Public Notice of Proposed Reissuance of NPDES General Permits for Facilities/Operations That Generate, Treat, and/or Use/Dispose of Sewage Sludge by Means of Land Application, Landfill, and Surface Disposal in EPA Region 8, 36453-36454 [E7-12857]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 127 / Tuesday, July 3, 2007 / Notices
copy of the proposed settlement should
be addressed to Sharon Abendschan,
Enforcement Specialist (8ENF–RC),
Technical Enforcement Program, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1595
Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado,
80202–2466, (303) 312–6957, and
should reference the Belden Cribbing
Site proposed Agreement.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
James Stearns, Legal Enforcement
Attorney (ENF–L), Legal Enforcement
Program, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver,
Colorado 80202–2466, (303) 312–6912.
It Is So Agreed.
Dated: June 8, 2007.
Michael T. Risner,
Acting Assistant Regional Administrator,
Office of Enforcement, Compliance and
Environmental Justice, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. E7–12859 Filed 7–2–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8334–1]
Public Notice of Proposed Reissuance
of NPDES General Permits for
Facilities/Operations That Generate,
Treat, and/or Use/Dispose of Sewage
Sludge by Means of Land Application,
Landfill, and Surface Disposal in EPA
Region 8
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Intent to reissue
NPDES general permits and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Region 8 of EPA is hereby
giving notice of its tentative
determination to reissue National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) general permits for facilities or
operations that generate, treat, and/or
use/dispose of sewage sludge by means
of land application, landfill, and surface
disposal in the States of CO, MT, ND,
and WY and in Indian country in the
States of CO, MT, ND, SD, WY and UT
(except for the Goshute Indian
Reservation and the Navajo Indian
Reservation).
On June 21, 2000 and September 21,
2000, U.S. District Judge Donald W.
Molloy issued orders stating that until
all necessary total maximum daily loads
under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water
Act are established for a particular water
quality limited segment, the EPA is not
to issue any new permits or increase
permitted discharges under the NPDES
program. (The orders were issued in the
lawsuit Friends of the Wild Swan, Inc.,
et al., v. U.S. E.P.A., et al., CV 97–35–
M–DWM, District of Montana, Missoula
Division.) EPA finds that the reissuance
of this proposed general permit does not
conflict with this order, because (1) the
proposed permit would not authorize
any point source discharges and (2) as
discussed under the ‘‘Protection of
Public Health and The Environment’’
section of the Fact Sheet for the general
permits, the use and/or disposal of
sewage sludge in compliance with the
conditions of this permit is not likely to
have any adverse effect on any water
body in Montana that has been listed
under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water
Act. If any member of the public
believes that EPA should interpret the
District Court’s decision otherwise, EPA
requests that this issue be brought to its
attention during the public comment
period on this proposed permit. Region
8 is proposing to continue to use general
permits instead of individual permits
for permitting such sewage sludge
related activities in order to reduce the
Region’s administrative burden of
issuing separate individual permits. The
renewal permits are very similar to the
previous permits. The administrative
burden for most of the regulated sources
is expected to be less under the general
permits than with individual permits,
and it will be much quicker to obtain
permit coverage with general permits
than with individual permits. The
substantive permit requirements would
be essentially the same with an
individual permit or under the general
permit. Facilities or operations that
incinerate sewage sludge are not eligible
for coverage under these general permits
and must apply for an individual
permit. Wastewater lagoon systems that
are not using/disposing of sewage
sludge do not need to apply for permit
coverage unless notified by the permit
issuing authority. The deadlines for
applying for coverage under the general
permits are given in the permits and the
Fact Sheet. Facilities/operations that
had coverage under the previous general
permit and have submitted a timely
request for coverage under this renewal
36453
permit are covered automatically under
this permit unless the permit issuing
authority requires the submittal of a
new notice of intent (NOI).
