OPP-OW Common Effects Assessment Methodology

Reference Documents

For more information about water quality criteria and Water Quality Standards, refer to the following:

Water Quality Standards Handbook (EPA 823-B94-005a);
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM), (63FR36742);
Water Quality Criteria and Standards Plan – Priorities for the Future (EPA 822-R-98-003);
Guidelines and Methodologies Used in the Preparation of Health Effects Assessment Chapters of the Consent Decree Water Criteria Documents (45FR79347);
Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health (2000), EPA-822-B-00-004);
Guidelines for Deriving Numerical National Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses (EPA 822/R-85-100);
National Strategy for the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria (EPA 822-R-98-002); and
EPA Review and Approval of State and Tribal Water Quality Standards (65FR24641).

You can find these publications through EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP, previously NCEPI) or on the Office of Science and Technology's Water Science home page.

For more information about the OPP Ecological Exposure Assessment Process under FIFRA, refer to the Overview of the Ecological Risk Assessment Process in the Office of Pesticide Programs, which describes how pesticide data are used in ecological risk assessments. The data requirements for aquatic non-target plants and animals for pesticides are described in title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, revised July 1, 2008 (158.660 Non-target Plant Protection Data Requirements). The required procedures for conducting the studies are described in Harmonized Test Guidelines. Series 850 Ecological Effects Test Guidelines – Public Drafts. Information on procedures used to evaluate these studies are described in: Standard Evaluation Protocols, the guidance document entitled the Pesticide Reregistration Rejection Rate Analysis: Ecological Effects (EPA 738-R-94-035), and in the OPP Overview Document. Public literature is accessed by OPP through EPA's ECOTOX Database. The Office of Pesticide Programs' Aquatic Life Benchmarks, a web site developed by OPP, contains the aquatic toxicity endpoints used in pesticide assessments.

OPP-OW Common Effects Assessment MethodologyReference Documents