[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 250 (Thursday, December 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78483-78484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28378]


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INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION, UNITED STATES AND MEXICO


United States Section; Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for Clean Water Act 
(CWA) Compliance at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment 
Plant (SBIWTP), San Diego, California

AGENCY: United States Section, International Boundary and Water 
Commission (USIBWC).

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: This announces the availability of the DSEIS that assesses the 
potential environmental impacts of the construction and operation of a 
range of treatment and disposal alternatives for the SBIWTP to achieve 
compliance with the CWA. Situated in the United States at the United 
States/Mexico border, the SBIWTP treats sewage flows originating from 
the City of Tijuana, Mexico and the surrounding region and discharges 
into the Pacific Ocean through an ocean outfall. The DSEIS considers 
existing and new alternatives that would enable the USIBWC to bring the 
SBIWTP into compliance with the CWA and the requirements contained in 
its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and 
to evaluate new information on the current discharges of advanced 
primary effluent from the SBIWTP through the South Bay Ocean Outfall 
(SBOO), as well as interim actions that would continue operations of 
the SBIWTP until the SBIWTP achieves CWA compliance. The United States 
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Region 9, San Francisco, 
California, is a Cooperating Agency for this action.

DATES: Written comments are requested by February 28, 2005. The public 
comment period of the DSEIS will end 60 days after publication of the 
NOA in the Federal Register.
    Public Hearing: A public hearing regarding the findings of the 
DSEIS and to take comments on the DSEIS will be held at 6:30 pm on 
Wednesday, February 2, 2005 at the San Ysidro Middle School 
(Auditorium), 4345 Otay Mesa Road, San Diego.

ADDRESSES: Written comments (no e-mails or faxes) must be addressed to: 
Mr. Daniel Borunda, Environmental Protection Specialist, Compliance 
Section, USIBWC, 4171 North Mesa Street, C-100, El Paso, Texas 79902. A 
copy of the DSEIS is available at http://www.ibwc.state.gov and in 
local public libraries in the San Diego area. A

[[Page 78484]]

limited number of copies will be available, if you wish to obtain a 
copy contact Mr. Daniel Borunda at the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Daniel Borunda, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, USIBWC, at (915) 832-4701, by fax at (915) 832-
4167, or by mail at the above listed address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, the USIBWC has 
analyzed the impacts of alternatives for SBIWTP to achieve compliance 
with the CWA and its NPDES permit. This action is needed because the 
SBIWTP currently operates and discharges only at the advanced primary 
level and cannot meet all the requirements of the CWA and its NPDES 
permit, including secondary treatment requirements.
    This DSEIS also evaluates new information on the current discharges 
of advanced primary effluent from the SBIWTP through the SBOO, as well 
as treatment and disposal options in Mexico to achieve CWA compliance.
    The No Action Alternative and six action alternatives are evaluated 
in the DSEIS. The alternatives were developed in a manner that would 
enable wastewater flows to be treated in compliance with the CWA and 
the SBIWTP NPDES permit. Alternatives formulation was the result of a 
public consultation process that included the public, regulatory 
agencies and environmental organizations.
    This DSEIS evaluates the following seven alternatives:
    1. Alternative 1: No Action (Continue operation of SBIWTP as 
Advanced Primary Facility).
    <bullet> Option A: With No Future Improvements to Mexico's Existing 
Conveyance Facilities
    <bullet> Option B: With Future Improvements to Mexico's Existing 
Conveyance Facilities
    2. Alternative 2: Operate SBIWTP as Advanced Primary Facility With 
Treated Flows Conveyed to Mexico for Discharge.
    3. Alternative 3: Operate SBIWTP With City of San Diego Connections 
(Interim Alternative Only).
    4. Alternative 4: Implementation of Public Law 106B457, Secondary 
Treatment Facility in Mexico.
    <bullet> Treatment Option A: Operation of SBIWTP as Advanced 
Primary Facility, Secondary Treatment in Mexico
    <bullet> Treatment Option B: Cease Operation of SBIWTP, Secondary 
Treatment in Mexico
    <bullet> Treatment Option C: Bajagua LLC, Proposal--Operation of 
SBIWTP as Advanced Primary Facility, Secondary Treatment in Mexico
    <bullet> Discharge Option I: Treated Effluent Discharged in United 
States via SBOO
    <bullet> Discharge Option II: Treated Effluent Discharged in Mexico 
at Punta Bandera
    5. Alternative 5: Secondary Treatment in the United States at 
SBIWTP.
    <bullet> Treatment Option A: Completely Mixed Aeration (CMA) Ponds 
at SBIWTP
    <bullet> Treatment Options B-1 and B-2: Activated Sludge Secondary 
Treatment at SBIWTP
    6. Alternative 6: Secondary Treatment in the U.S. and in Mexico.
    7. Alternative 7: SBIWTP Closure/Shutdown.
    The USIBWC has identified Alternative 4, Treatment Option C as the 
preferred alternative in the DSEIS. The USIBWC will consider comments 
on the DSEIS to make a final selection of the preferred alternative.

