strengthening Science

OST completed or began a number of activities to strengthen the Agency's scientific knowledge of

the

existence and behavior of PPCPs in wastewater effluent, biosolids and fish tissue:

 • Completed initial development of three new analytical methods to detect and quantify 

over 150

 PPCPs, steroids and hormones in wastewater and biosolids, as well as a new method to 

detect

 pesticides in these same media. All of these methods are available on OST's Web site at 

www.

 epa.gov/waterscience/methods/method/ppcp/

 • Studied Nine Publicly-Owned Treatment Works (POTW) to better understand the occurrence

 of PPCPs in untreated municipal wastewater (POTW influent) and fully treated effluent, 

and to

 evaluate and improve the performance of analytical methods. OST plans to release the 

results of

 the study mid-2009.

 • Began reviewing treatment technologies that may remove PPCPs from wastewater, such as

 activated sludge, ozone disinfection, high intensity ultraviolet light and denitrification. OST

 expects to release a report in spring 2009.

 • Conducted the Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey to produce the first national 

estimates

 of which Pharmaceuticals, steroids and hormones may be present in sewage sludge and at

 what concentrations. A report on the survey results will be released in early 2009. The 

survey

 is a valuable step in advancing the understanding of what is present in treated sewage 

sludge

 and provides important input for EPA and others to use in evaluating biosolids generated 
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by the

 nation's POTWs.

 • Completed a fish tissue pilot study on PPCPs, the first U.S. field study to investigate 

the

 occurrence of 24 commonly-used Pharmaceuticals and 12 personal care products in fish 

tissue

 collected from five streams near wastewater treatment plants. Preliminary study results 

were

 12

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 released in August 2008 (see www.epa.gov/waterscience/ppcp/studies/fish-tissue.html). An

 article reporting final results from the pilot study will be published in late 2009 in a 

special issue

 about PPCPs in the environment in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

 • Included fish tissue and surface water sampling for PPCPs as part of EPA's National 

Rivers

 and Streams Assessment. Field teams began collecting water and composite fish samples at

 approximately 150 urban river sites in 2008 and will continue through 2009. Results are 

expected

 in 2011. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/waterscience/ppcp/studies/fishexpand.html.

 • Commissioned a National Academy of Sciences workshop, held in December 2008, to

 better understand how to evaluate the potential risks to humans of low concentrations of

 Pharmaceuticals in drinking water (see www.epa.gov/waterscience/ppcp/studies/nas-risk.

 html).

Improving Public Understanding

EPA believes it is important to communicate to consumers about how they can aid in

preventing PPCPs from entering wastewater systems and water bodies.

In August 2008, OST launched a new Web site on PPCPs in water to explain to the

public the Office of Water's strategy and activities it is pursuing (see www.epa.gov/

waterscience/ppcp). The site links to EPA's Web site on PPCP research at www.epa.

gov/ppcp.

OST has also led EPA's efforts to work with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and

the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy to revise the 2007 federal drug

disposal guidelines to make them more consumer-friendly. This work will continue in

2009.

Identifying Partnerships for Stewardship Opportunities

EPA recognizes the importance of working with partners to implement its strategy

successfully. In the spring of 2008, EPA's Office of Water sent letters to and met

with state environmental and public health department directors, water industry

associations, the environmental community and agricultural organizations to share

and gather information about activities aimed at addressing PPCPs in water.

Preventing Pharmaceuticals from entering the environment is an important

aspect of the strategy. OST has focused on making information available to

the public on proper drug disposal through the federal disposal guidelines, by

making information publicly available through its Web site and by supporting

community drug take-back programs where consumers can dispose of their

unused drugs. The Agency is working with the Drug Enforcement Agency

to facilitate more take-back programs that comply with the Controlled

Substances Act.

Taking Regulatory Action When Appropriate

EPA is using its regulatory authority when appropriate to address

environmental concerns posed by Pharmaceuticals in water.

