[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47492-47494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18229]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R08-OW-2021-0201; FRL-8821-01-R8]
Notice of Proposed Reissuance of the NPDES General Permits for
Wastewater Lagoon Systems in Indian Country in EPA, Region 8
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed draft permits and request for public
comment.
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SUMMARY: EPA, Region 8 (R8) is providing for comment the draft 2021
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permits
for Wastewater Lagoon Systems in Indian Country in R8. These draft
permits are renewals of existing permits and will authorize discharge
of wastewater from lagoons located in R8 Indian country in accordance
with the terms and conditions described therein. EPA proposes to issue
these permits for five (5) years and is seeking public comment on the
draft permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Comments regarding this document, identified by Docket ID
No. EPA-R08-OW-2021-0201, may be submitted (preferred method) to the
Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov by following the
online instructions for submitting comments.
Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
a. Identify the public notice, docket number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
b. Organize comments by referencing the part of the permit or fact
sheet by section number.
c. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and
substitute language for your requested changes.
d. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
e. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
f. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
g. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
h. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline
identified in the DATES section (above).
Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
www.regulations.gov. Additionally, if technical difficulties are
experienced submitting through this site, comments may be emailed to
Alysia Tien at [email protected] using subject line ``Region 8 Lagoon
General Permit Public Comment''. The EPA may publish any comment
received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Refer
to the General Information part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section below if you intend to submit information considered CBI.
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
Due to current office procedures related to the COVID-19 outbreak,
at this time there is no opportunity to submit comments via regular
mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For requests to make alternative
arrangements for access to the docket or comment submission, please
email or call: Alysia Tien, Wastewater Section, (303) 312-7021 or
[email protected]. Publicly available docket materials related to the
draft permits may be found in the Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R08-OW-2021-0201.
Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted
material, if applicable, would be available only in hard copy. However,
to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, for this action we do not
plan to offer hard copy review of the docket.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Public Comment Information
Any interested person may submit comments on the draft permits
using the
[[Page 47493]]
mechanisms listed above. As of the date of this document, a public
hearing has not been scheduled. Within the comment period, interested
persons may also submit a request, to the contact listed above, that
EPA hold a public hearing pursuant to 40 CFR 124.12, concerning the
draft permits. Such requests shall state the nature of the issues
proposed to be raised at the hearing. A public hearing may be held at
least thirty (30) days after public notice if the Regional
Administrator finds that response to this document indicates
significant public interest. All comments and requests for public
hearings must be received in writing by the close of the public comment
period. At the time of the final decision on these draft permits, EPA
will respond to all significant comments and make responses available
in the docket after the PN period has closed, within the final fact
sheet associated with the final permits.
B. Submitting CBI
Do not submit this CBI to EPA through http://regulations.gov or
email. If you intend to submit CBI information, please email or call:
Alysia Tien, Wastewater Section, (303) 312-7021 or [email protected]
to make arrangements prior to submission. When submitting, clearly mark
the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI
information in a disk or CD ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM
as CBI and identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
II. Background
The proposed draft permits are similar to the existing permits and
will authorize discharge of wastewater in accordance with the terms and
conditions described therein. The fact sheet for the draft permits is
also provided, in the docket listed above, and provides detailed
information on: The decisions used to set limitations, the specific
geographic areas covered by the draft permits, information on
monitoring schedules, inspection requirements, and other regulatory
decisions or requirements.
Issuance of these permits will cover discharges from wastewater
lagoon systems located in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. The draft permits are geographic by state,
with the permit coverage specified by Indian reservations in the state
[specific permit coverage areas below]; any land held in trust by the
United States for an Indian tribe; and any other areas which are Indian
country within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
III. Summary of Draft Permits
Coverage under the draft permits will be limited to lagoon systems
treating primarily domestic wastewater and will include two categories
of coverage; discharging lagoons (DIS), and lagoons expected to have no
discharge but with the potential to discharge (NODIS). The effluent
limitations for discharging lagoons are primarily based on the Federal
Secondary Treatment Regulation (40 CFR part 133). However, if more
stringent and/or additional effluent limitations were considered
necessary to comply with applicable water quality standards, etc.,
those limitations and the basis for them are explained in the fact
sheet and will be imposed by written notification to the permittee.
Lagoon systems under the NODIS category are required to have no
discharge except in accordance with the specific provisions of the
permit (e.g., bypass). Self-monitoring, operation and maintenance,
routine inspection and other requirements are also included in the
draft permits. Where tribes have Clean Water Act (CWA) section
401(a)(1) certification authority, EPA has requested certification that
the draft permits comply with applicable provisions of the CWA and any
currently approved tribal water quality standard, in accordance with
processes outlined in 40 CFR part 124.
Permit Coverage Has Been Designated as Follows for the Draft Permits
Colorado (COG587###): Indian country, as defined in 18
U.S.C. 1151, located in Colorado generally includes (1) lands within
the exterior boundaries of the following Indian reservations located
within Colorado, in part or in full: The Southern Ute Indian
Reservation and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation; (2) any land held in
trust by the United States for an Indian tribe; and (3) any other areas
that are ``Indian country'' within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151. In
addition to Indian country in Colorado, the portion of the Ute Mountain
Ute Reservation located in New Mexico and any other Indian country
lands in New Mexico and Utah held in trust by the United States for the
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe or its members.
