Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 93 / Wednesday, May 14, 2014 / Notices 27601 

at http://www.regulations.gov or at the 

Office of Pollution Prevention and 

Toxics Docket (OPPT Docket), 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Docket Center (EPA/DC), West William 

Jefferson Clinton Bldg., Rm. 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC. The Public Reading Room is open 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, 

and the telephone number for the OPPT 

Docket is (202) 566–0280. Please review 

the visitor instructions and additional 

information about the docket available 

at http://www.epa.gov/dockets. 

II. What action is the Agency taking? 

Under EPA contract number GS–35F– 

0601K, order number EP–G12H–00442, 

contractor ECS of 2750 Prosperity 

Avenue, Suite 600, Fairfax, VA; Agensys 

Corporation of 23700 Pebble Run Place, 

Suite 100, Ashburn, VA; Apex Systems 

of 5430 Wade Park Boulevard, Suite 

302, Raleigh, NC; and Tek Systems, Inc. 

of 7437 Race Road, Hanover, MD are 

assisting EPA by performing upgrades of 

EZ Tech managed computers at 

Headquarters, Research Triangle Park, 

NC and Cincinnati, OH EPA Program 

Offices. 

In accordance with 40 CFR 2.306(j), 

EPA has determined that under EPA 

contract number GS–35F–0601K, order 

number EP–G12H–00442, ECS and its 

subcontractors required access to CBI 

submitted to EPA under all section(s) of 

TSCA to perform successfully the duties 

specified under the contract. ECS and 

its subcontractors’ personnel were given 

access to information submitted to EPA 

under all section(s) of TSCA. Some of 

the information may have been claimed 

or determined to be CBI. 

EPA is issuing this notice to inform 

all submitters of information under all 

sections of TSCA that EPA has provided 

ECS and its subcontractors access to 

these CBI materials on a need-to-know 

basis only. All access to TSCA CBI 

under this contract is taking place at 

EPA Headquarters, Research Triangle 

Park, NC and Cincinnati, OH in 

accordance with EPA’s TSCA CBI 

Protection Manual. 

Access to TSCA data, including CBI, 

will continue until September 20, 2016. 

If the contract is extended, this access 

will also continue for the duration of the 

extended contract without further 

notice. 

ECS and its subcontractors’ personnel 

have signed nondisclosure agreements 

and were briefed on appropriate 

security procedures before they were 

permitted access to TSCA CBI. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, 

Confidential business information. 

Dated: April 24, 2014. 

Sonchi Tran, 

Acting Director, Information Management 

Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and 

Toxics. 

[FR Doc. 2014–10959 Filed 5–13–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OW–2004–0019; FRL–9910–86– 

OW] 

External Peer Review Draft Aquatic 

Life Ambient Water Quality Criterion 

for Selenium—Freshwater 2014 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency’s (EPA) recommended water 

quality criteria provide technical 

information for states and authorized 

tribes to adopt water quality standards 

under the Clean Water Act to protect 

human health. EPA is announcing the 

release of the External Peer Review Draft 

Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality 

Criterion for Selenium—Freshwater 

2014 (EPA–822–P–14–001) for public 

comment. Following closure of the 

public comment period, an EPA 

contractor will organize and conduct an 

independent expert external letter peer 

review of the draft criterion document. 

Public comments will be made available 

to the peer reviewers for consideration 

during their review. This external peer 

review draft criterion document does 

not represent and should not be 

construed to represent any final EPA 

policy, viewpoint, or determination. 

DATES: The public comment period 

begins on May 14, 2014 and ends on 

June 13, 2014. Scientific views should 

be submitted to the public EPA docket 

by June 13, 2014. Scientific views 

postmarked after this date may not 

receive the same consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your scientific 

views, identified by Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OW–2004–0019, by one of the 

following methods: 

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Email: ow-docket@epa.gov. 

Attention Docket No. EPA–HQ–OW– 

2004–0019. 

• Mail: EPA Water Docket, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Mailcode: 2822–IT, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. 

Attention Docket No. EPA–HQ–OW– 

2004–0019. Please include a total of two 

copies (including references). 

• Hand Delivery: EPA Water Docket, 

EPA Docket Center, William Jefferson 

Clinton West Building, Room 3334, 

1301 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20004, Docket No. 

