Member Pipeline - Regulatory - Alert (RA 04-15)
To: Members & Affiliates, Water Quality Committee
From: National Office
Date: July 14, 2004
Subject: EPA TO RE-EVALUATE AMMONIA CRITERIA BASED ON NEW STUDIES
Reference: RA 04-15
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August 2, 2004
On July 8, 2004, EPA published a notice (http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2004/July/Day-08/w15532.htm) of its intent to re-evaluate the current aquatic life criteria for ammonia to determine if a revision is warranted based on new toxicity data and requested additional data and information from the public (69 Fed. Reg. 41262). According to the notice, recent studies suggest that some freshwater mussel species may be more sensitive to ammonia exposure than the aquatic organisms EPA considered in deriving the current ammonia criteria.
Based on information AMSA has received, the new mussel data, if used to develop new criteria, could reduce the current ammonia criteria value by one-half or more. AMSA sent a letter (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2004-07-12ammonia.pdf) to EPA July 12 to ask for an extension to the 30-day comment period, but AMSA must work under the assumption that the comment period will still close August 9. If you feel your agency needs more time to collect data or other relevant information, you may wish to use this letter as a template to also ask for an extension.
To aid in the Association’s comment effort, AMSA requests that members provide any technical comments on the reference materials listed below and any data on the acute or chronic toxicity of ammonia to aquatic life to Chris Hornback, AMSA, at chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org by August 2, 2004. If you have any questions, or have trouble locating the reference materials listed below, please contact Chris Hornback at 202/833-9106.
EPA to Review Extensive Reference Material
The list of ammonia toxicity studies in general that EPA will
review during its evaluation is extensive (over 60 pages in length). A copy of
the reference list is available in the e-docket for the rulemaking (http://docket.epa.gov/edkpub/do/ EDKRegDocketsOpenForComment;jsessionid=2C2CBE693C3B08BA611A8E47B1C20EEC?ListRange=3&searchBy=collection
and click on Docket # OW-2004-0012). The following list of studies, excerpted
from EPA’s reference list, are the relevant freshwater mussel studies:
Freshwater Mussel Related Papers for Ammonia
Arthur, J.W., C.W. West, K.N. Allen and S.F. Hedtke. 1987. Seasonal toxicity of
ammonia to five fish and nine invertebrate species. Bull. Environ. Contam.
Toxicol. 38:324-331.
Augspurger, T., A.E. Keller, M.C. Black, W.G. Cope, F.J. Dwyer, 2003. Water quality guidance for protection of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) from ammonia exposure. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 22(11): 2569-2575
Bartsch, M.R., T.J. Newton, J.W. Allran, J.A. O’Donnell, and W.B. Richardson. 2003. Effects of pore-water ammonia on in situ survival and growth of juvenile mussels (Lampsilis cardium) in the St. Croix Riverway, Wisconsin, USA. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 22(11): 2561-2568.
Black, M.C. 2001. Water quality standards for North Carolina’s endangered mussels. Final Report. Department of Health Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
Chetty, A N and Indira, K. Adaptive changes in the glucose metabolism of a
bivalve to ambient ammonia stress. Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 1995;
54(1):83-9.
Hickey, C.W. and M.L. Martin. 1999. Chronic toxicity of ammonia to the
freshwater bivalve Sphaerium novaezelandiae. Arch. Environ. Contam.
Toxicol. 36(1): 38-46.
Goudreau, S.E., R.J. Neves and R.J Sheehan. 1993. Effects of wastewater treatment plant effluents on freshwater mollusks in the upper Clinch River, Virginia, USA. Hydrobiol. 252:211-230.
Hickey, C.W. and M.L. Martin. 1999. Chronic toxicity of ammonia to the freshwater bivalve Sphaerium novaezelandiae. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 36(1): 38-46.
Horne, F.R. and S. McIntosh. 1979. Factors influencing distribution of mussels in the Blanco River of Central Texas. Nautilus. 94(4): 119-133.
Keller, A. Unpublished. Summary of mussel tests performed at Region 4 USEPA or at USGS in Gainesville, FL.
Mummert, A.K., R.J. Neves, T. J. Newcomb and D.S. Cherry. 2003. Sensitivity of juvenile freshwater mussels (Lampsilis fasciola, Villosa iris) to total and un-ionized ammonia. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 22(11): 2545-2553.
Myers-Kinzie, M. 1998. Factors affecting survival and recruitment of Unionid mussels in small midwestern streams. Ph.D. thesis. Perdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Newton, T.J., J.W. Allran, J.A. O’Donnell, M.R. Bartsch and W.B. Richardson. 2003. Effects of ammonia on juvenile unionid mussels (Lampsilis cardium) in laboratory sediment toxicity tests. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 22(11): 2554-2560.
Newton, T.J. 2003. Letter to the editor: The effects of ammonia on freshwater unionid mussels. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 22 (11): 2543-2544.
Scheller, J.L. 1997. The effects of dieoffs of Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) on native freshwater mussels (Unionidae). M.S. thesis. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
Tchounwou, P B, A.J. Englande, and E.A. Malek. 1991. Toxicity evaluation of ammonium sulfate and urea to three developmental stages of freshwater snails. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 21(3):359-64.
Wade, D.C. 1992. Definitive evaluation of Wheller reservoir sediments toxicity using juvenile freshwater mussels (Anodonta imbecillis Say). TVA/WR -92/25. Tennessee Valley Authority, Water Resources Division, Muscle Shoals, AL, USA