Notice of Availability of Draft Nutrient Criteria Technical Guidance Manual: Wetlands, 75247-75249 [E6-21287]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 240 / Thursday, December 14, 2006 / Notices
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table 2 of this unit includes the name
and address of record for the registrant
of the product in Table 1 of this unit.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides
and pests, Acid Copper Chromate, ACC.
TABLE 2.—REGISTRANT OF AFFECTED
ACC PRODUCT REGISTRATION
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone
number: (703) 308-6422; fax number:
(703) 308-8481; e-mail address:
heyward.adam@epa.gov.
Dated: December 7, 2006.
Dennis H. Edwards,
Acting Director, Antimicrobials Division,
Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. E6–21400 Filed 12–13–06; 8:45 am]
I. General Information
EPA company
no.
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public
in general, and may be of interest to a
wide range of stakeholders including
environmental, human health, and
agricultural advocates; the chemical
industry; pesticide users; and members
of the public interested in the sale,
distribution, or use of pesticides. Since
others also may be interested, the
Agency has not attempted to describe all
the specific entities that may be affected
by this action. If you have any questions
regarding the applicability of this action
to a particular entity, consult the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
B. How Can I Get Copies of this
Document and Other Related
Information?
1. Docket. EPA has established a
docket for this action under docket
identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–
OPP–2006–0606. Publicly available
docket materials are available either in
the electronic docket at https://
www.regulations.gov, or, if only
available in hard copy, at the Office of
Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory
Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One
Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 S.
Crystal Drive Arlington, VA. The hours
of operation of this Docket Facility are
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The Docket telephone number
is (703) 305-5805.
2. Electronic access. You may access
this Federal Register document
electronically through the EPA Internet
under the ‘‘Federal Register’’ listings at
https://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr.
II. What Action is the Agency Taking?
This notice announces the Agency’s
order implementing EPA’s approval of
OSMOSE’s request to terminate all
residential uses of its ACC product
registration. The affected registration is
identified in Table 1.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
TABLE 1.-ACC-AFFECTED PRODUCT
REGISTRATION
EPA registration no.
3008-60
VerDate Aug<31>2005
Product name
AC 50% Wood Preservative
17:54 Dec 13, 2006
Jkt 211000
75247
Osmose, Inc.
Company name and address
980 Ellicott Street
Buffalo, NY 14209-2398
III. Summary of Public Comments
Received and Agency Response to
Comments
Only one public comment was
received, which is posted on the docket.
This comment addressed the
commenter’s concerns about the ACC
registration in general. The Agency does
not believe that the comment submitted
during the comment period merits
further review of OSMOSE’s request nor
a denial of the request for use
termination.
IV. Cancellation Order
Pursuant to FIFRA section 6(f), EPA
approved the use termination for the
affected ACC registration identified in
Table 1 of Unit II. on October 17, 2006.
The Agency hereby orders that the ACC
product registration identified in Table
1 of Unit II. is amended to terminate the
affected uses. Any distribution, sale, or
use of existing stocks of the products
identified in Table 1 of Unit II. in a
manner inconsistent with any of the
Provisions for Disposition of Existing
Stocks set forth below in Unit VI will be
considered a violation of FIFRA.
V. What is the Agency’s Authority for
Taking this Action?
Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA provides that
a registrant of a pesticide product may
at any time request that any of its
pesticide registrations be canceled or
amended to terminate one or more uses.
FIFRA further provides that, before
acting on the request, EPA must publish
a notice of receipt of any such request
in the Federal Register. Thereafter,
following the public comment period,
the Administrator may approve such a
request.
VI. Provisions for Disposition of
Existing Stocks
Existing stocks are those stocks of
registered pesticide products which are
currently in the United States and
which were packaged, labeled, and
released for shipment prior to the
effective date of the cancellation action.
The order issued in this notice
implementing the use terminations
includes no existing stocks provisions.
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BILLING CODE 6560–50–S
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OW–2006–0826; FRL–8256–1]
Notice of Availability of Draft Nutrient
Criteria Technical Guidance Manual:
Wetlands
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: EPA announces the
availability of a draft nutrient criteria
technical guidance manual for wetlands.
This document provides State and
Tribal water quality managers and
others with information on how to
develop numeric nutrient criteria for
wetlands as State or tribal law or
regulation; however, the document does
not contain site-specific numeric
nutrient criteria. EPA is soliciting
information, data, and views on issues
of science pertaining to the information
the Agency used to develop this
document. While this document
contains EPA’s scientific
recommendations regarding defensible
approaches for developing regional
nutrient criteria, this guidance does not
substitute for Clean Water Act (CWA) or
EPA regulations, nor is it a regulation.