Background

    The original Draft EIS for the SBIWTP project (1991) proposed the 
construction of a secondary treatment facility in San Diego to achieve 
secondary treatment using an activated sludge technology. Based on a 
1994 Final EIS and Record of Decision (ROD), the USIBWC and the USEPA 
approved the construction of the SBIWTP and the connecting SBOO. The 
SBIWTP is on a 75-acre site in south San Diego County, California, just 
west of San Ysidro near the intersection of Dairy Mart and Monument 
roads. Treated effluent is discharged to the Pacific Ocean through the 
SBOO, a 4.5-mile long piping system completed in January 1999. This 
outfall extends about 3.5 miles offshore.
    Pursuant to the completion of an Interim Operations Supplemental 
EIS in 1996, the USIBWC and USEPA decided to operate the SBIWTP as an 
advanced primary treatment facility before completion of the necessary 
secondary facilities. This decision would expedite the treatment of up 
to 25 mgd of untreated sewage from Tijuana that would otherwise have 
continued to pollute the Tijuana River and Estuary, as well as coastal 
waters in the United States.
    Before the SBOO was completed in January 1999, advanced primary 
treated effluent was discharged through an emergency connection to the 
City of San Diego Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant. The emergency 
connection was used daily in the late 1980s and 1990s, but it has not 
been used in this manner since the SBIWTP started discharging to the 
completed SBOO in January 1999.
    After the release of the May 1994 Final EIS and ROD and the 1996 
decision regarding interim operation, significant additional 
information became available and changed circumstances warranted 
reconsidering the best means to complete the SBIWTP secondary treatment 
facilities. The USIBWC and USEPA decided to prepare a Supplemental EIS 
to examine new information as a settlement to a lawsuit that challenged 
the 1994 Final EIS.
    In January 1998, the USIBWC and the USEPA issued the Draft Long 
Term Treatment Options Supplemental EIS to re-evaluate the SBIWTP 
secondary treatment options. In October 1998, the agencies issued a 
supplement to the 1996 Interim Operation Supplemental EIS that 
addressed impacts of the advanced primary treatment. This supplement 
disclosed new information about the presence of dioxins and acute 
toxicity in the advanced primary discharge. This new information was 
incorporated into the Final Long Term Treatment Options Supplemental 
EIS released in March 1999.
    In the 1999 ROD for the Long Term Treatment Options Supplemental 
EIS, the USEPA and the USIBWC selected the CMA pond system at the Hofer 
property as the long-term option for secondary treating 25 mgd of 
wastewater at the SBIWTP. However, Congress did not fund the 
construction of these secondary treatment facilities and the plant has 
continued to provide advanced primary treatment only.
    The specific purpose of the current analysis is to determine the 
environmental impacts of the alternatives that could accomplish 
compliance with the CWA and the SBIWTP NPDES permit. A decision on 
which of the alternatives will be implemented in order to achieve 
compliance with the CWA will be made by the USIBWC through a process 
that will consider a wide range of factors. The factors include, but 
are not limited to, environmental considerations, laws and regulations, 
implications for compliance with the CWA, the SBIWTP NPDES permit, 
budget considerations, schedule and public concerns.
    A copy of the DSEIS has been filed with the USEPA in accordance 
with 40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and USIBWC procedures. Written comments 
concerning the DSEIS will be accepted at the address above until 
February 28, 2005.

    Dated: December 21, 2004.
Susan E. Daniel,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 04-28378 Filed 12-29-04; 8:45 am]
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