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Final Reissuance of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Storm Water Multi-Sector General Permits for Industrial Activities for Alaska and for Indian Country in Montana
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: April 16, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 73)]
[Notices]
[Page 19483-19485]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16ap01-60]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6966-5]
Final Reissuance of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Storm Water Multi-Sector General Permits for Industrial
Activities for Alaska and for Indian Country in Montana
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final NPDES storm water general permits for Alaska
and for Indian country in Montana.
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SUMMARY: This action provides notice of the reissuance of the ``Final
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Storm Water
Multi-Sector General Permit for Industrial Activities'' for the State
of Alaska, and for Indian country within the State of Montana.
DATES: Today's action shall be effective on April 16, 2001. This
effective date is necessary to provide dischargers with the immediate
opportunity to comply with Clean Water Act requirements in light of the
expiration of the existing Multi-Sector General Permit for the State of
Alaska on February 9, 2001, and for the existing Baseline Industrial
General Permit for Indian country lands within the State of Montana on
September 9, 1997. The deadline for submission of notices of intent
from sources in each of these areas is provided as part of this action.
ADDRESSES: The index to the administrative record for these final
Multi-Sector General Permit is available at the appropriate Regional
office or from the EPA Water Docket office in Washington, D.C. The
administrative record, including documents immediately referenced in
this reissuance notice, the reissuance of the permit for other areas of
the country on October 30, 2000, and applicable documents used to
support the original issuance of the Multi-Sector General Permits in
1995, are stored at the EPA Water Docket Office at the following
address: Water Docket, MC-4101, U.S. EPA, 401 M Street SW, Room EB-57,
Washington, D.C. 20460. The records are available for inspection from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. For
appointments to examine any portion of the administrative record,
please call the Water Docket Office at (202) 260-3027. A reasonable fee
may be charged for copying. Specific record information can also be
made available at the appropriate Regional Office upon request.
In accordance with 40 CFR 23.2, the permit reissuance for the State
of Alaska and for Indian country within the State of Montana shall be
considered final for the purposes of judicial review at 1 p.m. (Eastern
time) on April 30, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Misha Vakoc, EPA Region 10, (206) 553-
6650; vakoc.misha@epa.gov for Alaska; or Vern Berry, EPA Region 8,
(303) 312-6234; berry.vern@epa.gov for Montana Indian country.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
On October 30, 2000 (65 FR 64746), EPA published final NPDES Multi-
Sector General Permits (MSGP) for storm water discharges associated
with industrial activity in the states of Arizona, Idaho, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Mexico; the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico; the District of Columbia; the Territories of Johnson
Atoll, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana
Islands, Midway and Wake Islands; Indian Country lands in Alaska,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, and
Washington; for certain oil and gas facilities in the States of
Oklahoma and Texas not on Indian Country lands; and Federal facilities
located in Colorado, Delaware, Vermont and Washington. This final
action was previously corrected on January 9, 2001 (66 FR 1675-1678)
and March 23, 2001 (66 FR 16233-16237).
Today's notice provides final reissuance of the NPDES storm water
MSGP for storm water discharges in the State of Alaska, and in Indian
country within the State of Montana.
II. Notice of Final NPDES Storm Water Permit in Alaska
On March 30, 2000 (65 FR 17010), EPA proposed the MSGP for the
State of Alaska. EPA was not able to provide notice of the final permit
in Alaska on October 30, 2000 when the MSGP was published, because at
that time the State of Alaska had not concluded proceedings to certify
compliance with Alaska water quality standards (pursuant to Clean Water
Act section 401) and to determine consistency with the State's coastal
zone management program.
Today's action reissues EPA's NPDES Storm Water Multi-Sector
General Permit for the State of Alaska. The permit's terms and
conditions are those set forth at 65 FR 64801-64880 published on
October 30, 2000 and corrected on January 9, 2001 (66 FR 1675-1678) and
March 23, 2001 (66 FR 16233-16237). This action adds the state-specific
requirements provided by the State of Alaska under section 401 of the
Clean Water Act, and specifically sets the date by which facilities in
Alaska must submit their Notice of Intent application.
The effective date of this MSGP permit for the State of Alaska is
April 16, 2001. To accommodate a consistent permit schedule which
aligns Alaska's MSGP with those of other states and territories, this
permit and authorization to discharge from facilities located in Alaska
expires at midnight, October 30, 2005.
Notices of Intent (NOIs) to be covered under this permit must be
submitted to EPA as indicated in Part 2 of the MSGP published on
October 30, 2000. For Alaskan facilities seeking continued coverage of
existing discharges under the MSGP, Notices of Intent must be submitted
no later than July 16, 2001, which is ninety (90) days after the
effective date of this permit.
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act provides that no Federal license
or permit, including NPDES permits to conduct any activity that may
result in any discharge into navigable waters, shall be granted until
the State in which the discharge originates certifies that the
discharge will comply with the applicable provisions of sections 301,
302, 303, 306, and 307 of the CWA, or waives certification. The section
401 certification process has been completed for the State of Alaska.
Alaska CWA 401 conditions provide that the storm water pollution
prevention plan shall be approved and sealed by a Professional Engineer
registered in the State of Alaska and submitted to the Alaska
Department of Environmental Conservation for review and approval at the
address listed below. Approval must be obtained prior to discharge, and
the state's plan review fee must be paid according to provisions of
state law. A
[[Page 19484]]
copy of the Notice of Intent form, in addition to the NOI already
required to be submitted to EPA, must also be sent to the address
indicated below. In addition, a copy of any Notice of Termination must
be submitted to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, as
well. The address of the state office to which copies are to be sent
is:
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Water Quality
Permitting Section/Storm water, 555 Cordova Street, Anchorage, Alaska
99501.
