Chapter NR 105

NR 105.03(4) (4) “Adverse effect” means any effect resulting in a functional impairment or a pathological lesion, or both, which may affect the performance of the whole organism, or which contributes to a reduced ability to respond to an additional challenge. Adverse effects include toxicant-induced mutagenic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic effects or impaired, developmental, immunological or reproductive effects.

NR 105.03(5) (5) “Baseline BAF” means for organic chemicals, a bioaccumulation factor normalized to 100% lipid that is based on the concentration of a freely dissolved chemical in the ambient water and takes into account the partitioning of the chemical within the organism. For inorganic chemicals, a bioaccumulation factor is based on the wet weight of the tissue.

NR 105.03(6) (6) “Baseline BCF” means for organic chemicals, a bioconcentration factor normalized to 100% lipid that is based on the concentration of freely dissolved chemical in the ambient water and takes into account the partitioning of the chemical within the organism. For inorganic chemicals, a bioconcentration factor is based on the wet weight of the tissue.

NR 105.03(7) (7) “Bioaccumulation” means the net accumulation of a substance by an organism as a result of uptake from all environmental sources.

NR 105.03(8) (8) “Bioaccumulation factor” or “BAF” means the ratio (in L/kg) of a substance’s concentration in the tissue of an aquatic organism to its concentration in the ambient water, in situations where both the organism and its food are exposed to the substance and where the ratio does not change substantially over time.

NR 105.03(9) (9) “Bioaccumulative chemical of concern” or “BCC” means any substance that has the potential to cause adverse effects which, upon entering the surface waters, accumulates in aquatic organisms by a human health or wildlife bioaccumulation factor greater than 1000.

NR 105.03(10) (10) “Bioconcentration” means the net accumulation of a substance by an aquatic organism as a result of uptake directly from the ambient water through its gill membranes or other external body surfaces.

NR 105.03(11) (11) “Bioconcentration factor” or “BCF” means the ratio (in L/kg) of a substance’s concentration in the tissue of an aquatic organism to its concentration in the ambient water, in situations where the organism is exposed through the water only and where the ratio does not change substantially over time.

NR 105.03(12) (12) “Biota-sediment accumulation factor” or “BSAF” means the ratio (in kg of organic carbon/kg of lipid) of a substance’s lipid-normalized concentration in the tissue of an aquatic organism to its organic carbon-normalized concentration in surface sediment, in situations where the ratio does not change substantially over time, both the organism and its food are exposed, and where the surface sediment is representative of the average surface sediment in the vicinity of the organism.

NR 105.03(13) (13) “Carcinogen” means any substance listed in Table 9 or a substance for which the induction of benign or malignant neoplasms has been demonstrated in:

NR 105.03(13)(a) (a) Humans; or

NR 105.03(13)(b) (b) Two mammalian species; or

NR 105.03(13)(c) (c) One mammalian species, independently reproduced; or

NR 105.03(13)(d) (d) One mammalian species, to an unusual degree with respect to increased incidence, shortened latency period, variety of site, tumor type, or decreased age at onset; or

NR 105.03(13)(e) (e) One mammalian species, supported by reproducible positive results in at least 3 different types of short-term tests which are indicative of potential oncogenic activity.

NR 105.03(14) (14) “Chronic toxicity” means the ability of a substance to cause an adverse effect in an organism which results from exposure to the substance for a time period representing that substantial portion of the natural life expectancy of that organism.

NR 105.03(15) (15) “Chronic toxicity criterion” or “CTC” means the maximum 4-day concentration of a substance which ensures adequate protection of sensitive species of aquatic life from the chronic toxicity of that substance and will adequately protect the designated fish and aquatic use of the surface water if not exceeded more than once every 3 years.

NR 105.03(16) (16) “Depuration” means the loss of a substance from an organism as a result of any active or passive process.

NR 105.03(17) (17) “EC50” means a concentration of a toxic substance which causes an adverse effect including mortality in 50% of the exposed organisms in a given time period.

NR 105.03(18) (18) “Food-chain multiplier” or “FCM” means the ratio of a BAF to an appropriate BCF.

NR 105.03(19) (19) “LC50” means a concentration of a toxic substance which is lethal to 50% of the exposed organisms in a given time period.

NR 105.03(20) (20) “LD50” means a dose of a toxic substance which is lethal to 50% of the exposed organisms in a given time period.

NR 105.03(21) (21) “Lipid-soluble substance” means a substance which is soluble in nonpolar organic solvents and which tends to accumulate in the fatty tissues of an organism exposed to the substance.

NR 105.03(22) (22) “Lowest observable adverse effect level” or “LOAEL” means the lowest tested concentration that caused an adverse effect in comparison with a control when all higher test concentrations caused the same effect.

NR 105.03(23) (23) “No observable adverse effect level” or “NOAEL” means the highest tested concentration that did not cause an adverse effect in comparison with a control when no lower test concentration caused an adverse effect.

NR 105.03(24) (24) “Octanol/water partition coefficient” or “KOW” means the ratio of the concentration of a substance in the octanol phase to its concentration in the aqueous phase in an equilibrated 2-phase octanol-water system. For log KOW, the log of the octanol-water partition coefficient is a base 10 logarithm.

NR 105.03(25) (25) “Secondary value” means a temporary value that represents the concentration of a substance which ensures adequate protection of sensitive species of aquatic life, wildlife or human health from the toxicity of that substance and will adequately protect the designated use of the surface water until database requirements are fulfilled to calculate a water quality criterion.

NR 105.03(26) (26) “Steady state” means that an equilibrium condition in the body burden of a substance in an organism has been achieved and is assumed when the rate of depuration of a substance matches its rate of uptake.

NR 105.03(27) (27) “Toxic substance” means a substance or mixture of substances which through sufficient exposure, or ingestion, inhalation or assimilation by an organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through the food chain, will cause death, disease, behavioral or immunological abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, or developmental or physiological malfunctions, including malfunctions in reproduction or physical deformations, in such organisms or their offspring.

NR 105.03(28) (28) “Trophic level” means a functional classification of taxa within a community that is based on feeding relationships (e.g., aquatic plants comprise the first trophic level, herbivores comprise the second, small fish comprise the third, predatory fish the fourth, etc.).

NR 105.03(29) (29) “Uptake” means the acquisition of a substance from the environment by an organism as a result of any active or passive process.

NR 105.03(30) (30) “Water quality parameter” means one of the indicators available for describing the distinctive quality of water including, but not limited to, hardness, pH, or temperature.

NR 105.03 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1989, No. 398, eff. 3-1-89; renum. (5) to (19) to be (11), (13) to (15), (17), (19) to (24), (26), (27) and (30), cr. (5) to (7), (9), (10), (12), (16), (18), (25), (28) and (29) and am. (8), (11) and (24), Register, August, 1997, No. 500, eff. 9-1-97.

NR 105.04 NR 105.04 Determination of adverse effects.

NR 105.04(1) (1) Substances may not be present in surface waters at concentrations which adversely affect public health or welfare, present or prospective uses of surface waters for public or private water supplies, or the protection or propagation of fish or other aquatic life or wild or domestic animal life.

NR 105.04(2) (2) A substance shall be deemed to have adverse effects on fish or other aquatic life if it exceeds any of the following more than once every 3 years:

NR 105.04(2)(a) (a) The acute toxicity criterion as specified in s. NR 105.05, or

NR 105.04(2)(b) (b) The chronic toxicity criterion as specified in s. NR 105.06.

NR 105.04(2)(c) (c) The acute and chronic toxicity criteria for ammonia nitrogen shall be determined on a case-by-case basis by the department for the appropriate aquatic life use category.

NR 105.04(3) (3) A substance shall be deemed to have adverse effects on wildlife if it exceeds the wildlife criterion as specified in s. NR 105.07.

NR 105.04(4) (4) A substance shall be deemed to have adverse effects on public health and welfare if it exceeds any of the following:

NR 105.04(4)(a) (a) The human threshold criterion as specified in s. NR 105.08; or

NR 105.04(4)(b) (b) The human cancer criterion as specified in s. NR 105.09; or

NR 105.04(4)(c) (c) The taste and odor criterion as specified in s. NR 102.14.

NR 105.04(4m) (4m) The presence of PFOA as defined in s. NR 102.03 (4e), as well as the presence of PFOS as defined in s. NR 102.03 (4m), shall be deemed to have adverse effects on public health and welfare if these substances exceed the public health significance levels in s. NR 102.04 (8) (d) 1.

NR 105.04(5) (5) A substance shall be deemed to have adverse effects or the reasonable potential to have adverse effects on aquatic life, wildlife or human health, if it exceeds a secondary value determined according to the procedures in ss. NR 105.05 to 105.08.

NR 105.04(6) (6) The determination of the criteria or secondary values for substances as calculated under ss. NR 105.05 to 105.09 shall be based upon the available scientific data base. References to be used in obtaining scientific data may include, but are not limited to:

NR 105.04(6)(a) (a) “Water Quality Criteria 1972”, EPA-R3-73-033, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1974.

NR 105.04(6)(b) (b) “Quality Criteria for Water”, EPA-440/9-76-003, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1976.

NR 105.04(6)(c) (c) October 1980 and January 1985 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ambient water quality criteria documents.

NR 105.04(6)(d) (d) “Public Health Related Groundwater Standards: Summary of Scientific Support Documentation for NR 140.10”, Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Health, September 1985.

NR 105.04(6)(e) (e) “Public Health Related Groundwater Standards - 1986: Summary of Scientific Support Documentation for NR 140.10”, Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Health, June 1986.

NR 105.04(6)(f) (f) Health advisories published on March 31, 1987 by EPA, Office of Drinking Water.

NR 105.04(6)(g) (g) Any other reports, documents or information published by EPA or any other federal agency.

NR 105.04(6)(h) (h) Any other reports, documents or information that the department, deems to be reliable.

NR 105.04(7) (7) When reviewing any of the references in sub. (6) to determine the effect of a substance, the department:

NR 105.04(7)(a) (a) Shall use scientific studies on the toxicity of a substance to fish and other aquatic life and wild and domestic animals, indigenous to the state;

NR 105.04(7)(b) (b) May use scientific studies on the toxicity of a substance to fish or other aquatic life, plant, mammalian, avian, and reptilian species not indigenous to the state; and

NR 105.04(7)(c) (c) May consider biomonitoring information to determine the aquatic life toxicity of complex mixtures of toxic substances in addition to the chemical specific criteria specified in this chapter.

NR 105.04 History History: Cr. Register, February, 1989, No. 398, eff. 3-1-89; am. (3), renum. (5) and (6) to be (7) and am. (6) (intro.) and (7) (intro.), cr. (5), Register, August, 1997, No. 500, eff. 9-1-97; CR 21-083: cr. (4m) Register July 2022 No.799, eff. 8-1-22.

NR 105.05 NR 105.05 Acute toxicity criteria and secondary acute values for aquatic life.

NR 105.05(1) (1) Minimum database for acute criterion development.

NR 105.05(1)(a) (a) To derive an acute toxicity criterion for aquatic life, the minimum information required shall be the results of acceptable acute toxicity tests with one or more species of freshwater animal in at least 8 different families provided that of the 8 species:

NR 105.05(1)(a)1. 1. At least one is a salmonid fish in the family Salmonidae in the class Osteichthyes,

NR 105.05(1)(a)2. 2. At least one is a non-salmonid fish from another family in the class Osteichthyes, preferably a commercially or recreationally important warmwater species,

NR 105.05(1)(a)3. 3. At least one is a planktonic crustacean (e.g., cladoceran, copepod),

NR 105.05(1)(a)4. 4. At least one is a benthic crustacean (e.g., ostracod, isopod, amphipod, crayfish),

NR 105.05(1)(a)5. 5. At least one is an insect (e.g., mayfly, dragonfly, damselfly, stonefly, caddisfly, mosquito, midge),

NR 105.05(1)(a)6. 6. At least one is a fish or amphibian from a family in the phylum Chordata not already represented in one of the other subdivisions.

NR 105.05(1)(a)7. 7. At least one is an organism from a family in a phylum other than Arthropoda or Chordata (e.g., Rotifera, Annelida, Mollusca), and

NR 105.05(1)(a)8. 8. At least one is an organism from a family in any order of insect or any other phylum not already represented in subds. 1. to 7.

NR 105.05(1)(a)9. 9. If all 8 of the families in subds. 1. to 8. are represented, an acute toxicity criterion may be developed for surface waters classified as cold water using information on all of those families. If an acute toxicity criterion is developed for surface waters classified as cold water, acute toxicity criteria may also be developed for any of the surface water classifications in s. NR 102.04 (3) (b) to (e) using the procedure in sub. (2) or (3) and data on families in subds. 1. to 8. which are representative of the aquatic life communities associated with those classifications. For each substance, in no case may the criterion for a lower quality fish and aquatic life subcategory as defined in s. NR 102.04 be less than the criterion for a higher quality fish and aquatic life subcategory.

NR 105.05(1)(a)10. 10. For a substance, if all of the families in subds. 1. to 8. are not represented, an acute toxicity criterion may not be developed for that substance. Instead, any available data may be used to develop a secondary acute value (SAV) for that substance according to s. NR 105.02 (3) and sub.(4).

NR 105.05(1)(b) (b) The acceptability of acute toxicity test results shall be judged according to the guidelines in section IV of the United States environmental protection agency’s 1985 “Guidelines for Deriving National Numerical Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses” or 40 CFR Part 132, Appendix A. II, IV and V, as stated on September 1, 1997, is incorporated by reference.

NR 105.05 Note Note: Copies of 40 CFR Part 132, Appendix A Sections II, IV and V are available for inspection in the offices of the department of natural resources, secretary of state and the legislative reference bureau, Madison, WI or may be purchased from the superintendent of documents, US government printing office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

NR 105.05(2) (2) Acute toxicity criteria for substances with toxicity unrelated to water quality parameters. If the acute toxicity of a substance has not been adequately shown to be related to a water quality parameter (i.e., hardness, pH, temperature, etc.), the acute toxicity criterion (ATC) is calculated using the procedures specified in this subsection.

NR 105.05(2)(a) (a)

NR 105.05(2)(a)1. 1. For each species for which at least one acute value is available, the species mean acute value (SMAV) is calculated as the geometric mean of all acceptable acute toxicity tests using the guidelines in sub. (1) (b).

NR 105.05(2)(a)2. 2. For each genus for which one or more SMAVs are available, the genus mean acute value (GMAV) is calculated as the geometric mean of the SMAVs available for the genus.

NR 105.05(2)(b) (b) The GMAVs are ordered from high to low.

NR 105.05(2)(c) (c) Ranks (R) are assigned to the GMAVs from 1 for the lowest to N for the highest. If 2 or more GMAVs are identical, successive ranks are arbitrarily assigned.

NR 105.05(2)(d) (d) The cumulative probability (P) is calculated for each GMAVs as P=R/(N + 1).

NR 105.05(2)(e) (e) The 4 GMAVs are selected which have P closest to 0.05. If there are less than 59 GMAVs, these will always be the lowest GMAVs.

NR 105.05(2)(f) (f) Using the selected GMAVs and Ps, the ATC is calculated using the following:

NR 105.05(2)(f)1. 1. Let EV = sum of the 4 ln GMAVs,
      EW = sum of the 4 squares of the ln GMAVs,
      EP = sum of the 4 P values,
      EPR = sum of the 4 square roots of P, and
      JR = square root of 0.05.

NR 105.05(2)(f)2. 2. S = ((EW - (EV)2 /4)/(EP-(EPR)2 /4))0.5.

NR 105.05(2)(f)3. 3. L = (EV - S(EPR))/4.

NR 105.05(2)(f)4. 4. A = (JR)(S) + L.

NR 105.05(2)(f)5. 5. Final Acute Value (FAV)= eA.