DATES: Public comments on this
proposal must be received, in writing,
on or before August 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Public comments should be
sent to: Wastewater Unit (8P–W–WW);
Attention: Biosolids Program; U.S. EPA,
Region 8; 1595 Wynkoop Street; Denver,
CO 80202–1129.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
a copy of the draft permit and Fact
Sheet, please write Ellen Bonner at the
above address or telephone (303) 312–
6371. Copies of the draft permit and
Fact Sheet may also be downloaded
from the EPA Region 8 Web page at
https://www.epa.gov/region08/biosolids.
Questions regarding the specific permit
requirements may be directed to Bob
Brobst, telephone (303) 312–6129.
Public Comment Period: Public
comments are invited. Comments must
be written and must be received by no
later than August 2, 2007. Comments
should be sent to: Wastewater Unit (8P–
W–WW); Attention: Biosolids Program;
U.S. EPA, REGION 8; 1595 Wynkoop
Street; Denver, CO 80202–1129. Each
comment should cite the page number
and, where possible, the section(s) and/
or paragraph(s) in the draft permit or
Fact Sheet to which each comment
refers. Commenters should use a
separate paragraph for each issue
discussed.
On
February 19, 1993 (58 FR 9248), the EPA
promulgated ‘‘Standards for the Use or
Disposal of Sewage Sludge’’ (40 CFR
part 503) and made revisions to the
NPDES regulations to include the
permitting of facilities/operations that
generate, treat, and/or use/dispose of
sewage sludge. The 503 regulations
were amended on August 4, 1999 (64 FR
42551).
The States of South Dakota and Utah
currently are the only States in Region
8 that have been authorized to
administer the biosolids (sludge)
program. It is proposed that EPA general
permits be reissued for facilities or
operations that generate, treat, and/or
use/dispose of sewage sludge by means
of land application, landfill, and surface
disposal within the following areas:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
State
Permit No.
Area covered by the general permit
Colorado ...........................................................................
COG650000 .......................
State of Colorado except for Federal Facilities and Indian country.
Indian country within the State of Colorado and the portions of the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation located
in New Mexico and in Utah.
COG651000 .......................
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:57 Jul 02, 2007
Jkt 211001
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\03JYN1.SGM
03JYN1
36454
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 127 / Tuesday, July 3, 2007 / Notices
State
Permit No.
COG652000 .......................
Federal Facilities in the State of Colorado, except those
located in Indian country, which are covered under
permit COG51000.
State of Montana except for Indian country.
Indian country in the State of Montana.
State of North Dakota except for Indian country.
Indian country within the State of North Dakota (except
for Indian country located within the former boundaries of the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, which
are covered under permit SDG651000) and that portion of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation located
in South Dakota.
Indian country within the State of South Dakota (except
for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which is
covered under permit NDG651000), that portion of
the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation located in Nebraska, and Indian country located in North Dakota
within the former boundaries of the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation.
Indian country within the State of Utah except for the
Goshute Indian Reservation, Navajo Indian Reservation, and Ute Mountain Indian Reservation (which is
covered under permit COG651000).
State of Wyoming except for Indian country.
Indian country within the State of Wyoming.
North Dakota .....................................................................
MTG650000
MTG651000
NDG650000
NDG651000
South Dakota ....................................................................
SDG651000 ........................
Utah ..................................................................................
UTG651000 ........................
Wyoming ...........................................................................
jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Montana ............................................................................
Area covered by the general permit
WYG650000 .......................
WYG651000 .......................
The States of South Dakota and Utah
have been authorized permitting
authority for sewage sludge, therefore
EPA’s general permits will be reissued
only for Indian country in those States.
The general permit for Indian country in
Utah does not include the portions of
the Goshute Indian Reservation and the
Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah
because the permitting activities for
these reservations are done by Region 9
of EPA. The State of Colorado has not
been authorized permitting authority for
Federal facilities, so a general permit is
proposed for Federal facilities not
located in Indian country.
