52192 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 163 / Thursday, August 22, 2013 / Notices 

$528,379, calculated from the prior 

collection approved by OMB. 

John Moses, 

Director, Collection Strategies Division. 

[FR Doc. 2013–20458 Filed 8–21–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OW–2009–0921; FRL–9810–4] 

Final Aquatic Life Ambient Water 

Quality Criteria For Ammonia— 

Freshwater 2013 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability of final 

criteria. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 304(a) of 

the Clean Water Act (CWA), the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

is announcing the availability of final 

national recommended ambient water 

quality criteria for the protection of 

aquatic life from effects of ammonia in 

freshwater (EPA 822–R–13–001). The 

final criteria incorporate the latest 

scientific knowledge on the toxicity of 

ammonia to freshwater aquatic life. On 

December 30, 2009, EPA published draft 

national recommended water quality 

criteria for ammonia and provided the 

public an opportunity to provide 

scientific views. Aquatic life criteria are 

developed based on EPA’s Guidelines 

for Deriving Numerical National Water 

Quality Criteria for the Protection of 

Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses 

(1985), (EPA/R–85–100). EPA’s 

recommended section 304(a) water 

quality criteria provide guidance to 

States and authorized Tribes in adopting 

water quality standards for protecting 

aquatic life and human health. EPA’s 

recommended water quality criteria by 

themselves have no binding legal effect. 

These national recommended criteria 

for ammonia in freshwater are intended 

to protect aquatic life and do not 

address human health toxicity data. The 

water quality criteria for ammonia for 

the protection of saltwater organisms are 

not being updated at this time. EPA’s 

national recommended final acute 

ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) 

for protecting freshwater organisms 

from potential effects of ammonia is 17 

mg/L total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) and 

the final chronic AWQC for ammonia is 

1.9 mg/L TAN at pH 7.0 and 

temperature 20 °C. 

ADDRESSES: Scientific views received 

from the public on the draft ammonia 

criteria documents are available from 

the EPA Docket Center and are 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OW–2009–0921. They may be accessed 

online at: 

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions. 

• Email: OW-Docket@epa.gov. 

• Mail: US Environmental Protection 

Agency; EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) 

Water Docket, MC 2822T; 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20460. 

• On Site: EPA Docket Center, 1301 

Constitution Ave. NW., EPA West, 

Room 3334, Washington, DC. This 

Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. 

until 4:30 p.m., EST, Monday through 

Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 

telephone number for the Public 

Reading Room is (202) 566–1744, and 

the telephone number for the Office of 

Water is (202) 566–2426. 

For additional information about 

EPA’s public docket visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http://

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa 

Huff, Health and Ecological Criteria 

Division (4304T), U.S. EPA, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20460; (202) 566–0787; huff.lisa@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. What are water quality criteria? 

Water quality criteria are either 

narrative descriptions of water quality 

or 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. 

Section 304(a) criteria provide 

guidance 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. Thus, 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 ammonia and why is EPA 

concerned about it? 

Ammonia is a constituent of nitrogen 

pollution. Unlike other forms of 

nitrogen, which can cause 

eutrophication of a water body at 

elevated concentrations, the primary 

concern with ammonia is its direct toxic 

effects on aquatic life, which are 

exacerbated by elevated pH and 

temperature. Ammonia is considered 

one of the most important pollutants in 

the aquatic environment not only 

because of its highly toxic nature and 

occurrence in surface water systems, but 

also because many effluents have to be 

treated in order to keep the 

concentrations of ammonia in surface 

waters from being unacceptably high. 

Ammonia can enter the aquatic 

environment via direct means such as 

municipal effluent discharges and the 

excretion of nitrogenous wastes from 

animals, and indirect means such as 

nitrogen fixation, air deposition, and 

runoff from agricultural lands. 

III. What are the 2013 ammonia criteria 

recommendations? 

