Section 16.51. Human health and aquatic life criteria

(a) Appendix A, Table 1A and Chapter 93, Table 5 list the human health and aquatic life criteria for toxic substances which the Department uses in development of effluent limitations in NPDES Permits and for other purposes. Appendix A, Table 1A lists site-specific human health and aquatic life criteria that have been developed or reviewed and approved by the Department. The human health criteria, which include exposures from drinking water and fish consumption, are further defined as to the specific effect (that is, cancer or threshold health effects). For those aquatic life criteria which are hardness related and specified as a formula, such as several of the heavy metals, the Department will use the specific hardness of the receiving stream after mixing with the waste discharge in calculating criteria on a case-by-case basis. The priority pollutant numbers (PP NO) used by the EPA to identify priority pollutants are included in Table 1A for reference purposes. Some of these criteria may be superseded for the Delaware Estuary, Ohio River Basin, Lake Erie Basin, and Genesee River Basin under interstate and international compact agreements with the Delaware River Basin Commission, Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission and International Joint Commission respectively. The toxics substances in Chapter 93, Table 5 without a PP NO are state-derived criteria. The criteria in Appendix A, Table 1A and Chapter 93, Table 5 do not apply to the Great Lakes System. Water quality criteria for the Great Lakes System are contained in § 93.8e, Tables 6 and 7 (relating to special criteria for the Great Lakes System). Criteria may be developed for the Great Lakes System for substances other than those listed in Table 6 under the methodologies in § 16.61 (relating to special provisions for the Great Lake System).

(b) If the Department determines that the natural quality of a surface water segment is of lower quality than the applicable criteria listed in Chapter 93, Table 5, the natural quality shall constitute the aquatic life criterion for that segment. All draft natural quality determinations shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and be subject to a minimum 30 day comment period. The Department will maintain a publicly available list of surface waters and parameters where this subsection applies, and will, from time to time, submit appropriate amendments to these chapters.

The provisions of this § 16.51 adopted March 10, 1989, effective March 11, 1989, 19 Pa.B. 1059; amended December 21, 1990, effective December 22, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 6299; amended November 17, 1995, effective November 18, 1995, 25 Pa.B. 5067; amended December 26, 1997, effective December 27, 1997, 27 Pa.B. 6817; amended November 17, 2000, effective November 18, 2000, 30 Pa.B. 6111; amended May 15, 2009, effective May 16, 2009, 39 Pa.B. 2543. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (271874) and (309665).