Authorization for use/disposal of
sewage sludge under the general permits
may be for one of the following three
categories: Category 1—Facilities/
operations that generate and/or partially
treat sewage sludge, but do not use/
dispose of sewage sludge; Category 2—
Facilities/operations that use/dispose of
sewage sludge and may also generate
and/or treat sewage sludge; and
Category 3—Wastewater lagoon systems
that need apply sewage sludge to land
on an occasional, restricted basis.
Authorization for use/disposal of
sewage sludge under the general permit
will be limited to one of the three
categories, but authorization may be
granted to one or more subcategories
under Category 2. In applying for
authorization for use/disposal of sewage
sludge under the general permit, the
applicant will be required to specify
under which category or subcategory(s)
authorization is being requested.
However, the permit issuing authority
VerDate Aug<31>2005
17:57 Jul 02, 2007
Jkt 211001
.......................
.......................
.......................
.......................
will have the final determination as to
which category or subcategory(s) the
authorization will be granted. The
requirements in the permit for the use/
disposal of sewage sludge are based
primarily on 40 CFR part 503.
Since these permits do not involve
discharges to waters of the United
States, certification under section
401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act is not
necessary for the issuance of these
permits and certification will not be
requested.
Economic Impact (Executive Order
12866): EPA has determined that the
issuance of this general permit is not a
‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under
the terms of Executive Order 12866 (58
FR 51735 (October 4, 1993)) and is
therefore not subject to formal OMB
review prior to proposal.
Paperwork Reduction Act: EPA has
reviewed the requirements imposed on
regulated facilities in these proposed
general permits under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. § 3501
et seq. The information collection
requirements of these permits have
already been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget in submissions
made for the NPDES permit program
under the provisions of the Clean Water
Act.
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5
U.S.C 601 et seq., as amended by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act (SBREFA): The RFA
requires that EPA prepare a regulatory
flexibility analysis for rules subject to
the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) that
have a significant impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
The permit proposed today, however, is
not a ‘‘rule’’ subject to the requirements
of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and is therefore not
subject to the RFA.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act:
Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law 104–4,
generally requires Federal agencies to
assess the effects of their ‘‘regulatory
actions’’ defined to be the same as
‘‘rules’’ subject to the RFA) on tribal,
state, local governments and the private
sector. The permit proposed today,
however, is not a ‘‘rule’’ subject to the
RFA and is therefore not subject to the
requirements of the UMRA.
Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251
et seq.
Dated: June 21, 2007.
Stephen S. Tuber,
Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of
Partnerships and Regulatory Assistance.
[FR Doc. E7–12857 Filed 7–2–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
Program Requirement Revisions
Related to the Public Water System
Supervision Programs for the State of
New Hampshire, and the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
and the State of New Hampshire are in
E:\FR\FM\03JYN1.SGM
03JYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 3, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36453-36454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12857]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8334-1]
Public Notice of Proposed Reissuance of NPDES General Permits for
Facilities/Operations That Generate, Treat, and/or Use/Dispose of
Sewage Sludge by Means of Land Application, Landfill, and Surface
Disposal in EPA Region 8
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Intent to reissue NPDES general permits and request
for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Region 8 of EPA is hereby giving notice of its tentative
determination to reissue National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) general permits for facilities or operations that
generate, treat, and/or use/dispose of sewage sludge by means of land
application, landfill, and surface disposal in the States of CO, MT,
ND, and WY and in Indian country in the States of CO, MT, ND, SD, WY
and UT (except for the Goshute Indian Reservation and the Navajo Indian
Reservation).
On June 21, 2000 and September 21, 2000, U.S. District Judge Donald
W. Molloy issued orders stating that until all necessary total maximum
daily loads under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act are established
for a particular water quality limited segment, the EPA is not to issue
any new permits or increase permitted discharges under the NPDES
program. (The orders were issued in the lawsuit Friends of the Wild
Swan, Inc., et al., v. U.S. E.P.A., et al., CV 97-35-M-DWM, District of
Montana, Missoula Division.) EPA finds that the reissuance of this
proposed general permit does not conflict with this order, because (1)
the proposed permit would not authorize any point source discharges and
(2) as discussed under the ``Protection of Public Health and The
Environment'' section of the Fact Sheet for the general permits, the
use and/or disposal of sewage sludge in compliance with the conditions
of this permit is not likely to have any adverse effect on any water
body in Montana that has been listed under Section 303(d) of the Clean
Water Act. If any member of the public believes that EPA should
interpret the District Court's decision otherwise, EPA requests that
this issue be brought to its attention during the public comment period
on this proposed permit. Region 8 is proposing to continue to use
general permits instead of individual permits for permitting such
sewage sludge related activities in order to reduce the Region's
administrative burden of issuing separate individual permits. The
renewal permits are very similar to the previous permits. The
administrative burden for most of the regulated sources is expected to
be less under the general permits than with individual permits, and it
will be much quicker to obtain permit coverage with general permits
than with individual permits. The substantive permit requirements would
be essentially the same with an individual permit or under the general
permit. Facilities or operations that incinerate sewage sludge are not
eligible for coverage under these general permits and must apply for an
individual permit. Wastewater lagoon systems that are not using/
disposing of sewage sludge do not need to apply for permit coverage
unless notified by the permit issuing authority. The deadlines for
applying for coverage under the general permits are given in the
permits and the Fact Sheet. Facilities/operations that had coverage
under the previous general permit and have submitted a timely request
for coverage under this renewal permit are covered automatically under
this permit unless the permit issuing authority requires the submittal
of a new notice of intent (NOI).
DATES: Public comments on this proposal must be received, in writing,
on or before August 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Public comments should be sent to: Wastewater Unit (8P-W-
WW); Attention: Biosolids Program; U.S. EPA, Region 8; 1595 Wynkoop
Street; Denver, CO 80202-1129.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the draft permit and
Fact Sheet, please write Ellen Bonner at the above address or telephone
(303) 312-6371. Copies of the draft permit and Fact Sheet may also be
downloaded from the EPA Region 8 Web page at https://www.epa.gov/
region08/biosolids. Questions regarding the specific permit
requirements may be directed to Bob Brobst, telephone (303) 312-6129.
Public Comment Period: Public comments are invited. Comments must
be written and must be received by no later than August 2, 2007.
Comments should be sent to: Wastewater Unit (8P-W-WW); Attention:
Biosolids Program; U.S. EPA, REGION 8; 1595 Wynkoop Street; Denver, CO
80202-1129. Each comment should cite the page number and, where
possible, the section(s) and/or paragraph(s) in the draft permit or
Fact Sheet to which each comment refers. Commenters should use a
separate paragraph for each issue discussed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 19, 1993 (58 FR 9248), the EPA
promulgated ``Standards for the Use or Disposal of Sewage Sludge'' (40
CFR part 503) and made revisions to the NPDES regulations to include
the permitting of facilities/operations that generate, treat, and/or
use/dispose of sewage sludge. The 503 regulations were amended on
August 4, 1999 (64 FR 42551).
The States of South Dakota and Utah currently are the only States
in Region 8 that have been authorized to administer the biosolids
(sludge) program. It is proposed that EPA general permits be reissued
for facilities or operations that generate, treat, and/or use/dispose
of sewage sludge by means of land application, landfill, and surface
disposal within the following areas:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area covered by the
State Permit No. general permit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado...................... COG650000........ State of Colorado
except for Federal
Facilities and
Indian country.
COG651000........ Indian country within
the State of
Colorado and the
portions of the Ute
Mountain Indian
Reservation located
in New Mexico and in
Utah.
[[Page 36454]]
COG652000........ Federal Facilities in
the State of
Colorado, except
those located in
Indian country,
which are covered
under permit
COG51000.