EPA is today publishing final national 

recommended ambient water quality 

criteria for protecting freshwater aquatic 

life for ammonia. These final criteria 

updates are based on EPA’s Guidelines 

for Deriving Numerical National Water 

Quality Criteria for the Protection of 

Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses 

(1985), (EPA/R–85–100). These 

Guidelines describe the Agency’s 

current approach for deriving national 

recommended water quality criteria to 

protect aquatic life. The latest toxicity 

data and other information on the 

effects of ammonia on freshwater 

aquatic life were obtained from reliable 

sources and subjected to both internal 

and external scientific peer review. The 

national recommended water quality 

criteria for ammonia in saltwater are not 

being updated at this time. 

The available data for ammonia, 

evaluated in accordance with EPA’s 

Guidelines for Deriving Numerical 

National Water Quality Criteria for the 

Protection of Aquatic Organisms and 

Their Uses (1985), indicate that 

freshwater aquatic animals would have 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 163 / Thursday, August 22, 2013 / Notices 52193 

an appropriate level of protection if the 

following are attained: 

Freshwater: Freshwater aquatic 

organisms and their uses should not be 

affected unacceptably if— 

1. The one-hour average concentration 

of total ammonia nitrogen (in mg TAN/ 

L) does not exceed, more than once 

every three years on the average, the 

criterion maximum concentration (i.e., 

the ‘‘CMC,’’ or ‘‘acute criterion’’). 

2A. The thirty-day average 

concentration of total ammonia nitrogen 

(in mg TAN/L) does not exceed, more 

than once every three years on the 

average, the criterion continuous 

concentration (i.e., the ‘‘CCC,’’ or 

‘‘chronic criterion’’). 

2B. In addition, the highest four-day 

average within the 30-day period should 

not exceed 2.5 times the CCC, more than 

once every three years on the average. 

The acute and chronic criteria 

concentrations are expressed as 

functions of temperature and pH, such 

that values differ across sites, and differ 

over time within a site. The criteria 

document describes the relationship 

between ammonia and these water 

quality factors and provides tables 

showing how the criteria value changes 

with varying pH and temperatures. As 

temperature decreases, freshwater 

invertebrates, but not fish, become less 

sensitive to ammonia, and below a 

particular temperature threshold (i.e., 

15.7 °C for the CMC and 7 °C for the 

CCC), fish become more sensitive than 

invertebrates. 

Acute Criteria: At pH 7, the CMC 

ranges from 7.3 mg TAN/L at 30 °C to 24 

mg TAN/L at 0 °C. 

Chronic Criteria: At pH 7, the CCC 

ranges from 0.99 mg TAN/L at 30 °C to 

4.4 mg TAN/L at 0 °C. 

2013 FINAL ALC CRITERIA FOR

AMMONIA

(Magnitude, Frequency, and Duration) 

(mg TAN/L) 

pH 7.0, T=20 °C 

Acute (1-hour average) .................. 17 

Chronic (30-day rolling average) .... *1 .9 

* Not to exceed 2.5 times the CCC as a 4- 

day average within the 30-days, i.e. 4.8 mg 

TAN/L at pH 7 and 20 °C more than once in 3 

years on average. 

Criteria frequency: Not to be exceeded more 

than once in 3 years on average. 

Note: These criteria values are appropriate 

at the standard normalized pH and 

temperature of pH 7.0, a temperature of 20 °C; 

ammonia criteria are a function pH and 

temperature. 

IV. What new data have been included 

in the 2013 ammonia criteria 

recommendations? 

Since the publication of the 1999 

Update of Ambient Water Quality 

Criteria for Ammonia (EPA–822–R–99– 

014), numerous new scientific studies 

were published indicating that 

freshwater mussels are more sensitive to 

ammonia than the organisms 

represented in the 1999 criteria dataset, 

and that snails, another freshwater 

mollusk group, are also sensitive to 

ammonia. EPA evaluated the new 

toxicity data per EPA’s 1985 Guidelines 

for deriving aquatic life criteria 

(Stephan et al., 1985) and incorporated 

the acceptable data in calculating the 

final criteria for ammonia. The final 

recommended acute and chronic criteria 

for ammonia presented in this 

document are protective of the aquatic 

community, including freshwater 

mollusks. 

V. What is the relationship between the 

ammonia criteria recommendations 

and state or tribal water quality 

criteria? 