EPA has been studying how the drugs enter waterways and what factors

contribute to the current situation. OST initiated a study on the disposal

practices of unused Pharmaceuticals at health care facilities, such as

Unused Pharmaceuticals in

 the Health Care Industry:

 Interim Ftepori

 13

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hospitals, hospices, long-term care facilities and veterinary hospitals to determine current 

disposal

methods and identify alternate methods of disposal to avoid introducing these drugs into the 

water

system. In August 2008, OST completed the Summary Interim Report, highlighting results from the 

study,

and published in the Federal Register a proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) for the 

health

care industry. For more information about the report and ICR, visit 

www.epa.gov/waterscience/ppcp/

and lookforthe heading "Managing Unused Pharmaceuticals."

With regard to potential regulation of PPCPs in drinking water, the final CCL3 is scheduled for 

publication

in August 2009. Based on public comments received in 2008, some Pharmaceuticals are being 

evaluated
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for possible inclusion on the final list.

EXPANDING EPA's AQUATIC LIFE CRITERIA METHODOLOGY

 The recent pressures presented by CECs have made clear the need

 for EPA to develop ambient water quality criteria to help assess

 and manage the potential risk in the aquatic environment. The

 Agency is concerned about PPCPs that are designed to stimulate

 a physiological response in humans, plants and animals, and are

 commonly discharged at wastewater treatment plants.

 Led by OST staff, EPA's CEC workgroup prepared an exploratory

 paper, "Aquatic Life Criteria for Contaminants of Emerging 

Concern:

 Challenges and Recommendations," to present some of the issues

 facing the Agency regarding the development of criteria for

 CECs. In the summer of 2008, EPA sought advice from the Science

Advisory Board (SAB) Ecological Processes and Effects Committee regarding the technical merit of

recommendations presented in the paper that will serve as a basis for future development of 

water

quality criteria for CECs. The paper discussed how principles in the 1985 "Guidelines for 

Deriving

Numerical National Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their 

Uses" (1985

Guidelines) could be adapted to develop criteria for CECs.

The SAB Committee completed their comments and final report on the paper in December 2008. In

2009, OST will convert the revised paper into a Technical Support Document to complement the 

existing

Guidelines.

For more information about aquatic life criteria, visit 

www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/aqlife/.

REFINING EXISTING AMBIENT WATER QUALITY CRITERIA

In an effort to further protect the nation's waters, OST continues to refine EPA's national 

recommended

ambient water quality criteria, the pollutant concentrations necessary to protect designated uses

in

surface waters. In 2008, EPA made recommendations for revised selenium, atrazine, ammonia, 

acrolein

and phenol criteria.

Selenium Criteria for Protection of Aquatic Life

EPA published a draft national recommended tissue-based aquatic life criteria for selenium and

requested scientific views in 2004. This draft freshwater chronic criterion was based on a study

of overwinter mortality of juvenile bluegill sunfish. Uncertainties about the interpretation and use of 

this study

led EPA to conduct further research to better characterize the over-winter mortality phenomenon. 

EPA

completed this research in early 2008 and released a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) in the 

Federal

-------

Register in October 2008. The NODA consists of a report on EPA's research, as well as a 

bibliography of

additional selenium toxicity research completed since 2004. EPA will re-propose draft criteria 

in 2009.

For more information about selenium ambient water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic

life, visit

www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/selenium/.

Atrazine Criteria for Protection of Aquatic Life

In 2003, EPA published draft national recommended ambient water

quality criteria for atrazine, a widely used herbicide. Published to

obtain scientific views, the draft criteria are based on the analysis

of the Comprehensive Aquatic Systems Model (CASM) that provides

the ability to assess the effects of the aquatic plant community's

exposure to atrazine. In 2007, the Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP)

for EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) reviewed current

amphibian research to determine the validity of the model and

associated eco-monitoring work. The SAP identified several areas

of the model requiring further development and evaluation. In 2008,

OST and OPP implemented the SAP's recommendations, expanding

the sensitivity analysis and validating the model for its use as a tool to interpret atrazine 

monitoring data.