It does not impose legally binding
requirements on the EPA, States,
territories, authorized tribes, or the
regulated community. State and tribal
decision makers have discretion to
adopt water quality standards that use
approaches that differ from EPA’s
recommendations.
DATES: Scientific views, data, and
information should be submitted by
February 12, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit scientific
information, data, or views, identified
by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–2006–
0826, by one of the following methods:
• https://www.regulations.gov: Follow
the on-line instructions for submitting
information.
• E-mail: ow-docket@epa.gov.
• Mail: Water Docket, Environmental
Protection Agency, Mail code: 4101T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460. Please include a
total of four copies.
E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM
14DEN1
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
75248
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 240 / Thursday, December 14, 2006 / Notices
• Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center
(EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20460. Please include a total of four
copies. 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: Direct your scientific
information, data, or views, to Docket ID
No. EPA–HQ–OW–2006–0826. EPA’s
policy is that all information 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 it 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 ow-docket@epa.gov. 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
information. If you send an e-mail
directly to EPA without going through
www.regulations gov your e-mail
address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the information
that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the Internet. If you
submit information electronically, EPA
recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in
the body of your information and with
any disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA
cannot read your information due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact
you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your information.
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 https://
www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
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., information claimed to be
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
either electronically in
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the Water Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC. The Public
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:54 Dec 13, 2006
Jkt 211000
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 Water Docket is (202)
566–2426.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
Amy Parker, Health and Ecological
Criteria Division (4304T), U.S. EPA,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; phone (202)
566–1341; fax (202) 566–1139; e-mail
parker.amy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does This Action Apply to Me?
Entities potentially interested in
today’s notice are those that discharge
or release nitrogen and phosphorus to
surface waters, and Federal, State, tribal,
and local authorities that establish water
quality standards for surface water.
Categories and entities interested in
today’s notice include but are not
limited to:
Category
Examples of potentially affected entities
State/Local/Tribal
Government.
Industry .....................
States, municipalities,
tribes.
Fertilizer manufacturers.
Animal feeding operations, fertilized
row crop operations.
Agriculture .................
This table is not intended to be
exhaustive. Other types of entities not
listed in the table may also be
interested.
2. Tips for Preparing Your
Information, Data, or Views. When
submitting scientific information, data
or views, please remember to:
∑ Identify the docket number and
other identifying information (subject
heading, Federal Register date and page
number).
∑ Explain why you agree or disagree;
suggest alternatives and substitute
language for your requested changes.
∑ Describe any assumptions and
provide any technical information and/
or data that you used.
∑ If you estimate potential costs or
burdens, explain how you arrived at
your estimate in sufficient detail to
allow for it to be reproduced.
∑ Provide specific examples to
illustrate your concerns, and suggest
alternatives.
∑ Explain your views as clearly as
possible.
∑ Make sure to submit your
information comments by the deadline
identified.
C. How Can I Get Copies of the Draft
Document and Related Information?
Copies of the complete document
entitled Nutrient Criteria Technical
Guidance Manual: Wetlands (EPA–823–
B–05–003) may be obtained from EPA’s
National Service Center for
Environmental Publications (NSCEP) by
phone at (513) 489–8190 or toll free
(800) 490–9198, or by e-mail to
ncepiwo@one.net, or by conventional
mail to 11029 Kenwood Road,
Cincinnati, OH 45242. You can also
download the document from EPA’s
Web site at https://www.epa.gov/
waterscience/nutrient.html, or from the
docket.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare
My Scientific Information, Data or
Views for EPA?
II. Today’s Notice
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI
information to EPA through
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly
identify the specific information that
you claim to be CBI. For CBI
information in a disk or CD ROM that
you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the
disk or CD ROM as CBI and then
identify electronically within the disk or
CD ROM the specific information that is
claimed as CBI). In addition to one
complete version of the comment that
includes information claimed as CBI, a
copy of the comment that does not
contain the information claimed as CBI
must be submitted for inclusion in the
public docket. Information so marked
will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in
40 CFR part 2.
Nutrients, or more specifically,
nitrogen and phosphorus, are found in
nature. They are also found in water as
a result of anthropogenic sources
including runoff from fertilized
agriculture or residential grounds,
municipal wastewater treatment plants,
animal farming practices, and for
nitrogen, from atmospheric deposition.
Human activities can increase runoff
from the land surface and increase the
input of nutrients into surface waters,
including wetlands.