Water quality standards consist of 

three principal elements: Designated 

uses, water quality criteria to protect 

those uses, and antidegradation 

requirements, providing for protection 

of existing water uses and limitations on 

degradation of high quality waters. 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 developing, maintaining and 

revising water quality standards. 

Section 303(c)(1) requires States and 

authorized Tribes to review and modify, 

if appropriate, their water quality 

standards at least once every three 

years. 

States and authorized Tribes must 

adopt water quality criteria into their 

water quality standards that protect 

designated uses. States may develop 

their criteria based on EPA’s 

recommended section 304(a) water 

quality criteria or other scientifically 

defensible methods. A state’s criteria 

must contain sufficient parameters or 

constituents to protect the designated 

uses. Consistent with 40 CFR 131.21, 

new or revised water quality criteria 

adopted into law by States and 

authorized Tribes on or after May 30, 

2000 are in effect for CWA purposes 

only after EPA approval. 

States and authorized Tribes may also 

develop site-specific criteria for 

particular waterbodies as appropriate, 

following EPA procedures described in 

the Guidelines for Deriving Numerical 

Aquatic Site-Specific Water Quality 

Criteria by Modifying National Criteria 

(USEPA, 1984f). A site-specific criterion 

is intended to come closer than the 

national criterion to providing the 

intended level of protection to the 

aquatic life at that particular site, 

usually by taking into account the 

biological and/or chemical conditions 

(i.e., the species composition and/or 

water quality characteristics) at that site. 

If data in the national criterion 

document and/or from other sources 

indicated that the site’s resident species 

range of sensitivity is different from that 

for the species in the national criterion 

document, States and authorized Tribes 

can develop site-specific criteria 

following the Revised Deletion Process 

for the Site-Specific Recalculation 

Procedure for Aquatic Life Criteria (EPA 

823–R–13–001). For example, if 

freshwater mussel species are not 

resident at a site, the Revised Deletion 

Process for the Site-Specific 

Recalculation Procedure for Aquatic 

Life Criteria might be used to recalculate 

the criteria without these species. 

VI. Where can I find more information 

about water quality criteria and water 

quality standards? 

The EPA has developed supporting 

documents to aid states considering 

adoption of the 2013 recommended 

ammonia criteria. Flexibilities for States 

Applying EPA’s Ammonia Criteria 

Recommendations (EPA 800–F–13–001) 

provides an overview of a number of 

flexibilities available for state 

consideration, including the Revised 

Deletion Process for the Site-Specific 

Recalculation Procedure for Aquatic 

Life Criteria mentioned above, 

variances, revisions to designated uses, 

dilution allowances, and compliance 

schedules. The document describes how 

each of these flexibilities fits within a 

state’s water quality standards adoption 

and implementation process. 

For more information about water 

quality criteria and water quality 

standards refer to the following: Water 

Quality Standards Handbook (EPA 823– 

B94–005a); Advanced Notice of 

Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM), 

(63FR36742); Water Quality Criteria and 

Standards Plan—Priorities for the 

Future (EPA 822–R–98–003); Guidelines 

and Methodologies Used in the 

Preparation of Health Effects 

Assessment Chapters of the Consent 

Decree Water Criteria Documents 

(45FR79347); Methodology for Deriving 

Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the 

Protection of Human Health (2000), 

EPA–822–B–00–004); Guidelines for 

Deriving Numerical National Water 

Quality Criteria for the Protection of 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
52194 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 163 / Thursday, August 22, 2013 / Notices 

Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses 

(EPA 822/R–85–100); National Strategy 

for the Development of Regional 

Nutrient Criteria (EPA 822–R–98–002); 

and EPA Review and Approval of State 

and Tribal Water Quality Standards 

(65FR24641). 

You can find these publications 

through EPA’s National Service Center 

for Environmental Publications (NSCEP, 

previously NCEPI) or on the Office of 

Science and Technology’s Home-page 

(http://www.epa.gov/waterscience). 

Dated: April 30, 2013. 

Nancy K. Stoner, 

Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of 

Water. 

[FR Doc. 2013–20307 Filed 8–21–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection 

Renewal; Comment Request 

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation (FDIC). 