EPA now plans to release the atrazine criteria document and draft implementation guidance in 

2009.

For more information about the atrazine ambient water quality criteria for the protection of 

aquatic life,

visit www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/atrazine/.

Ammonia Criteria for Protection of Aquatic Life

In 1999, EPA published revised national recommended aquatic life criteria for ammonia to protect

salmonids' greater than previously recognized sensitivity to ammonia, particularly in early life 
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stages.

Recent toxicity data for freshwater mussels indicates that larval and juvenile mussels may be 

more

sensitive to ammonia than the salmonids on which the 1999 criterion was based. In response, OST

is

re-evaluating the 1999 ammonia aquatic life criteria regarding the protectiveness of the 

criteria for

freshwater mussels.

In 2008, to evaluate uncertainties about the interpretation and use of existing larval and 

juvenile mussel

toxicity data, an OST-led workgroup developed proposed position statements on the issues of 

scientific

uncertainty. OST conducted external peer reviews of the workgroup's proposed position statements.

In

2009, OST plans to finalize its re-evaluation and publish a draft ammonia criteria reassessment.

For more information about ammonia ambient water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic 

life, visit

www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/ammonia/.

Acrolein Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Life

In December 2008, EPA published in the Federal Register draft national recommended criteria for 

the

protection of freshwater aquatic life for acrolein based on EPA's 1985 Guidelines. Toxicity data

and other

information on the effects of acrolein were obtained from reliable sources and subjected to both

internal

and external peer review. Saltwater criteria could not be derived for acrolein because of a lack

of acute

and chronic toxicity data. Comments on the draft freshwater criteria for acrolein are being 

accepted

through March 17,2009.

For more information on the development of aquatic life criteria for acrolein, visit www.epa.gov/

waterscience/criteria/acrolein/aq-draft.htm.

 

15

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 Acrolein and Phenol Criteria for the Protection of Human Health

 In September 2008, EPA published in the Federal Register updated draft national 

recommended water

 quality criteria for the protection of human health for acrolein and phenol to obtain 

scientific views.

 EPA revised the human health criteria based on EPA's 2000 "Methodology for Deriving 

Ambient Water

 Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health." This methodology incorporates 

significant scientific

 advances made in the last two decades, particularly in the areas of cancer and 

noncancer risk

 assessments, exposure assessments and methodologies to estimate bioaccumulation in 

fish. The two

 updated criteria integrate new reference doses for acrolein and phenol. The new 

reference dose values

 have already been published in the Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).

EPA plans to

 publish final human health criteria for acrolein and phenol in spring 2009.

 For more information on EPA's human health criteria for acrolein and phenol, visit 

www.epa.gov/

 waterscience/criteria/humanhealth/.

 DEVELOPING AND USING BIOCRITERIA

 MB

Bioossessment and

 Biocriteria

 BiotrilHil in Stilt

 The numbers and kinds of organisms present in water bodies

 can provide direct information about the health of those water

 bodies. Biological reference measurements, or biocriteria, can be

 developed to measure and assess the health of the water bodies,

 particularly whether they are attaining designated aquatic life 

uses.

 In 2008, OST's biocriteria program made significant progress on

 several activities, including: (1) working with the Regions and

 certain states and tribes, to develop, test and implement 

biological

 criteria in state and tribal WQS, including piloting methods to 

refine

 aquatic life uses; (2) partnering with regional-state nutrient 

criteria

 teams in Regions 2,4 and 8 to address the link between nutrient
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and biological criteria development in New Jersey, Florida and Colorado, respectively; (3) 

drafting an

educational bioassessment Web site for high school students to teach them how to determine the 

health

of local water bodies based on the type and amount of aquatic species present; and (4) 

developing a

draft guide that explains how to incorporate biological information into states' WQS to define 

more

precisely aquatic life designated uses of water bodies, the goals for restoring impaired waters 

and the

baseline conditions for preventing future degradation.

