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Extension of Comment Period for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System; Regulations Addressing Cooling Water Intake Structures for New Facilities; Proposed Rule

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 [Federal Register: August 31, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 170)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 52978-52979]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31au00-25]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 125

[FRL-6862-8]


Extension of Comment Period for National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System; Regulations Addressing Cooling Water Intake
Structures for New Facilities; Proposed Rule

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period for proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is extending the comment period for the proposed rule
addressing cooling water intake structures for new facilities. The
proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 2000
(65 FR 49060). The comment period for the proposed rule is extended by
30 days, ending on November 9, 2000. In light of issues raised by the
regulated community and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit establishing the
schedule for this action, EPA agrees that extending the comment period
to 90 days is appropriate due to the complexity and

[[Page 52979]]

the range of issues raised by the proposed rule.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted through November
9, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Cooling Water Intake Structure
(New Facilities) Proposed Rule Comment Clerk--W-00-03, Water Docket,
Mail Code 4101, EPA, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.,
Washington, DC 20460. Comments delivered in person (including overnight
mail) should be submitted to the Cooling Water Intake Structure (New
Facilities) Proposed Rule Comment Clerk--W-00-03, Water Docket, Room EB
57, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington DC 20460. Please submit any
references cited in your comments. Submit an original and three copies
of your written comments and enclosures. No facsimiles (faxes) will be
accepted. For information on how to submit electronic comments, see the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional technical information,
contact Deborah G. Nagle at (202) 260-2656, or James T. Morgan at (202)
260-6015. For additional economic information, contact Lynne Tudor at
(202) 260-5384.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 10, 2000, EPA published proposed
regulations under section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA)
addressing cooling water intake structures for new facilities for
public review and comment (65 FR 49060). The comment period was
scheduled to end on October 10, 2000.
    EPA has received requests to extend the comment period from the
regulated community and from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit establishing
the schedule for this action. In response to these requests, EPA is
extending the comment period 30 days, through November 9, 2000, due to
the complexity and the range of issues raised by the proposed rule.
However, EPA does not believe that additional time beyond 90 days is
needed to comment adequately on the proposed rule. The regulated
community has known since October 1995 that EPA was operating under a
court order entered by the U.S. District Court, Southern District of
New York that requires EPA to propose and take final action on this
rule. Thus, they have had sufficient time to plan and conduct research
projects they would like to rely upon to support their comments (for
example, research into the survival rates of organisms drawn into and
later discharged from cooling water intake systems). EPA conducted two
public meetings on this rulemaking in 1998 and has met on numerous
occasions with interested parties to discuss the Agency's plans for
regulating cooling water intake structures. In particular, in May and
June 2000, EPA held a series of meetings with interested groups to
describe the draft framework for the proposed rule. EPA also made
copies of the proposed rule and preamble available to representatives
of potentially regulated industries, States, and environmental groups
on July 21, 2000, 19 days prior to publication of the proposed rule and
preamble in the Federal Register.
    In addition to accepting hard-copy written comments, EPA will also
accept comments submitted electronically. Electronic comments must be
submitted as a Word Perfect 5/6/7/8 or ASCII file and must be submitted
to ow-docket@epa.gov.

    Dated: August 24, 2000.
J. Charles Fox,
Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. 00-22387 Filed 8-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U

 
 

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