The addition of plant nutrients
stimulates the growth of algae and other
plants which in turn stimulates fish and
other organisms in the food web. When
nutrients accumulate in excessive
quantities, they can cause detrimental
changes in water quality, in the aquatic
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
A. What Are Nutrients and Why Are We
Concerned About Them?
E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM
14DEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 240 / Thursday, December 14, 2006 / Notices
life that depends on those waters, and
in human uses of that water. This
phenomenon is called eutrophication.
Eutrophication of United States surface
waters is a long standing-problem.
Eutrophication due to excessive
nutrients is one of the top five causes of
waterbody impairment in the U.S.,
according to information provided by
states on their CWA section 303(d) lists.
Chronic symptoms of over-enrichment
include low dissolved oxygen, fish kills,
cloudy murky water, and depletion of
desirable flora and fauna.
Within wetlands chronic symptoms of
over-enrichment include low dissolved
oxygen, fish kills, increased sediment
accumulation, and species and
abundance shifts of flora and fauna. The
problem is national in scope, but varies
in nature from one region of the country
to another due to geographical
variations in geology and soil types.
B. What Has EPA Done To Develop
Criteria for Nutrients?
In 1998, EPA published a report
entitled ‘‘National Strategy for the
Development of Regional Nutrient
Criteria.’’ This report outlined a
framework for development of
waterbody-specific technical guidance
that can be used to assess nutrient status
and develop region-specific numeric
nutrient criteria. We have already
released the companion Nutrient
Criteria Technical Guidance Manuals
for Rivers and Streams (2000), Lakes
and Reservoirs (2000), and Estuarine
and Coastal Marine Waters (2001). The
document presented here is the
wetland-specific technical guidance for
developing numeric nutrient criteria.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
C. What Is Included in the Draft
Guidance?
The guidance explains how to
consider water, vegetation and soil
conditions to develop regionally-based
numeric nutrient criteria for wetland
systems. While the manual does not
provide specific recommendations for
nutrient criteria, it does give EPA’s
recommendations on defensible
technical approaches for developing
regional nutrient criteria. This
document provides elements considered
important to criteria development
including Classification, Sampling
Design and Criteria Development
(setting a benchmark).
1. Classification of Wetlands
Classification strategies for nutrient
criteria development can include
physiographic regions,
hydrogeomorphic class, water depth
and duration, and/or vegetation type or
zone. Choosing a specific classification
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:54 Dec 13, 2006
Jkt 211000
scheme will depend on practical
considerations, such as: Whether a
classification scheme is available in
mapped digital form or can be readily
derived from existing map layers;
whether a hydrogeomorphic or other
classification scheme has been refined
for a particular region and wetland type;
and whether classification schemes are
already in use for monitoring and
assessment of other water body types in
a state or region.
2. Sampling Design
Three sampling designs for new
wetland monitoring programs are
described including: stratified random
sampling, targeted/tiered approach, and
BACI (Before/After, Control/Impact).
These approaches are designed to allow
one to obtain a significant amount of
information for statistical analyses with
relatively minimal effort. Sampling
efforts should be designed to collect
information that will answer
management questions in a way that
will allow robust statistical analysis. In
addition, site selection, characterization
of reference sites or systems, and
identification of appropriate index
periods are all of particular concern
when selecting an appropriate sampling
design. Careful selection of sampling
design will allow the best use of
financial resources and will result in the
collection of high quality data for
evaluation of the wetland resources of a
State or Tribe.
3. Criteria Development
Several methods can be used to
develop numeric nutrient criteria for
wetlands; they include but are not
limited to three criteria development
methods that are detailed in this
document: (1) Identification of reference
systems for each established wetland
type and class based on either best
professional judgment (BPJ) or
percentile selections of data plotted as
frequency distributions; (2) refinement
of classification systems, use of models,
and/or examination of system biological
attributes to assess the relationships
among nutrients, vegetation or algae,
soil, and other variables; and (3) use of
published nutrient and vegetation, algal,
and soil relationships and values that
may be used (or modified for use) as
criteria. A weight of evidence approach
with multiple attributes that combine
one or more of the development
approaches will produce criteria of
greater scientific validity.
Recognizing relationships between
nutrient input and wetland response is
the first step in mitigating the effects of
cultural eutrophication. Once
relationships are established, nutrient
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75249
criteria can be developed to manage
nutrient pollution and protect wetlands
from eutrophication.
Dated: December 7, 2006.
Ephraim King,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. E6–21287 Filed 12–13–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
[Public Notice 95]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request
Export-Import Bank of the
United States (Ex-Im Bank).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Export-Import Bank, as a
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on the
proposed information collection as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
act of 1995. The purpose of the survey
is to fulfill a statutory mandate (The
Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as
amended, 12 U.S.C. 635) which directs
Ex-Im Bank to report annually to the
U.S. Congress any action taken toward
providing export credit programs that
are competitive with those offered by
official foreign export credit agencies.
