Notice of EPA Workshop on Sanitary Sewer Overflows and Peak Wet Weather Discharges, 35215-35216 [2011-15003]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 116 (Thursday, June 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35215-35216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15003]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0464; FRL-9318-8]


Notice of EPA Workshop on Sanitary Sewer Overflows and Peak Wet 
Weather Discharges

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Wastewater Management of the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency is holding a workshop to solicit the views of 
stakeholders concerning a number of issues. These include views on how 
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations 
should apply to municipal sanitary sewer collection systems, sanitary 
sewer overflows (SSOs), and peak wet weather discharges at publicly 
owned treatment works (POTW) treatment plants. EPA will also seek views 
on the 2005 draft Peak Flows Policy. The workshop will include a 
facilitated discussion with representatives of organizations that 
represent POTWs, state NPDES permitting authorities, and non-for-profit 
environmental groups. EPA invites other interested members of the 
public to observe the workshop and to offer verbal comments at 
designated times during the workshop or to submit written comments to 
the Agency.

DATES: The workshop will be held on July 14, from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. 
and on July 15, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. If you plan to participate in 
the workshop as an observer, EPA requests that you pre-register by July 
6, 2011 at https://www.epa.gov/npdes/sso.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and 
International Trade Center, Horizon Ballroom, located in Washington, DC 
at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
notice, contact Greg Schaner, EPA Headquarters, Office of Water, Office 
of Wastewater Management at tel.: 202-564-0721 or e-mail: 
schaner.greg@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Properly designed, operated, and maintained sanitary sewer systems 
are meant to collect and transport all of the sewage that flows into 
them to a publicly owned treatment works (POTW). However, occasional 
discharges of raw sewage from municipal sanitary sewers occur in almost 
every system. These types of discharges are called sanitary sewer 
overflows (SSOs). SSOs have a variety of causes, including but not 
limited to blockages, line breaks, sewer defects that allow storm water 
and groundwater to overload the system, lapses in sewer system 
operation and maintenance, power failures, inadequate sewer design and 
vandalism. EPA estimates that there are at least 23,000-75,000 SSOs per 
year (not including sewage backups into buildings). The untreated 
sewage from these overflows can contaminate our waters, causing serious 
water quality problems. It can also back-up into basements, causing 
property damage and threatening public health.
    Additionally, aging sewer line infrastructure in many communities 
allows rain and snow melt to enter sanitary sewer systems and cause 
excess flow at the treatment plant. During significant wet weather 
events it is possible for influent flows to exceed the treatment 
capacity of existing secondary treatment units. Known as ``peak 
flows,'' these wet weather flows are sometimes diverted around 
secondary treatment units and then either recombined with flows from 
the secondary treatment units or discharged directly into waterways 
from the treatment plant in order to prevent any damage to the 
treatment facility. Operators of wastewater treatment plants must 
manage these high flows to ensure continued operation of the treatment 
process.
    For additional background on SSOs and peak wet weather discharges, 
refer to the ``background'' section of EPA's notice announcing the 2010 
Listening Sessions at 75 FR 30395 (June 1, 2010) and to information 
included on EPA's Web site at https://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=4.

II. 2010 Listening Sessions

    In 2010, EPA held several listening sessions to obtain information 
from the

[[Page 35216]]

public regarding the potential modification to the NPDES regulations to 
address SSOs and other types of peak wet weather discharges. See 75 FR 
30395 (June 1, 2010). Participants in the sessions offered both verbal 
and written comments. The Agency received 235 written comments to the 
docket. You can view these comments at https://www.regulations.gov, 
under Docket ID  EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0464.

III. Purpose of SSO/Peak Wet Weather Flow Workshop

    As a follow-up to the 2010 Listening Sessions, EPA will hold a 1\1/
2\ day workshop on July 14-15, 2011 in Washington, DC. The purpose of 
this workshop is to provide interested parties and other members of the 
public an opportunity to elaborate on their recommendations to the 
Agency with respect to actions that could be taken to strengthen the 
permitting program's approach to regulating SSOs and peak wet weather 
discharges. EPA has invited several stakeholder groups representing 
non-governmental interests, POTWs and collection systems, and state 
permitting authorities to recommend members of their community to 
participate in the workshop as experts. In addition to eliciting the 
views of the representative groups, EPA will also invite comments 
during the meeting from any member of the public who wishes to observe 
and participate at the workshop.
    The specific issues that EPA is seeking feedback on have 
significant overlap with those highlighted for the 2010 listening 
sessions. See 75 FR 30399-30401 (June 1, 2010). For example, EPA will 
be interested in the views of the representatives and observers on 
whether and to what extent specific NPDES permit requirements should be 
developed to address the following:
     How SSOs are reported to EPA or state permitting 
authorities and documented in POTW records, and how and when the public 
is notified of overflows;
     What components of POTW programs for capacity, management, 
operations, and maintenance (CMOM) should be made part of standard 
NPDES permit conditions;
     Whether to require NPDES permits for ``municipal satellite 
collection systems'', and what types of requirements should such 
permits include; and
     Are there any circumstances under which an SSO may be 
authorized under an NPDES permit.
    EPA will also seek input on the disposition of the 2005 draft Peak 
Flows Policy (see https://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/wetweather.cfm) that 
pertains to wet weather diversions at POTW treatment plants.
    It is not EPA's objective during the workshop to establish 
consensus among the parties or to obtain a collective set of 
recommendations. Rather, it is EPA's intention to obtain individual 
input from interested parties so that the Agency can better understand 
the differences and commonalities among the individual recommendations. 
In this regard, EPA has determined that this workshop is not subject to 
the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. 5 U.S.C. 
Appendix 2.

IV. Participation in the Workshop

    Members of the public are welcome to participate as observers in 
the workshop. The agenda will be structured to invite specific verbal 
comments from observers on key issues. If you plan to participate as an 
observer at the workshop, in order that EPA may properly anticipate the 
correct number of people, EPA requests that you pre-register by July 6, 
2011 at https://www.epa.gov/npdes/sso.

    Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

    Dated: June 7, 2011.
James A. Hanlon,
Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 2011-15003 Filed 6-15-11; 8:45 am]
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