EPA–HQ–OW–2004–0019. Such 

deliveries are only accepted during the 

Docket’s normal hours of operation, and 

special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: EPA’s policy is that all 

comments received will be included in 

the public docket without change and 

may be made available online at 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through www.regulations.gov 

or email. The www.regulations.gov Web 

site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, 

which means EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless 

you provide it in the body of your 

comment. If you send an email 

comment directly to EPA without going 

through www.regulations.gov your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http://

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

For additional instructions on 

submitting comments, go to Section III 

of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the www.regulations.gov 

index. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., 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 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
27602 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 93 / Wednesday, May 14, 2014 / Notices 

either electronically in 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the EPA–HQ–OW–2004–0019 Docket, 

EPA/DC, William Jefferson Clinton 

Building West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC. The Public Reading Room is open 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, 

and the telephone number for the EPA 

Water Docket is (202) 566–2426. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathryn Gallagher at U.S. EPA, Office of 

Water, Health and Ecological Criteria 

Division (4304T), 1200 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; 

telephone: (202) 564–1398; or email: 

gallagher.kathryn@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. What are recommended water quality 

criteria? 

EPA’s recommended water quality 

criteria are scientifically derived 

numeric values that protect aquatic life 

or human health from the deleterious 

effects of pollutants in ambient water. 

Section 304(a)(1) of the Clean Water 

Act (CWA) requires EPA to develop and 

publish and, from time to time, revise, 

criteria for protection of water quality 

and human health that accurately reflect 

the latest scientific knowledge. Water 

quality criteria developed under section 

304(a) are based solely on data and 

scientific judgments on the relationship 

between pollutant concentrations and 

environmental and human health 

effects. Section 304(a) criteria do not 

reflect consideration of economic 

impacts or the technological feasibility 

of meeting pollutant concentrations in 

ambient water. 

EPA’s recommended Section 304(a) 

criteria provide technical information to 

states and authorized tribes in adopting 

water quality standards that ultimately 

provide a basis for assessing water body 

health and controlling discharges or 

releases of pollutants. Under the CWA 

and its implementing regulations, states 

and authorized tribes are to adopt water 

quality criteria to protect designated 

uses (e.g., public water supply, aquatic 

life, recreational use, or industrial use). 

EPA’s recommended water quality 

criteria do not substitute for the CWA or 

regulations, nor are they regulations 

themselves. EPA’s recommended 

criteria do not impose legally binding 

requirements. States and authorized 

tribes have the discretion to adopt, 

where appropriate, other scientifically 

defensible water quality criteria that 

differ from these recommendations. 

II. What is selenium and why is EPA 

concerned about it? 

Selenium is a naturally occurring 

chemical element that is nutritionally 

essential in small amounts, but toxic at 

higher concentrations. Selenium can be 

released to the environment by a 

number of anthropogenic sources, such 

as coal mining, coal-fired power plants 

(fly ash), irrigated agriculture, and 

phosphate mining. Selenium is a 

bioaccumulative pollutant. Fish and 

other aquatic organisms are exposed and 

accumulate selenium primarily through 

their diet, and not directly through 

water. Selenium toxicity in fish occurs 

primarily through maternal transfer to 

the eggs and subsequent reproductive 

effects. Consequently, EPA is working 

on an update to its national 

recommended chronic aquatic life 

criterion for selenium in freshwater to 

reflect the latest scientific information, 

which indicates that selenium toxicity 

to aquatic life is primarily driven by 

organisms consuming seleniumcontaminated food rather than by being 

directly exposed to selenium dissolved 

in water. 

III. Information on the External Peer 

Review Draft Aquatic Life Ambient 

Water Quality Criterion for Selenium— 

Freshwater 2014 

EPA has prepared an external peer 

review draft aquatic life criterion 

document for selenium based on the 

latest scientific information and current 

EPA policies and methods, including 

EPA’s Guidelines for Deriving 

Numerical National Water Quality 

Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic 

Organisms and Their Uses (1985) (EPA/ 

R–85–100) and Guidelines for Ecological 

Risk Assessment (1998) (EPA/630/R–95/ 

002F). Toxicity data and other 

information on the effects of selenium 

were obtained from reliable sources and 

subjected to both internal, and in some 

cases external, peer review. Public 

comments previously collected in 

response to EPA’s 2004 notice of 

availability (published on December 17, 

2004 at 69 FR 75541) and new toxicity 

data for selenium developed in response 

to those comments (EPA–822–F–08– 

005) were also considered in the 

development of the external peer review 

draft criterion document. 