The Act further stipulates that the
annual report on competitiveness
should include the results of a survey of
U.S. exporters and U.S. commercial
lending institutions which provide
export credit to determine their
experience in meeting financial
competition from other countries whose
exporters compete with U.S. exporters.
Accordingly, Ex-Im Bank is requesting
that the proposed survey (EIB No. 00–
02) be sent to approximately 60
applicants of Ex-Im Bank’s mediumand long-term programs. The revised
survey is similar to the previous survey,
as it asks bankers and exporters to
evaluate the competitiveness of Ex-Im
´
Bank’s programs vis-a-vis foreign export
credit agencies. However, it has been
modified in order to account for newer
policies and to capture enough
information to provide a better analysis
of our competitiveness. In addition, the
survey will be available on Ex-Im Bank’s
website, www.exim.gov, with recipients
encouraged to respond on-line as well.
DATES: Written comments should be
received on or before January 16, 2007
to be assured of consideration.
E:\FR\FM\14DEN1.SGM
14DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 240 (Thursday, December 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75247-75249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21287]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0826; FRL-8256-1]
Notice of Availability of Draft Nutrient Criteria Technical
Guidance Manual: Wetlands
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA announces the availability of a draft nutrient criteria
technical guidance manual for wetlands. This document provides State
and Tribal water quality managers and others with information on how to
develop numeric nutrient criteria for wetlands as State or tribal law
or regulation; however, the document does not contain site-specific
numeric nutrient criteria. EPA is soliciting information, data, and
views on issues of science pertaining to the information the Agency
used to develop this document. While this document contains EPA's
scientific recommendations regarding defensible approaches for
developing regional nutrient criteria, this guidance does not
substitute for Clean Water Act (CWA) or EPA regulations, nor is it a
regulation. It does not impose legally binding requirements on the EPA,
States, territories, authorized tribes, or the regulated community.
State and tribal decision makers have discretion to adopt water quality
standards that use approaches that differ from EPA's recommendations.
DATES: Scientific views, data, and information should be submitted by
February 12, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit scientific information, data, or views,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0826, by one of the
following methods:
https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting information.
E-mail: ow-docket@epa.gov.
Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail
code: 4101T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please
include a total of four copies.
[[Page 75248]]
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include
a total of four copies. 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: Direct your scientific information, data, or views,
to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0826. EPA's policy is that all
information 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 it 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 ow-docket@epa.gov. 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 information. If you send an e-mail
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations gov your e-mail
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
information that is placed in the public docket and made available on
the Internet. If you submit information electronically, EPA recommends
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of
your information and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot
read your information due to technical difficulties and cannot contact
you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your
information. 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 https://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
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., information claimed to be
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 either electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy
at the Water Docket, EPA/DC, EPA 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 Water Docket is (202) 566-2426.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Amy Parker, Health and Ecological
Criteria Division (4304T), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; phone (202) 566-1341; fax (202) 566-1139; e-mail
parker.amy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does This Action Apply to Me?
Entities potentially interested in today's notice are those that
discharge or release nitrogen and phosphorus to surface waters, and
Federal, State, tribal, and local authorities that establish water
quality standards for surface water. Categories and entities interested
in today's notice include but are not limited to:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Examples of potentially
Category affected entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State/Local/Tribal Government............. States, municipalities,
tribes.
Industry.................................. Fertilizer manufacturers.
Agriculture............................... Animal feeding operations,
fertilized row crop
operations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This table is not intended to be exhaustive. Other types of
entities not listed in the table may also be interested.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Scientific Information, Data
or Views for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI information to EPA through
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly identify the specific
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or
CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the
specific information that is claimed as CBI). In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Information, Data, or Views. When
submitting scientific information, data or views, please remember to:
Identify the docket number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible.
Make sure to submit your information comments by the
deadline identified.
C. How Can I Get Copies of the Draft Document and Related Information?
Copies of the complete document entitled Nutrient Criteria
Technical Guidance Manual: Wetlands (EPA-823-B-05-003) may be obtained
from EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications
(NSCEP) by phone at (513) 489-8190 or toll free (800) 490-9198, or by
e-mail to ncepiwo@one.net, or by conventional mail to 11029 Kenwood
Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242. You can also download the document from
EPA's Web site at https://www.epa.gov/waterscience/nutrient.html, or
from the docket.
