State Program Requirements; Approval of Maine's Base National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permitting Program, 23481-23482 [2012-9450]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices
THE PROPOSED NO DISCHARGE AREA FOR MOUNT HOPE BAY
Waterbody/general area
The
The
The
The
The
Latitude
41°50′5.90″ N
41°44′24.87″ N
41°44′47.03″ N
41°42′43.94″ N
41°40′30.28″ N
northern edge of the NDA boundary on the Taunton River is the Center Street/Elm Street bridge at:
northern edge of the NDA boundary on the Lees River is the Route 6 bridge at:
northern edge of the NDA boundary on the Cole River is the Route 6 Bridge at:
southwestern edge of the NDA boundary is the Rhode Island/Massachusetts border at Swansea at:
southeastern edge of the NDA boundary is the Rhode Island/Massachusetts border at Fall River at:
Longitude
71°6′29.34″ W
71°11′12.72″ W
71°12′7.81″ W
71°13′34.27″ W
71°11′43.86″ W
The Mount Hope Bay NDA will encompass the tidal waters of Dighton, Berkley, Freetown, Somerset, Swansea, and Fall River to the mean
high tide line.
There are marinas, yacht clubs and
public landings/piers in the proposed
area with a combination of mooring
fields and dock space for the
recreational and commercial vessels.
Mount Hope Bay is a shared waterbody
between Massachusetts and Rhode
Island and in 1998 Rhode Island
designated all its state waters as no
discharge, including its portion of
Mount Hope Bay. Massachusetts has
certified that there are three pumpout
facilities, within the proposed state
waters, available to the boating public.
A list of the facilities, locations, contact
information, hours of operation, and
water depth is provided at the end of
this petition.
Massachusetts has provided
documentation indicating that the total
vessel population is estimated to be 585
in the proposed area. It is estimated that
523 of the total vessel population may
have a Marine Sanitation Device (MSD)
of some type. The total number of MSDs
certified by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts is an overestimate,
conservatively, giving the boating public
a 1:175 ratio of pumpouts to boats,
which is much less than the ratio
suggested by EPA Region 1 guidelines
(300–600 vessels for every one facility.)
PUMPOUT FACILITIES WITHIN PROPOSED NO DISCHARGE AREA
Name
Town
Contact information
Hours of operation
Fall River Harbormaster Boat ..................................
Somerset Harbormaster Boat ..................................
Somerset Land-based Pumpout Station at Town
Boat Ramp.
Fall River .....................
Somerset .....................
Somerset .....................
774–644–3609, VHF 16 ....
774–319–3126, VHF 9, 16
N/A Self Serve ..................
On Call ...........................
8:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m. .......
8 a.m.–5 p.m. Weekdays; 8 a.m.–6 p.m.
Weekends.
Dated: April 6, 2012.
H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, New England Region.
[FR Doc. 2012–9448 Filed 4–18–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–R01–OEP–12–006; FRL–9662–6]
State Program Requirements;
Approval of Maine’s Base National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Permitting Program
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Since January 2001, the State
of Maine has been authorized to
administer the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
program in the Indian territories of the
Penobscot Nation and the
Passamaquoddy Tribe, with the
exception of authorization to issue
permits to two tribally owned and
operated wastewater treatment works.
On August 8, 2007, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit vacated
EPA’s October 31, 2003 decision to
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:10 Apr 18, 2012
Jkt 226001
withhold authority to administer the
program under the Clean Water Act
with respect to the two tribally owned
and operated treatment works. EPA is
responding to the court’s order by
approving Maine’s NPDES program to
include the permitting of all discharges
within the Indian territories of the
Penobscot Nation and the
Passamaquoddy Tribe.
DATES: March 26, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Questions or requests for additional
information may be submitted to:
´
• Mail: Glenda Velez, USEPA–Region
1, 5 Post Office Square—OEP06–01,
Boston, MA 02109–3912.
• Telephone: (617) 918–1677.
• Email: velez.glenda@epa.gov.
• No facsimiles (faxes) will be
accepted.
Copies of documents Maine has
submitted in support of its program
approval may be reviewed during
regular business hours, Monday through
Friday, excluding holidays at the
address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
2001 Approval of the Program Outside
Indian Territories
On December 17, 1999, EPA
determined that the State of Maine had
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Depth
(Ft)
N/A
N/A
3.5
submitted a complete application to
administer the NPDES permitting
program in the state under the Clean
Water Act (CWA). 33 U.S.C. 1251, et
seq., see 64 FR 73552 (Dec. 30, 1999).