III. Montana Indian Country
The Federal Register publication of October 30, 2000 reserved
issuance of the MSGP for Montana Indian country because of a lawsuit
for development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for impaired
waterbodies in Montana. On June 21, 2000 and September 21, 2000, U.S.
District Judge Donald W. Malloy issued orders stating that until all
necessary TMDLs 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. After further review of the
Court's orders, EPA finds that the issuance of the MSGP for Indian
country in Montana does not conflict with the Court's orders because:
(1) The permit is not new, being a replacement for the previously
issued general permit for storm water discharges from industrial
activities; (2) the 1996 and subsequent Montana section 303(d) lists of
impaired waters, as approved by EPA, did not include waters within
Indian country in Montana; (3) the permit prohibits storm water
discharges that cause or contribute to water quality standards
violations, meaning that discharges of storm water from industrial
activities in compliance with the conditions of this permit are not
likely to have an adverse effect on any waterbody in Montana that has
been listed under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act.
Today's action issues EPA's NPDES Storm Water Multi-Sector General
Permit for Indian country in the State of Montana, which replaces the
Baseline Industrial General Permit. The permit's terms and conditions
are those set forth at 65 FR 64801-64880 published on October 30, 2000
and corrected on January 9, 2001 (66 FR 1675-1678) and March 23, 2001
(66 FR 16233-16237).
The effective date of this MSGP for Indian country in the State of
Montana is April 16, 2001. To accommodate a consistent permit schedule
which aligns this MSGP with those of other states and territories, this
permit and authorization to discharge from facilities located in Indian
country in Montana expires at midnight, October 30, 2005.
Notices of Intent (NOIs) to be covered under this permit must be
submitted to EPA as indicated in Part 2 of the MSGP published on
October 30, 2000. For facilities located in Indian country in Montana
seeking coverage of existing discharges under the MSGP, Notices of
Intent must be submitted no later than July 16, 2001, which is ninety
(90) days after the effective date of this permit.
Economic Impact (Executive Order 12866)
EPA has determined that the reissuance of these general permits for
Alaska and for Montana Indian country 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
resulting from these final MSGPs under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 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 (OMB Control Numbers 2040-0004, 2040-0086, 2040-0110 and
2040-0211) in submissions made for the NPDES permit program under the
provisions of the Clean Water Act.
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
The RFA generally 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 permits issued today, however, are not ``rules'' subject
to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and are therefore not subject to
the RFA.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
Section 201 of UMRA 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, and local governments
and the private sector. The permits issued today, however, are not
``rules'' subject to the RFA and are therefore not subject to the
requirements of UMRA.
Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
In compliance with the provisions of the Clean Water Act, as
amended, (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), operators of point source discharges
of storm water associated with industrial activity that are located in
the State of Alaska, except Indian country lands, and in Indian country
lands within the State of Montana are authorized to discharge
pollutants to waters of the United States in accordance with the
conditions and requirements set forth in the ``Final Reissuance of
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Storm Water
Multi-Sector General Permit for Industrial Activities'' issued on
October 30, 2000 (65 FR 64746), and corrected on January 9, 2001 (66 FR
1675) and March 23, 2001 (66 FR 16233), with the five alterations to
permit language appearing below.
1. Part 1.1.8, for Montana remove the word ``Reserved,'' and
replace with the following:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Areas of coverage/where EPA is
Permit No. permitting authority
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MTR05*##I........................... Indian country lands within the
State of Montana.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Part 1.1.10, remove the sentence, ``EPA will reissue this permit
for the State of Alaska at a later date.'' Revise table to include the
entry:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Areas of coverage/where EPA is
Permit No. permitting authority
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AKR05*###........................... The State of Alaska, except Indian
country lands.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Table 2-1, Deadlines for NOI Submittal, add the following dates
for the State of Alaska and Indian country within the State of Montana:
Table 2-1--Deadlines for NOI Submittal
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category Deadline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1A. Existing discharges covered under July 16, 2001.
the 1995 MSGP within the State of
Alaska, and the Baseline Industrial
General Permit for Indian country
within the State of Montana (see also
Part 2.1.2--Interim Coverage).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Part 13.10.1, remove the sentence: ``(The terms and conditions
of the 1995 Multi-Sector General Permit are effective for facilities in
the State of Alaska through February 9, 2001.)'' and replace with the
following: AKR05*###: The State of Alaska, except Indian country lands.
5. Add the following:
[[Page 19485]]
Part 13.10.1.1 Permittees in Alaska must also meet the following
conditions:
1. A copy of the Notice of Intent shall be sent to the following
Department of Environmental Conservation office: Alaska Department of
Environmental Conservation, Water Quality Permitting Section/Storm
Water, 555 Cordova Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.
2. Pollution Prevention Plans shall be approved and sealed by a
Professional Engineer registered in the state of Alaska and submitted
to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, at the above
address, for review and approval. Approval must be obtained prior to
discharge. Either a check for the plan review fee will be paid to the
department prior to the departments commencing plan review, or a
reimbursement agreement will be in place for NPDES permits associated
with the project (18 A.A.C. 72.600 9(a) and 18 A.A.C. 72.610(8)).
3. A copy of the Notice of Termination shall be sent to the above
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation office.
Region 8
Signed and issued this 3rd day of April 2001.
Stephen S. Tuber,
Acting Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Partnerships and
Regulatory Assistance.
Region 10
Signed and issued this 27th of March 2001.
Randall F. Smith,
Director, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 01-9364 Filed 4-13-01; 8:45 am]
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