The external peer review draft 

criterion has four elements, consisting 

of two fish tissue-based and two water 

column-based elements. The external 

peer review draft criterion document 

contains a recommendation that states 

and authorized tribes adopt into their 

water quality standards a selenium 

criterion that includes all four elements. 

The draft criterion document goes on to 

recommend that (because fish tissuebased concentration is a more direct 

measure of selenium toxicity to aquatic 

life than water column concentrations) 

fish tissue elements be given precedence 

over the water column elements when 

both types of data are available. 

The available data indicate that 

freshwater aquatic life would be 

protected from the toxic effects of 

selenium by applying the following 

four-element criterion: 

1. The concentration of selenium in 

the eggs or ovaries of fish does not 

exceed 15.2 mg/kg, dry weight; 1

2. The concentration of selenium (a) 

in whole-body of fish does not exceed 

8.1 mg/kg dry weight, or (b) in muscle 

tissue of fish (skinless, boneless fillet) 

does not exceed 11.8 mg/kg dry 

weight; 2

3. The 30-day average concentration 

of selenium in water does not exceed 

4.8 mg/L in lotic (flowing) waters and 1.3 

mg/L in lentic (standing) waters more 

than once in three years on average; 3

4. The intermittent concentration of 

selenium in either a lentic or lotic 

water, as appropriate, does not exceed 

more than once in three years on 

average.3 4


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 93 / Wednesday, May 14, 2014 / Notices 27603 

The draft criterion document does not 

include a draft acute criterion (based on 

water-only exposure) because selenium 

is bioaccumulative and toxicity 

primarily occurs through dietary 

exposure. If there are rare instances 

where selenium sources could cause 

acute effects while attaining the chronic 

criterion concentrations, a pollution 

control authority could establish a sitespecific acute criterion to protect from 

those effects. 

Following closure of the public 

comment period, a contractor will 

organize and lead an external expert 

peer review conducted by letter. The 

peer reviewers will have access to 

public comments received in the official 

public docket for this activity under 

docket ID number EPA–HQ–OW–2004– 

0019. Following peer review, EPA will 

consider the peer reviewer and public 

comments, revise the document as 

necessary, and publish a Federal 

Register notice announcing the 

availability of the draft proposed 

selenium criterion and soliciting 

scientific views for 30 days from the 

public. EPA will then revise the 

document again and issue a final 

updated selenium criterion document. 

IV. What is the relationship between 

the external peer review draft water 

quality criterion and your state or tribal 

water quality standards? 

As part of the water quality standards 

triennial review process defined in 

section 303(c)(1) of the CWA, the states 

and authorized tribes are responsible for 

maintaining and revising water quality 

standards. Water quality standards 

consist of designated uses, water quality 

criteria to protect those uses, a policy 

for antidegradation, and may include 

general policies for application and 

implementation. Section 303(c)(1) 

requires states and authorized tribes to 


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27604 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 93 / Wednesday, May 14, 2014 / Notices 

review and modify, if appropriate, their 

water quality standards at least once 

every three years. 

States and authorized tribes must 

adopt water quality criteria that protect 

designated uses. Protective criteria are 

based on a sound scientific rationale 

and contain sufficient parameters or 

constituents to protect the designated 

uses. Criteria may be expressed in either 

narrative or numeric form. States and 

authorized tribes have four options 

when adopting water quality criteria for 

which EPA has published section 304(a) 

criteria. They can: 

(1) Establish numerical values based 

on recommended section 304(a) criteria; 

(2) Adopt section 304(a) criteria 

modified to reflect site-specific 

conditions; 

(3) Adopt criteria derived using other 

scientifically defensible methods; or 

(4) Establish narrative criteria where 

numeric criteria cannot be established 

or to supplement numerical criteria (40 

CFR 131.11(b)). 

EPA believes that it is important for 

states and authorized tribes to consider 

any new or updated section 304(a) 

criteria as part of their triennial review 

to ensure that state or tribal water 

quality standards reflect current science 

and protect applicable designated uses. 

The recommendations in the external 

peer review draft selenium criterion 

document may change based on 

scientific views shared in response to 

this notice and those of the external 

peer reviewers. Upon finalization, the 

updated selenium criterion would 

supersede EPA’s previous 304(a) 

freshwater criteria for selenium. 

Consistent with 40 CFR 131.21, new 

or revised water quality criteria adopted 

into law or regulation by states and 

authorized tribes on or after May 30, 

2000 are in effect for CWA purposes 

only after EPA approval. 

Dated: May 6, 2014. 