Maine’s application included an
assertion of authority to implement the
program in the territories of the
federally-recognized Indian tribes
within the state, based on the
jurisdictional provisions of the Maine
Indian Claims Settlement Act (MICSA),
which ratified the Maine Implementing
Act (MIA). 25 U.S.C. 1721, et seq. and
30 M.R.S.A. section 6201, et seq.,
respectively.
On January 12, 2001, EPA approved
the State of Maine’s application to
administer the NPDES program for all
areas of the state other than Indian
country. At that point EPA did not take
any action on Maine’s application to
administer the program within the
territories of the federally-recognized
Indian tribes in Maine. EPA published
notice of its action on February 28,
2001. 66 FR 12791. As described in the
Federal Register, EPA approved the
state’s application to administer both
the NPDES permit program covering
point source dischargers and the
pretreatment program covering
industrial dischargers into publicly
E:\FR\FM\19APN1.SGM
19APN1
23482
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 76 / Thursday, April 19, 2012 / Notices
owned treatment works (POTWs). EPA
did not authorize the state to regulate
cooling water intake structures under
CWA section 316(b) (33 U.S.C. 1326(b)).
66 FR 12792.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
2003 Partial Approval of the Program
in Indian Territories
On October 31, 2003, EPA approved
the State of Maine’s application to
administer the NPDES program in the
Indian territories of the Penobscot
Indian Nation and the Passamaquoddy
Tribe, with the exception of any
discharges that qualified as ‘‘internal
tribal matters’’ under MICSA and MIA.
68 FR 65052 (Nov. 18, 2003). This
action generally authorized the state to
administer the NPDES program in the
territories of the two largest Indian
tribes in the state, finding that the
combination of MICSA and MIA created
a unique jurisdictional arrangement that
granted the state authority to issue
permits to dischargers. EPA did not
approve the state’s program to regulate
two small tribally-owned and operated
POTWs. EPA determined that these
POTWs qualified as internal tribal
matters and, therefore, fell within an
enumerated exception to the grant of
jurisdiction to the state in MICSA and
MIA. EPA did not take action on the
state’s application as it applied to the
territories of the two smaller federallyrecognized tribes in the state, the
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and
the Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians.
These two tribes are subject to
jurisdictional provisions separate from
those that apply to the Penobscot and
Passamaquoddy tribes. EPA’s 2003
action addressed all the Indian
territories that included existing point
source dischargers covered by the
NPDES program.
Appeal and Decision in Maine v.
Johnson
Several parties petitioned for judicial
review of EPA’s 2003 decision partially
approving Maine’s NPDES program in
the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy
Indian territories. The Penobscot Nation
and Passamaquoddy Tribe challenged
EPA’s decision to generally approve the
state to administer the program in their
territories. The State of Maine and a
coalition of public and private NPDES
permit holders challenged EPA’s
decision to disapprove the state’s
program as to the two small tribal
POTWs based on the finding that
permitting those discharges qualified as
an internal tribal matter.
On August 8, 2007, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit issued its
opinion in Maine v. Johnson. 498 F.3d
37. The court held that EPA had
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:10 Apr 18, 2012
Jkt 226001
correctly determined that MICSA and
MIA granted the state sufficient
authority to administer the NPDES
permit program in the territories of
these two tribes. The court disagreed
with EPA’s finding, however, that
permitting the two small tribal POTWs
qualified as an internal tribal matter. It
found that ‘‘[d]ischarging pollutants into
navigable waters is not of the same
character as tribal elections, tribal
membership or other exemplars [of
internal tribal matters] that relate to the
structure of Indian government or the
distribution of tribal property.’’ Id. at 46.
The court affirmed EPA’s approval of
Maine’s NPDES program, but vacated
EPA’s decision to withhold program
approval with respect to issuing NDPES
permits to the two tribal POTWs and
remanded the matter back to EPA to
amend the program approval consistent
with its opinion. Id. at 48–49. The
court’s mandate was issued on October
2, 2007.
Program Approval To Address the
Court’s Remand
EPA proposed to implement the
court’s order by modifying its approval
of Maine’s NPDES program to authorize
the State to issue NPDES permits for all
discharges within the Indian territories
of the Penobscot Nation and
Passamaquoddy Tribe. 76 FR 29747
(May 23, 2011). Additionally, the notice
stated that EPA does not plan to
undertake a case-by-case analysis of any
new discharges to determine whether
they qualify as internal tribal matters
under MICSA and MIA. EPA received
no public comments on the record in
response to the May 23, 2011 proposal.
As a result, the state will assume
responsibility from EPA for issuing and
administering the permits for the
Penobscot Nation Indian Island
treatment works (EPA NPDES Permit
No. ME 0101311 and MEPDES License
No. 2672) and the Passamaquoddy
Tribal Council treatment works (EPA
NPDES Permit No. 1011773 and
MEPDES License No. 2561). Neither
tribe has applied to EPA to implement
the NPDES permit program, so this
action does not address the question of
either tribe’s authority to implement the
program.
The finalization of this action does
not modify the types of activities
covered by Maine’s base program as
EPA approved it in 2001. Thus, the
state’s program does not include
regulation of cooling water intake
structures under CWA section 316(b).
Nor is EPA taking action on Maine’s
application to implement the NPDES
permit program in the territories of the
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and
the Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians.
Authority: This action is taken under the
authority of Section 402 of the Clean Water
Act as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1342.
Dated: March 28, 2012.
H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, Region 1.
[FR Doc. 2012–9450 Filed 4–18–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
Sunshine Act Meeting
Federal Election Commission.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
at 10 a.m.
PLACE: 999 E Street NW., Washington,
DC.
STATUS: This meeting will be closed to
the public.
ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED:
Compliance matters pursuant to
2 U.S.C. 437g.
Audits conducted pursuant to 2 U.S.C.
437g, 438(b), and Title 26, U.S.C.
Matters concerning participation in civil
actions or proceedings or arbitration.
Internal personnel rules and procedures
or matters affecting a particular
employee.
Investigatory records compiled for law
enforcement purposes, or information
which if written would be contained
in such records.
Information the premature disclosure of
which would be likely to have a
considerable adverse effect on the
implementation of a proposed
Commission action.
*
*
*
*
*
PERSON TO CONTACT FOR INFORMATION:
Judith Ingram, Press Officer. Telephone:
(202) 694–1220.
AGENCY:
DATE AND TIME:
Shawn Woodhead Werth,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012–9615 Filed 4–17–12; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 6715–01–P
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Formations of, Acquisitions by, and
Mergers of Bank Holding Companies
The companies listed in this notice
have applied to the Board for approval,
pursuant to the Bank Holding Company
Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.)
(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR part
225), and all other applicable statutes
and regulations to become a bank
holding company and/or to acquire the
assets or the ownership of, control of, or
E:\FR\FM\19APN1.SGM
19APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 76 (Thursday, April 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23481-23482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9450]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R01-OEP-12-006; FRL-9662-6]
State Program Requirements; Approval of Maine's Base National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permitting Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Since January 2001, the State of Maine has been authorized to
administer the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
program in the Indian territories of the Penobscot Nation and the
Passamaquoddy Tribe, with the exception of authorization to issue
permits to two tribally owned and operated wastewater treatment works.
On August 8, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
vacated EPA's October 31, 2003 decision to withhold authority to
administer the program under the Clean Water Act with respect to the
two tribally owned and operated treatment works. EPA is responding to
the court's order by approving Maine's NPDES program to include the
permitting of all discharges within the Indian territories of the
Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
DATES: March 26, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions or requests for additional
information may be submitted to:
Mail: Glenda V[eacute]lez, USEPA-Region 1, 5 Post Office
Square--OEP06-01, Boston, MA 02109-3912.
Telephone: (617) 918-1677.
Email: velez.glenda@epa.gov.
No facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted.
Copies of documents Maine has submitted in support of its program
approval may be reviewed during regular business hours, Monday through
Friday, excluding holidays at the address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
2001 Approval of the Program Outside Indian Territories
On December 17, 1999, EPA determined that the State of Maine had
submitted a complete application to administer the NPDES permitting
program in the state under the Clean Water Act (CWA). 33 U.S.C. 1251,
et seq., see 64 FR 73552 (Dec. 30, 1999). Maine's application included
an assertion of authority to implement the program in the territories
of the federally-recognized Indian tribes within the state, based on
the jurisdictional provisions of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act
(MICSA), which ratified the Maine Implementing Act (MIA). 25 U.S.C.
1721, et seq. and 30 M.R.S.A. section 6201, et seq., respectively.