For more information about OST's biocriteria program, visit 

www.epa.gov/waterscience/biocriteria/.

NATIONAL WATER PROGRAM RESEARCH STRATEGY

ORD and other potential collaborators have expressed the desire for clarification of the 

National

Water Program's research needs. The Regions and place-based programs have also requested more

input into the types of research conducted on EPA's water programs. To meet those requests, 

EPA's

Office of Water, led by OST staff, released Phase 1 of its National Water Program Research 

Needs and

Management Strategy on September 30,2008. The Phase 1 document is a compilation of the research

needed by the National Water Program to successfully achieve the goals and obligations required

by various water-related statutes, regulations and consent decrees, as well as those captured in

the

Agency Strategic Plan. Phase 2 will prioritize the research captured in the Phase 1 document.

 16

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The Phase 1 Strategy:

 • Ensures that the National Water Program's water research,

 science and technology needs are comprehensively identified and

 documented.

 • Expands partnerships and collaborations across EPA, the federal

 research family and the broader research community to meet water

 research needs.

 • Supports commitments to collaborative corporate planning,

 prioritization and research management to meet the environmental

 goals of the National Water Program.

The Phase 1 Strategy helps the National Water Program's partners in several

ways. The strategy helps EPA research partners, such as ORD, align their

research with programmatic research needs. It also helps potential external

partners demonstrate the connection of their research to the interests of

EPA and provide the Agency with a larger pool of potential collaborators.

The strategy also provides the National Water Program with a foundation for

determining priorities and serves as a tool to manage the full portfolio of research needs. 

Phase 2 of the

strategy is anticipated to be available in September 2009.

 

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FISH KIDS EDUCATIONAL WEB SITE

In August 2008, OST launched a new Web site (http://www.epa.gov/

fishadvisories/kids/) to help children and their parents choose the

healthiest fish to eat. The site was selected as the August site of the

month by kids.gov, the official kids' portal for the U.S. government.

Whether they catch their own fish or buy it in a store, children

and their parents can use the Web site to learn how to select fish

that are low in contaminants. The Web site includes stories and

interactive games to teach children ages 8-12 how to recognize

common fish species and use fish advisories.

EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS ABOUT WATER

QUALITY FOR GRADES K-2, 3-5 AND 6-8

OST offers a variety of educational materials for students and teachers. Many are

online and all are available in hard copy from EPA. Of particular interest is "A Day in

the Life of a Drop," a series of worksheets developed in partnership with EPA's Office

of Wastewater Management that are designed to help students understand where
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water comes from, where it goes once it is used and how their water use affects

the environment. These worksheets include a teacher's guide with background

information. OST also offers a tip sheet on ideas for surface water science fair

projects for middle school students and crossword puzzles and other activities for

elementary school students that help them learn the importance of protecting water

quality.

PARTNERSHIP TO PVEDUCE DENTAL AMALGAM DISCHARGES

On December 29,2008, the Office of Water signed a Memorandum of Understanding

(MOU) with the American Dental Association (ADA) and the National Association

of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) to establish and monitor the effectiveness of a

Voluntary Dental Amalgam Discharge Reduction Program. Dental amalgam is used to

restore teeth in dental practices. It is an alloy that contains mercury (approximately

50%) bound together with other metals. The purpose of this MOU is to have dental

offices install and properly maintain amalgam separators and recycle the collected

amalgam waste. The program will also establish performance goals and track

the percentage of dental offices that install and use amalgam separators. This

collaborative effort among EPA, ADA and NACWA will help build awareness and

stress the importance of pollution prevention at the local, state, tribal and national

levels.

To read the MOU, visit www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/dental/files/mou.pdf.