ACTION: Notice and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The FDIC, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites the 

general public and other Federal 

agencies to take this opportunity to 

comment on the renewal of existing 

information collections, as required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. chapter 35). Currently, the 

FDIC is soliciting comment on renewal 

of the information collections described 

below. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before October 21, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are 

invited to submit written comments to 

the FDIC by any of the following 

methods: 

• http://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/

laws/federal/notices.html. 

• Email: comments@fdic.gov. Include 

the name of the collection in the subject 

line of the message. 

• Mail: Gary A. Kuiper 

(202.898.3877), Counsel, Room NYA– 

5046, Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation, 550 17th Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20429. 

• Hand Delivery: Comments may be 

hand-delivered to the guard station at 

the rear of the 17th Street Building 

(located on F Street), on business days 

between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. 

All comments should refer to the 

relevant OMB control number. A copy 

of the comments may also be submitted 

to the OMB desk officer for the FDIC: 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, New Executive Office Building, 

Washington, DC 20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary 

A. Kuiper, at the FDIC address above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposal to renew the following 

currently-approved collections of 

information: 

1. Title: Interagency Guidance on 

Asset Securitization. 

OMB Number: 3064–0137. 

Form Number: None. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Affected Public: Insured State 

Nonmember Banks. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

22. 

Estimated Time per Response: 7.5 

hours. 

Total estimated annual burden: 164 

hours. 

General Description of Collection: The 

Interagency Guidance on Asset 

Securitization Activities informs 

bankers and examiners of safe and 

sound practices regarding asset 

securitization. The information 

collections contained in the Interagency 

Guidance are needed by institutions to 

manage their asset securitization 

activities in a safe and sound manner. 

Bank managements use this information 

as the basis for the safe and sound 

operation of their asset securitization 

activities and to ensure that they 

minimize operational risk in these 

activities. 

2. OMB Number: 3064–0148. 

Form Number: None. 

Frequency of Response: Annual. 

Affected Public: Insured State 

Nonmember Banks. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 6 

Estimated Time per Response: 25 

hours. 

Total estimated annual burden: 150 

hours. 

General Description of Collection: The 

Interagency Statement on Sound 

Practices Concerning Complex 

Structured Finance Transactions 

describes the types of internal controls 

and risk management procedures that 

the Agencies believe are particularly 

effective in assisting financial 

institutions to identify and address the 

reputational, legal, and other risks 

associated with complex structured 

finance transactions. 

3. Title: Reverse Mortgage Products 

Guidance. 

OMB Number: 3064–0176. 

Form Number: None. 

Frequency of Response: Annual. 

Affected Public: Insured State 

Nonmember Banks. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

48. 

Estimated Time per Response: 8 

hours. 

Total estimated annual burden: 384 

hours. 

General Description of Collection: The 

guidance sets forth standards intended 

to ensure that insured depository 

institutions effectively assess and 

manage the compliance and reputation 

risks associated with reverse mortgage 

products. 

Request for Comment 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the collections of information are 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the FDIC’s functions, including whether 

the information has practical utility; (b) 

the accuracy of the estimates of the 

burden of the information collection, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the information collection on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

All comments will become a matter of 

public record. 

Dated at Washington, DC, this 19th day of 

August 2013. 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

Robert E. Feldman, 

Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2013–20486 Filed 8–21–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6714–01–P 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

Change in Bank Control Notices; 

Acquisitions of Shares of a Bank or 

Bank Holding Company 

The notificants listed below have 

applied under the Change in Bank 

Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and 

§ 225.41 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12 

CFR 225.41) to acquire shares of a bank 

or bank holding company. The factors 

that are considered in acting on the 

notices are set forth in paragraph 7 of 

the Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)). 

The notices are available for 

immediate inspection at the Federal 

Reserve Bank indicated. The notices 

also will be available for inspection at 

the offices of the Board of Governors. 

Interested persons may express their 

views in writing to the Reserve Bank 

indicated for that notice or to the offices 

of the Board of Governors. Comments 

must be received not later than 

September 6, 2013. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES