Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Aluminum in Freshwater

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Aluminum in Freshwater. The EPA first released freshwater criteria for aluminum in 1988 to protect aquatic life from harmful effects of aluminum toxicity. The EPA updated its recommended aluminum criteria to reflect the latest science and to provide users the flexibility to develop criteria based on site-specific water chemistry. The document provides a scientific assessment of ecological effects and is not a regulation. The EPA submitted the draft document for external expert peer review and edited the document considering peer review comments. The EPA subsequently released the draft criteria document for a 90-day public comment period in July 2017. The EPA has considered the public comments and revised the document based on consideration of those comments. The final criteria document provides recommendations for states and authorized tribes to establish water quality standards under the Clean Water Act. The recommendations found in this document supersede the EPA's 1988 national recommended criteria for aluminum in ambient water.