Update on Aquatic Toxicity/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Issues, 2005

摘要

This paper summarizes recent changes in the field of aquatic toxicity/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) testing. There are been numerous legal challenges to the validity of WET testing, both at the federal and state levels, but to date, the regulators have prevailed and WET testing is used as a regulatory tool to ensure that the biota of receiving streams are protected. The most recent ruling at the federal level was on December 10, 2004, when a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia upheld the validity of WET testing. At the state level, at the urging of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, the state legislature passed a law (the South Carolina Aquatic Life Protection Act) in 2004 that requires the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the WET test. As a result, SCDHEC removed WET test limits from several NPDES permits. EPA took issue with the impact of the legislation and SCDHECs actions, and as a result, EPA has taken over several NPDES permits from SCDHEC and threatened to revoke the states delegated NPDES permit program. A new Act was signed into law in March 2005, which does not exclude the use of chronic toxicity testing for regulatory compliance. As a result, EPA has turned over the issuance of NPDES permits back to SCDHEC. In December 2004, the U.S. EPA issued the Draft National WET Implementation Guidance document for review and comment. The guidance contains recommendations on the determination of 'reasonable potential' for toxicity.