(a) The
waters of this Commonwealth may not contain toxic substances attributable to
point or nonpoint source waste discharges in concentrations or amounts that are
inimical to the water uses to be protected.
(b) Water quality criteria for toxic
substances shall be established as described under Chapter 16 (relating to
water quality toxics management strategy-statement of policy). The Department
will develop water quality criteria for toxic substances not listed in Chapter
93, Table 5 in accordance with §
93.8d (relating to development of
site-specific water quality criteria) and Chapter 16. The Department will
maintain a publicly available online table of site-specific human health and
aquatic life criteria that have been recently developed or adopted by the
Department based on approved methodologies and the best scientific information
currently available. For any analytical procedures or detection limits that are
not EPA approved, the approved analytical procedures and detection limits for
these substances will also be listed in Chapter 16. Chapter 16, along with
changes made to it, is hereby specifically incorporated by reference.
(c) Water quality criteria for toxic
substances which exhibit threshold effects will be established by application
of margins of safety to the results of toxicity testing to prevent the
occurrence of a threshold effect.
(d) Nonthreshold carcinogenic effects of
toxic substances, will be controlled to a risk management level of one excess
case of cancer in a population of 1 million (1 x
10-6) over a 70-year lifetime. Other nonthreshold
effects of toxic substances will be controlled at a risk management level as
determined by the Department.
(e)
Water quality criteria for toxics shall be applied in accordance with Chapter
96 (relating to water quality standards implementation) and any other
applicable State and Federal laws and regulations. For carcinogens, the design
conditions shall result in a lifetime-70 years-average exposure corresponding
to the risk management level specified in subsection (d).
(f) The Department will consider both the
acute and chronic toxic impacts to aquatic life and human health.
(g) The Department may consider synergistic,
antagonistic and additive toxic impacts.
(h) The Department will periodically, but at
least once every 3 years, review, revise as necessary, and publish new or
revised water quality criteria for toxic substances, and revised procedures for
criteria development in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
(i) A person challenging criteria established
by the Department under this section shall have the burden of proof to
demonstrate that the criteria does not meet the requirements of this section.
In addition, a person who proposes an alternative site-specific criterion shall
have the burden of proof to demonstrate that the site specific criterion meets
the requirements of this section.
(j) The requirements for discharges to and
antidegradation requirements for the Great Lakes System are as follows:
(1)
Definitions. The
following words and terms, when used in this section, have the following
meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
BAF-Bioaccumulation Factor-The ratio
in liters per kilogram of a substance's concentration in tissues of an aquatic
organism to its concentration in the ambient water, when both the organism and
its food are exposed and the ratio does not change substantially over
time.
BCC-Bioaccumulative Chemical of
Concern-A chemical that has the potential to cause adverse effects
which, upon entering the surface waters, by itself or its toxic transformation
product, accumulates in aquatic organisms by a human health BAF greater than
1,000, after considering metabolism and other physiochemical properties that
might enhance or inhibit bioaccumulation, under the methodology in
40 CFR Part
132 Appendix B (relating to Great Lakes Water
Quality Initiative). Current BCCs are listed in
40 CFR
132.6, Table 6.A (relating to pollutants of
initial focus in the Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative).
Great Lakes System-The streams,
rivers, lakes and other bodies of surface water within the drainage basin of
the Great Lakes in this Commonwealth.
Open Waters of the Great Lakes-The
waters within the Great Lakes in this Commonwealth lakeward from a line drawn
across the mouth of the tributaries to the lakes, including the waters enclosed
by constructed breakwaters, but not including the connecting channels.
(2)
Total Maximum Daily
Loads (TMDLs). TMDLs for Open Waters of the Great Lakes shall be
derived following the procedures in 40 CFR Part
132 , Appendix F, Procedure 3.D
(relating to Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative implementation
procedures).
(3) Statewide
antidegradation requirements in this chapter and Chapter 96 (relating to water
quality standards implementation) as applicable, apply to all surface waters of
the Great Lakes System.
(4) If, for
any BCC, the quality of the surface water exceeds the levels necessary to
support the propagation of fish, shellfish and wildlife and recreation in and
on the waters, that quality shall be maintained and protected, unless the
Department finds that allowing lower water quality is necessary to accommodate
important economic or social development in the area in which the surface water
is located.
Notes
The
provisions of this §93.8a adopted March 10, 1989,
effective 3/11/1989, 19 Pa.B.
968; amended December 26, 1997, effective 12/27/1997, 27 Pa.B. 6799; amended November
17, 2000, effective 11/18/2000,
30 Pa.B. 6059; amended December 13, 2002, effective
12/14/2002, 32 Pa.B. 6098;
amended May 15, 2009, effective 5/16/2009, 39 Pa.B. 2523; amended July 10,
2020, effective 7/11/2020, 50
Pa.B. 3426.
The provisions of this §93.8a issued under sections 5 and
402 of The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §§
691.5 and
691.402); section 1920-A of
The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. §
510-20).
This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §
16.33 (relating to nonthreshold
effects (cancer)); 25 Pa. Code §
93.4b (relating to qualifying as
High Quality or Exceptional Value Waters); 25 Pa. Code §
93.8 (relating to development of
site-specific water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life); and
25 Pa. Code §
96.3 (relating to water quality
protection requirements).