II. Today's Notice
A. What Are Nutrients and Why Are We Concerned About Them?
Nutrients, or more specifically, nitrogen and phosphorus, are found
in nature. They are also found in water as a result of anthropogenic
sources including runoff from fertilized agriculture or residential
grounds, municipal wastewater treatment plants, animal farming
practices, and for nitrogen, from atmospheric deposition. Human
activities can increase runoff from the land surface and increase the
input of nutrients into surface waters, including wetlands.
The addition of plant nutrients stimulates the growth of algae and
other plants which in turn stimulates fish and other organisms in the
food web. When nutrients accumulate in excessive quantities, they can
cause detrimental changes in water quality, in the aquatic
[[Page 75249]]
life that depends on those waters, and in human uses of that water.
This phenomenon is called eutrophication. Eutrophication of United
States surface waters is a long standing-problem. Eutrophication due to
excessive nutrients is one of the top five causes of waterbody
impairment in the U.S., according to information provided by states on
their CWA section 303(d) lists. Chronic symptoms of over-enrichment
include low dissolved oxygen, fish kills, cloudy murky water, and
depletion of desirable flora and fauna.
Within wetlands chronic symptoms of over-enrichment include low
dissolved oxygen, fish kills, increased sediment accumulation, and
species and abundance shifts of flora and fauna. The problem is
national in scope, but varies in nature from one region of the country
to another due to geographical variations in geology and soil types.
B. What Has EPA Done To Develop Criteria for Nutrients?
In 1998, EPA published a report entitled ``National Strategy for
the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria.'' This report outlined a
framework for development of waterbody-specific technical guidance that
can be used to assess nutrient status and develop region-specific
numeric nutrient criteria. We have already released the companion
Nutrient Criteria Technical Guidance Manuals for Rivers and Streams
(2000), Lakes and Reservoirs (2000), and Estuarine and Coastal Marine
Waters (2001). The document presented here is the wetland-specific
technical guidance for developing numeric nutrient criteria.
C. What Is Included in the Draft Guidance?
The guidance explains how to consider water, vegetation and soil
conditions to develop regionally-based numeric nutrient criteria for
wetland systems. While the manual does not provide specific
recommendations for nutrient criteria, it does give EPA's
recommendations on defensible technical approaches for developing
regional nutrient criteria. This document provides elements considered
important to criteria development including Classification, Sampling
Design and Criteria Development (setting a benchmark).
1. Classification of Wetlands
Classification strategies for nutrient criteria development can
include physiographic regions, hydrogeomorphic class, water depth and
duration, and/or vegetation type or zone. Choosing a specific
classification scheme will depend on practical considerations, such as:
Whether a classification scheme is available in mapped digital form or
can be readily derived from existing map layers; whether a
hydrogeomorphic or other classification scheme has been refined for a
particular region and wetland type; and whether classification schemes
are already in use for monitoring and assessment of other water body
types in a state or region.
2. Sampling Design
Three sampling designs for new wetland monitoring programs are
described including: stratified random sampling, targeted/tiered
approach, and BACI (Before/After, Control/Impact). These approaches are
designed to allow one to obtain a significant amount of information for
statistical analyses with relatively minimal effort. Sampling efforts
should be designed to collect information that will answer management
questions in a way that will allow robust statistical analysis. In
addition, site selection, characterization of reference sites or
systems, and identification of appropriate index periods are all of
particular concern when selecting an appropriate sampling design.
Careful selection of sampling design will allow the best use of
financial resources and will result in the collection of high quality
data for evaluation of the wetland resources of a State or Tribe.
3. Criteria Development
Several methods can be used to develop numeric nutrient criteria
for wetlands; they include but are not limited to three criteria
development methods that are detailed in this document: (1)
Identification of reference systems for each established wetland type
and class based on either best professional judgment (BPJ) or
percentile selections of data plotted as frequency distributions; (2)
refinement of classification systems, use of models, and/or examination
of system biological attributes to assess the relationships among
nutrients, vegetation or algae, soil, and other variables; and (3) use
of published nutrient and vegetation, algal, and soil relationships and
values that may be used (or modified for use) as criteria. A weight of
evidence approach with multiple attributes that combine one or more of
the development approaches will produce criteria of greater scientific
validity.
Recognizing relationships between nutrient input and wetland
response is the first step in mitigating the effects of cultural
eutrophication. Once relationships are established, nutrient criteria
can be developed to manage nutrient pollution and protect wetlands from
eutrophication.
Dated: December 7, 2006.
Ephraim King,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. E6-21287 Filed 12-13-06; 8:45 am]
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