On January 12, 2001, EPA approved the State of Maine's application
to administer the NPDES program for all areas of the state other than
Indian country. At that point EPA did not take any action on Maine's
application to administer the program within the territories of the
federally-recognized Indian tribes in Maine. EPA published notice of
its action on February 28, 2001. 66 FR 12791. As described in the
Federal Register, EPA approved the state's application to administer
both the NPDES permit program covering point source dischargers and the
pretreatment program covering industrial dischargers into publicly
[[Page 23482]]
owned treatment works (POTWs). EPA did not authorize the state to
regulate cooling water intake structures under CWA section 316(b) (33
U.S.C. 1326(b)). 66 FR 12792.
2003 Partial Approval of the Program in Indian Territories
On October 31, 2003, EPA approved the State of Maine's application
to administer the NPDES program in the Indian territories of the
Penobscot Indian Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe, with the exception
of any discharges that qualified as ``internal tribal matters'' under
MICSA and MIA. 68 FR 65052 (Nov. 18, 2003). This action generally
authorized the state to administer the NPDES program in the territories
of the two largest Indian tribes in the state, finding that the
combination of MICSA and MIA created a unique jurisdictional
arrangement that granted the state authority to issue permits to
dischargers. EPA did not approve the state's program to regulate two
small tribally-owned and operated POTWs. EPA determined that these
POTWs qualified as internal tribal matters and, therefore, fell within
an enumerated exception to the grant of jurisdiction to the state in
MICSA and MIA. EPA did not take action on the state's application as it
applied to the territories of the two smaller federally-recognized
tribes in the state, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the
Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians. These two tribes are subject to
jurisdictional provisions separate from those that apply to the
Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes. EPA's 2003 action addressed all the
Indian territories that included existing point source dischargers
covered by the NPDES program.
Appeal and Decision in Maine v. Johnson
Several parties petitioned for judicial review of EPA's 2003
decision partially approving Maine's NPDES program in the Penobscot and
Passamaquoddy Indian territories. The Penobscot Nation and
Passamaquoddy Tribe challenged EPA's decision to generally approve the
state to administer the program in their territories. The State of
Maine and a coalition of public and private NPDES permit holders
challenged EPA's decision to disapprove the state's program as to the
two small tribal POTWs based on the finding that permitting those
discharges qualified as an internal tribal matter.
On August 8, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
issued its opinion in Maine v. Johnson. 498 F.3d 37. The court held
that EPA had correctly determined that MICSA and MIA granted the state
sufficient authority to administer the NPDES permit program in the
territories of these two tribes. The court disagreed with EPA's
finding, however, that permitting the two small tribal POTWs qualified
as an internal tribal matter. It found that ``[d]ischarging pollutants
into navigable waters is not of the same character as tribal elections,
tribal membership or other exemplars [of internal tribal matters] that
relate to the structure of Indian government or the distribution of
tribal property.'' Id. at 46. The court affirmed EPA's approval of
Maine's NPDES program, but vacated EPA's decision to withhold program
approval with respect to issuing NDPES permits to the two tribal POTWs
and remanded the matter back to EPA to amend the program approval
consistent with its opinion. Id. at 48-49. The court's mandate was
issued on October 2, 2007.
Program Approval To Address the Court's Remand
EPA proposed to implement the court's order by modifying its
approval of Maine's NPDES program to authorize the State to issue NPDES
permits for all discharges within the Indian territories of the
Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe. 76 FR 29747 (May 23, 2011).
Additionally, the notice stated that EPA does not plan to undertake a
case-by-case analysis of any new discharges to determine whether they
qualify as internal tribal matters under MICSA and MIA. EPA received no
public comments on the record in response to the May 23, 2011 proposal.
As a result, the state will assume responsibility from EPA for issuing
and administering the permits for the Penobscot Nation Indian Island
treatment works (EPA NPDES Permit No. ME 0101311 and MEPDES License No.
2672) and the Passamaquoddy Tribal Council treatment works (EPA NPDES
Permit No. 1011773 and MEPDES License No. 2561). Neither tribe has
applied to EPA to implement the NPDES permit program, so this action
does not address the question of either tribe's authority to implement
the program.
The finalization of this action does not modify the types of
activities covered by Maine's base program as EPA approved it in 2001.
Thus, the state's program does not include regulation of cooling water
intake structures under CWA section 316(b). Nor is EPA taking action on
Maine's application to implement the NPDES permit program in the
territories of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Aroostook
Band of Micmac Indians.
Authority: This action is taken under the authority of Section
402 of the Clean Water Act as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1342.
Dated: March 28, 2012.
H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, Region 1.
[FR Doc. 2012-9450 Filed 4-18-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
