{"abstract":"Pursuant to section 304(a) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of final national recommended ambient water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life from effects of ammonia in freshwater (EPA 822-R-13-001). The final criteria incorporate the latest scientific knowledge on the toxicity of ammonia to freshwater aquatic life. On December 30, 2009, EPA published draft national recommended water quality criteria for ammonia and provided the public an opportunity to provide scientific views. Aquatic life criteria are developed based on EPA's Guidelines for Deriving Numerical National Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses (1985), (EPA/R- 85-100). EPA's recommended section 304(a) water quality criteria provide guidance to States and authorized Tribes in adopting water quality standards for protecting aquatic life and human health. EPA's recommended water quality criteria by themselves have no binding legal effect. These national recommended criteria for ammonia in freshwater are intended to protect aquatic life and do not address human health toxicity data. The water quality criteria for ammonia for the protection of saltwater organisms are not being updated at this time. EPA's national recommended final acute ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) for protecting freshwater organisms from potential effects of ammonia is 17 mg/L total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) and the final chronic AWQC for ammonia is 1.9 mg/L TAN at pH 7.0 and temperature 20 [deg]C.","action":"Notice of availability of final criteria.","agencies":[{"raw_name":"ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY","name":"Environmental Protection Agency","id":145,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/environmental-protection-agency","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/145","parent_id":null,"slug":"environmental-protection-agency"}],"body_html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2013/08/22/2013-20307.html","cfr_references":[],"citation":"78 FR 52192","comment_url":null,"comments_close_on":null,"correction_of":null,"corrections":[],"dates":null,"disposition_notes":null,"docket_ids":["EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921","FRL-9810-4"],"dockets":[],"document_number":"2013-20307","effective_on":null,"end_page":52194,"executive_order_notes":null,"executive_order_number":null,"full_text_xml_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/xml/2013/08/22/2013-20307.xml","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/08/22/2013-20307/final-aquatic-life-ambient-water-quality-criteria-for-ammonia-freshwater-2013","images":{},"images_metadata":{},"json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents/2013-20307?publication_date=2013-08-22","mods_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/metadata/granule/FR-2013-08-22/2013-20307/mods.xml","not_received_for_publication":null,"page_length":3,"page_views":{"count":9135,"last_updated":"2026-10-23 02:15:04 -0400"},"pdf_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2013-08-22/pdf/2013-20307.pdf","presidential_document_number":null,"proclamation_number":null,"public_inspection_pdf_url":"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2013-20307.pdf?1377089600","publication_date":"2013-08-22","raw_text_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/text/2013/08/22/2013-20307.txt","regulation_id_number_info":{},"regulation_id_numbers":[],"regulations_dot_gov_info":{"supporting_documents":[{"title":"Flexibilities for States Applying EPA's Ammonia Criteria Recommendations [EPA-820-F-13-001]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0069"},{"title":"Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia - Freshwater 2013 [EPA 822-R-13-001]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0068"},{"title":"Revised Deletion Process for Site-Specific Recalculation Procedure for Aquatic Life Criteria (ALC)","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0067"},{"title":"28-Day Ammonia Toxicity Testing of Non-Pulmonate Snails","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0066"},{"title":"EPA Response to Public Comments on 2009 Draft Ammonia Criteria-Freshwater","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0065"},{"title":"EPA Response to External Peer Reviewer Comments on July 2009 Ammonia Criteria Update Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia-Freshwater","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0064"},{"title":"External Peer Review of EPA's Draft Reassessment of 1999 Ambient Water Quallity Criterica (AWQC) for Ammonia","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0063"},{"title":"Memorandum to Rob Pepin Re: Water quality and toxicity data for unpublished unionid mussels tests","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0062"},{"title":"Determining the Appropriate Duration of Toxicity Tests with Glochidia of Native Freshwater Mussels","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0061"},{"title":"Sensitivity of freshwater snails to aquatic contaminants: Survival and growth of endangered snail species and surrogates in 28-day exposures to copper, ammonia and pentachlorophenol","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921-0060"}],"comments_url":"https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=50&so=DESC&sb=postedDate&po=0&dct=PS&D=EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921","supporting_documents_count":15,"docket_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0921","regulation_id_number":null,"title":"Update of the 1999 Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia - Freshwater","checked_regulationsdotgov_at":"2013-09-11T08:07:36Z"},"regulations_dot_gov_url":null,"significant":null,"signing_date":null,"start_page":52192,"subtype":null,"title":"Final Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria For Ammonia-Freshwater 2013","toc_doc":"Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Ammonia  Freshwater 2013","toc_subject":null,"topics":[],"type":"Notice","volume":78}