Montana (MTG589###): Indian country, as defined in 18
U.S.C. 1151, located in Montana generally includes (1) lands within the
exterior boundaries of the following Indian reservations located within
Montana: The Blackfeet Indian Reservation, the Crow Indian Reservation,
the Flathead Reservation, the Fort Belknap Reservation, the Fort Peck
Indian Reservation, the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, and the
Rocky Boy's Reservation; (2) any land held in trust by the United
States for an Indian tribe; and (3) any other areas that are ``Indian
country'' within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
North Dakota (NDG589###): Indian country, as defined in 18
U.S.C. 1151, located in North Dakota generally includes (1) lands
within the exterior boundaries of the following Indian reservations
located within North Dakota, in part or in full: The Fort Berthold
Indian Reservation, the Spirit Lake Reservation, the Standing Rock
Sioux Reservation, and the Turtle Mountain Reservation; (2) any land
held in trust by the United States for an Indian tribe; and (3) any
other areas that are ``Indian country'' within the meaning of 18 U.S.C.
1151. In addition to Indian country in North Dakota, the portion of the
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation located in South Dakota and any other
Indian country lands held in trust by the United States for the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe or its members in South Dakota.
The North Dakota draft permit covers the above identified Indian
country except as provided below: Not including any Indian country
lands in North Dakota held in trust by the United States for the
Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe or its members, which are covered under
the South Dakota general permit (SDG589###).
South Dakota (SDG589###): Indian country, as defined in 18
U.S.C. 1151, located in South Dakota generally includes (1) lands
within the exterior boundaries of the following Indian reservations
located within South Dakota, in part or in full: The Cheyenne River
Reservation, the Crow Creek Reservation, the Flandreau Indian
Reservation, the Lower Brule Reservation, the Pine Ridge Reservation,
the Rosebud Indian Reservation, the Standing Rock Reservation, and the
Yankton Reservation (subject to federal court decisions removing
certain lands from Indian country status within the Yankton
Reservation); (2) any land held in trust by the United States for an
Indian tribe; and (3) any other areas that are ``Indian country''
within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151. In addition to Indian country in
South Dakota, Indian country lands in North Dakota held in trust by the
United States for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe or its members, and
the portion of the Pine
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Ridge Reservation of the Oglala Sioux Tribe located in Nebraska and any
other Indian country lands in Nebraska held in trust by the United
States for the Oglala Sioux Tribe or its members.
The South Dakota draft permit covers the above identified Indian
country except as provided below: Not including the portion of the
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation located in South Dakota and any other
Indian country lands in South Dakota held in trust by the United States
for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe or its members, which are covered
under the North Dakota general permit (NDG589###).
Utah (UTG589###): Indian country, as defined in 18 U.S.C.
1151, located in Utah generally includes (1) lands within the exterior
boundaries of the following Indian reservations located within Utah, in
part or in full: The Goshute Reservation, the Navajo Indian
Reservation, the reservation lands of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah
(Cedar Band of Paiutes, Kanosh Band of Paiutes, Koosharem Band of
Paiutes, Indian Peaks Band of Paiutes, and Shivwits Band of Paiutes),
the Skull Valley Indian Reservation, the Uintah and Ouray Reservation
(subject to federal court decisions removing certain lands from Indian
country status within the Uintah and Ouray Reservation), and the
Washakie Reservation; (2) any land held in trust by the United States
for an Indian tribe; and (3) any other areas that are ``Indian
country'' within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
The Utah draft permit covers the above identified Indian country
except as provided below: Not including any Indian country lands in
Utah held in trust by the United States for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
or its members, which are covered under the Colorado general permit
(COG587###). Not including the portions of the Goshute Reservation and
the Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah, or any other Indian country
lands in Utah held in trust by the United States for the Navajo Nation
or its members or for the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute
Reservation or its members, which are regulated by EPA Region 9.
Wyoming (WYG589###): Indian country, as defined at 18
U.S.C. 1151, located in Wyoming generally includes any lands within the
exterior boundaries of the Wind River Indian Reservation (subject to
Wyoming v. EPA, 875 F.3d 505 (10th Cir. 2017), cert. denied, 138 S. Ct.
2677 (2018)); any land held in trust by the United States for an Indian
tribe; and any other areas that are ``Indian country'' within the
meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
IV. Other Legal Requirements
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant regulatory action and was
therefore not subject to submission to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for formal review.
B. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice (EJ) in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629 (February 16, 1994)) establishes
federal executive policy on EJ. Its main provision directs federal
agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, to
make EJ part of their mission by identifying and addressing, as
appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or
environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on
minority populations and low-income populations in the United States.
EPA conducted an EJ Analysis, which is described in Section VII of
the fact sheet. EPA has preliminarily determined that the draft permits
will not have disproportionately high and adverse human health or
environmental effects on minority or low-income populations based on
the effluent limits and reporting requirements contained therein. EPA
requests comment on this preliminary determination and/or any
modifications EPA could make to the proposed permits to address EJ
concerns.
Authority: CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.
Dated: August 19, 2021.
Judy Bloom,
Manager, Clean Water Branch.
[FR Doc. 2021-18229 Filed 8-24-21; 8:45 am]
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