Nancy K. Stoner, 

Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of 

Water. 

[FR Doc. 2014–11080 Filed 5–13–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9910–90–OA] 

Notification of a Public Teleconference 

of the Chartered Science Advisory 

Board 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory 

Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a 

public teleconference of the Chartered 

Science Advisory Board Panel to 

discuss planned actions identified in 

the agency’s regulatory agenda and the 

adequacy of their supporting science. 

DATES: The public teleconference will 

be held on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 

from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Eastern 

Time). 

Location: The public teleconference 

will be conducted by telephone only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any 

member of the public wishing to obtain 

information concerning the public 

meeting may contact Dr. Angela Nugent, 

Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA 

Science Advisory Board Staff Office 

(1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20460; by 

telephone/voice mail at (202) 564–2218 

or at nugent.angela@epa.gov. General 

information about the SAB as well as 

any updates concerning the meeting 

announced in this notice may be found 

on the EPA Web site at http://

www.epa.gov/sab. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SAB 

was established pursuant to the 

Environmental Research, Development, 

and Demonstration Authorization Act 

(ERDDAA), codified at 42 U.S.C. 4365, 

to provide independent scientific and 

technical advice to the Administrator on 

the technical basis for Agency positions 

and regulations. The SAB is a Federal 

Advisory Committee chartered under 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), 5 U.S.C., App. 2. The SAB will 

comply with the provisions of FACA 

and all appropriate SAB Staff Office 

procedural policies. Pursuant to FACA 

and EPA policy, notice is hereby given 

that the SAB will hold a public meeting 

to discuss and deliberate on the topics 

below. 

The EPA has recently underscored the 

need to routinely inform the SAB about 

proposed and planned agency actions 

that have a scientific or technical basis. 

Accordingly, the agency provided notice 

to the SAB that the Fall 2013 Unified 

(Regulatory) Agenda and Regulatory 

Plan had been published on November 

26, 2013. This semi-annual regulatory 

agenda is available at http://

www.reginfo.gov/public/. At the June 11, 

2014 teleconference, the Chartered SAB 

will discuss whether it should provide 

advice and comment on the adequacy of 

the scientific and technical basis for 

EPA actions included in the Unified 

(Regulatory) Agenda. 

Availability of Meeting Materials: 

Agendas and materials in support of this 

meeting will be placed on the EPA Web 

site at http://www.epa.gov/sab in 

advance of the meeting. 

Procedures for Providing Public Input: 

Public comment for consideration by 

EPA’s federal advisory committees and 

panels has a different purpose from 

public comment provided to EPA 

program offices. Therefore, the process 

for submitting comments to a federal 

advisory committee is different from the 

process used to submit comments to an 

EPA program office. 

Federal advisory committees and 

panels, including scientific advisory 

committees, provide independent 

advice to EPA. Members of the public 

can submit comments for a federal 

advisory committee to consider as it 

develops advice for EPA. Input from the 

public to the SAB will have the most 

impact if it provides specific scientific 

or technical information or analysis for 

SAB panels to consider or if it relates to 

the clarity or accuracy of the technical 

information. Members of the public 

wishing to provide comment should 

contact the Designated Federal Officer 

directly. Oral Statements: In general, 

individuals or groups requesting an oral 

presentation at a teleconference will be 

limited to three minutes. Each person 

making an oral statement should 

consider providing written comments as 

well as their oral statement so that the 

points presented orally can be expanded 

upon in writing. Interested parties 

should contact Dr. Angela Nugent, DFO, 

in writing (preferably via email) at the 

contact information noted above by June 

4, 2014 for the teleconference, to be 

placed on the list of public speakers. 

Written Statements: Written statements 

should be supplied to the DFO via email 

at the contact information noted above 

by June 4, 2014 for the teleconference so 

that the information may be made 

available to the Panel members for their 

consideration. Written statements 

should be supplied in one of the 

following electronic formats: Adobe 

Acrobat PDF, MS Word, MS 

PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM– 

PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format. It is 

the SAB Staff Office general policy to 

post written comments on the Web page 

for the advisory meeting or 

teleconference. Submitters are requested 

to provide an unsigned version of each 

document because the SAB Staff Office 

does not publish documents with 

signatures on its Web sites. Members of 

the public should be aware that their 

personal contact information, if 

included in any written comments, may 

be posted to the SAB Web site. 

Copyrighted material will not be posted 

without explicit permission of the 

copyright holder. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES