1. Draft Mandate to request SCHER opinion on the TGD-EQS
WG E Meeting (Agenda item 3)
Brussels
15-16 March 2010
Helen Clayton
Jorge Rodriguez Romero
WFD Team
DG Environment

2. Contents
Mandate of the SCHER
Mandate to the SCHER
Generic and specific questions
Comments

3. Mandate of the SCHER Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks
It shall provide opinions on health and environmental risks related to pollutants in the environmental media….
…it may be invited address questions on the toxicity and eco-toxicity of chemical, biochemical and biological compounds…. In addition, the Committee will address questions relating to methodological aspects of the assessment of health and environmental risks of chemicals (including mixtures)….

4. Content of the mandate
Introduction
Annex 1 – Background to the process and legislative context
Annex 2 – Questions
Annex 3 – Responses to CSTEE (Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment) comments of 2004
Annex 4 – Draft Technical Guidance for Deriving Environmental Quality Standards

5. Generic questions to SCHER
The SCHER is invited to give its opinion on the overall scientific quality of the guidance and, considering that the purpose of the document is to provide practical guidance for practitioners in deriving EQSs, whether it reflects properly the current state of technical and scientific knowledge.
Given the remit to EG-EQS to provide detailed practical guidance to practitioners, does the SCHER consider the contents of the guidance to be fit for purpose?
The SCHER is invited to elaborate on its reasons for considering any aspect of the guidance inappropriate, suggesting alternative approaches, and on any aspects that it considers are missing and should be addressed.

6. Specific questions to SCHER
Does the SCHER agree that the opinion offered by CSTEE in 2004 has been adequately dealt with in the guidance? The EG-EQS has produced a summary of the comments made by CSTEE in 2004 with responses explaining how those have been taken into account in developing the new guidance (see Annex 3). The SCHER is invited to comment on any of the points raised in 2004 that it considers is not properly or sufficiently addressed.
Does the SCHER support the approach in the guidance as it relates to the use of field and mesocosm data in deriving EQSs?
Does the SCHER believe that the current state of technical and scientific knowledge is mature enough to support the development of legally binding standards for sediment and/or biota? If this is the case, which would be the most important criteria or considerations to take into account in deriving those standards (e.g. minimum quality criteria for underlying data)?

7. Specific questions to SCHER cont’d
Does the SCHER agree that data for blue-green algae should assume the same status in the assessment as data for green algae (i.e. should all be included in the estimation of an EQS)?
Some stakeholders have asked whether data for blue-green algae should be treated the same way as data for green algae. The issue is particularly relevant for the derivation of EQSs for veterinary products used in aquaculture. The EG-EQS believes the approach in the guidance is correct and makes reference to standard procedures for chemical risk assessment, e.g. REACH guidance chapter R10 (e.g. section R ), OECD Test Guideline 201, and relevant EU risk assessment reports (e.g. 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol (CAS number ))