Montana....................... MTG650000........ State of Montana
except for Indian
country.
MTG651000........ Indian country in the
State of Montana.
North Dakota.................. NDG650000........ State of North Dakota
except for Indian
country.
NDG651000........ Indian country within
the State of North
Dakota (except for
Indian country
located within the
former boundaries of
the Lake Traverse
Indian Reservation,
which are covered
under permit
SDG651000) and that
portion of the
Standing Rock Indian
Reservation located
in South Dakota.
South Dakota.................. SDG651000........ Indian country within
the State of South
Dakota (except for
the Standing Rock
Indian Reservation,
which is covered
under permit
NDG651000), that
portion of the Pine
Ridge Indian
Reservation located
in Nebraska, and
Indian country
located in North
Dakota within the
former boundaries of
the Lake Traverse
Indian Reservation.
Utah.......................... UTG651000........ Indian country within
the State of Utah
except for the
Goshute Indian
Reservation, Navajo
Indian Reservation,
and Ute Mountain
Indian Reservation
(which is covered
under permit
COG651000).
Wyoming....................... WYG650000........ State of Wyoming
except for Indian
country.
WYG651000........ Indian country within
the State of
Wyoming.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The States of South Dakota and Utah have been authorized permitting
authority for sewage sludge, therefore EPA's general permits will be
reissued only for Indian country in those States. The general permit
for Indian country in Utah does not include the portions of the Goshute
Indian Reservation and the Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah because
the permitting activities for these reservations are done by Region 9
of EPA. The State of Colorado has not been authorized permitting
authority for Federal facilities, so a general permit is proposed for
Federal facilities not located in Indian country.
Authorization for use/disposal of sewage sludge under the general
permits may be for one of the following three categories: Category 1--
Facilities/operations that generate and/or partially treat sewage
sludge, but do not use/dispose of sewage sludge; Category 2--
Facilities/operations that use/dispose of sewage sludge and may also
generate and/or treat sewage sludge; and Category 3--Wastewater lagoon
systems that need apply sewage sludge to land on an occasional,
restricted basis. Authorization for use/disposal of sewage sludge under
the general permit will be limited to one of the three categories, but
authorization may be granted to one or more subcategories under
Category 2. In applying for authorization for use/disposal of sewage
sludge under the general permit, the applicant will be required to
specify under which category or subcategory(s) authorization is being
requested. However, the permit issuing authority will have the final
determination as to which category or subcategory(s) the authorization
will be granted. The requirements in the permit for the use/disposal of
sewage sludge are based primarily on 40 CFR part 503.
Since these permits do not involve discharges to waters of the
United States, certification under section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water
Act is not necessary for the issuance of these permits and
certification will not be requested.
Economic Impact (Executive Order 12866): EPA has determined that
the issuance of this general permit is not a ``significant regulatory
action'' under the terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735 (October
4, 1993)) and is therefore not subject to formal OMB review prior to
proposal.
Paperwork Reduction Act: EPA has reviewed the requirements imposed
on regulated facilities in these proposed general permits under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. Sec. 3501 et seq. The
information collection requirements of these permits have already been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget in submissions made for
the NPDES permit program under the provisions of the Clean Water Act.
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C 601 et seq., as amended
by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA): The
RFA requires that EPA prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for
rules subject to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) that have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The
permit proposed today, however, is not a ``rule'' subject to the
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and is therefore not subject to the
RFA.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law 104-4, generally requires Federal
agencies to assess the effects of their ``regulatory actions'' defined
to be the same as ``rules'' subject to the RFA) on tribal, state, local
governments and the private sector. The permit proposed today, however,
is not a ``rule'' subject to the RFA and is therefore not subject to
the requirements of the UMRA.
Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
Dated: June 21, 2007.
Stephen S. Tuber,
Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Partnerships and Regulatory
Assistance.
[FR Doc. E7-12857 Filed 7-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P