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 EARTH DAY 2008 COLLEGIATE WATER DEBATES

 On April 22,2008, OST hosted students from Howard University,

 Michigan State University, Wake Forest University and 

University of

 Mary Washington to debate the pros and cons of two 

contentious

 topics: (1) whether downstream states should have authority 

to

 control pollution sources from upstream states directly and 

(2)

 whether to fund the replacement of the nation's water 

infrastructure

 through a bottled water tax. Hundreds of EPA employees and 

guests

 gathered to watch and learn from the debates, each of which 

lasted

 90 minutes. The winners were decided by a panel of EPA 

subject

 matter experts. The event also featured a speech by Jeff 

Porro,

 author of the recent hit film The Great Debaters.

 WATER QUALITY STANDARDS ACADEMY

 In 2008 the Water Quality Standards Academy (WQSA) continued its tradition of more than 14 

years,

 providing high-quality training on the components of WQS and related regulatory programs. OST

held

 two courses in the Washington, DC area and one customized course in California during 2008. 

These

 three courses trained 200 federal and state water quality professionals. Additionally, in May

OST

 announced its new multimedia Internet-based training program. The online course makes 

training more

 widely available, easily accessible and cost effective, allowing both the public and WQS 

professionals

 to remain engaged. In 2008,245 people completed the WQSA Online course.

 The WQSA supports standards development by offering online,

 classroom-based and intermediate courses. The online course

 serves as an introduction to WQS, providing preparation for

 the classroom courses. The classroom-style, five-day course 

is

 offered at least twice a year to students with less than six

months

 experience in the field. Students study the interpretation 

and

 application of WQS regulations, policies and program guidance

and

 the development of water quality criteria. After completing 

the basic

 course, students can further their training by taking 

intermediate

 courses offered live via satellite broadcast. In the 

intermediate

 courses, students study related concepts in greater depth 

through

 lecture, discussion and case studies.
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 PROVIDING TRAINING FOR INDIAN TRIBES

 Through EPA's Consolidated and Central Tribal Training program, the Agency seeks to enhance 

tribes'

 abilities to manage water programs. Led by OST staff, this initiative centralizes all of 

EPA's training

 courses that assist tribes with creating and implementing water quality programs consistent 

with the

 Clean Water Act. The program will result in improved tribal access to training and help 

tribes create

 water quality programs that protect surface waters in tribal areas. The consolidation of EPA 

tribal

 training has two phases. Phase 1 began in 2008, resulting in a new EPA Web site that 

organizes existing

 and planned training courses from across the hqency (www.epa.gov/water/tribaltrainingA and 

inclusion

 of tribal members in the group of instructors who teach the Water Quality Standards Academy. 

In Phase

 2 (2009-2012), EPA's Office of Water and the Regions will modify existing training courses 

and create new

 courses to meetunaddressed and additional needs.

20

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 til 2009

Although OST accomplished much in 2008, even more work remains for 2009.

To increase protection of water quality and aquatic ecosystems through

technology-based solutions, OST will finalize the effluent guidelines for the

construction and development industry, propose the second phase of cooling

water intake regulations under CWA section 316(b), revise effluent guidelines

to control the runoff associated with deicing aircraft and runways, publish

a report on drinking water treatment technologies, and publish the 2010

Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan under CWA section 304(m).

In the upcoming year, OST will continue to collaborate with states to

accelerate their adoption of numeric nutrient criteria, publish numeric

nutrient criteria for Florida, support tribes by continuing to build the

Consolidated and Central Tribal Training program, enhance the revised

BEACH Act Grant allocation formula by compiling data on beach mileage to

ensure that distributed funds are used effectively, and improve the Agency's

WQS management targets by decreasing the time necessary to complete

actions on state standards submittals. In addition, OST will explore ways to

help states make incremental progress toward restoration goals for impaired

waters and work to develop tools that will help states address the impacts of climate

change on water quality.

OST will also continue to provide leadership to the National Water Program in science

application. Through research and collaboration, we will progress in developing

recreational criteria, evaluating contaminants of emerging concern, assessing

pollutants in biosolids, and refining ambient water quality criteria; and will continue to

support EPA's Drinking Water Program, particularly in its final release of the CCL3.

OST invites you to track our progress throughout 2009 at www.epa.gov/waterscience/.

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