Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 9873 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 228 

[EPA–R09–OW–2020–0188; FRL–10016–87– 

Region 9] 

Ocean Dumping: Modification of an 

Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site 

Offshore of Humboldt Bay, California 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is permanently modifying 

the boundaries of the existing EPAdesignated Humboldt Open Ocean 

Disposal Site (referred to hereafter as 

HOODS) offshore of Humboldt Bay, 

California, pursuant to Section 102 of 

the Marine Protection, Research and 

Sanctuaries Act, as amended (MPRSA). 

The primary purpose for the site 

modification is to enlarge the site to 

serve the long-term need for disposal of 

permitted, suitable material dredged 

from Humboldt Harbor and vicinity, in 

order to provide for continued safe 

navigation in the vicinity of Humboldt 

Bay. The modified site will be subject to 

monitoring and management to ensure 

continued protection of the marine 

environment. 

DATES: Effective March 19, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R09–OW–2020–0188. All 

documents in the docket are listed on 

the https://www.regulations.gov 

website, or please contact the person 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section for 

additional availability information. If 

you need assistance in a language other 

than English or if you are a person with 

disabilities who needs a reasonable 

accommodation at no cost to you, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Ross, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Region 9, Water 

Division, Dredging & Sediment 

Management Team, 75 Hawthorne 

Street, San Francisco, California 94105; 

phone number (415) 972–3475; email: 

ross.brian@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

supporting document for this site 

modification action is the Final 

Evaluation and Environmental 

Assessment for Expansion of the 

Existing Humboldt Open Ocean 

Disposal Site (HOODS) Offshore of 

Eureka, California (Final EA). This 

document and its appendices are 

available via the EPA website https://

www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/ 

humboldt-open-ocean-disposal-sitehoods-documents. 

I. Potentially Affected Persons 

Persons potentially affected by this 

action include those who seek or might 

seek permits or approval to dispose of 

dredged material into ocean waters 

pursuant to the MPRSA, 33 U.S.C. 1401 

to 1445. The EPA’s action would be 

relevant to persons, including 

organizations and government bodies 

seeking to dispose of dredged material 

in ocean waters offshore of Humboldt 

Bay, California. Currently, the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 

would be most affected by this action. 

Potentially affected categories and 

persons include: 

Category Examples of potentially regulated persons 

Federal Government ........................................... USACE Civil Works projects, and other Federal agencies. 

Industry and general public ................................. Port authorities, marinas and harbors, shipyards and marine repair facilities, berth owners. 

State, local and tribal governments .................... Governments owning and/or responsible for ports, harbors, and/or berths, government agencies requiring disposal of dredged material associated with public works projects. 

This table is not intended to be 

exhaustive, but rather provides a guide 

for readers regarding persons likely to 

be affected by this action. For any 

questions regarding the applicability of 

this action to a particular entity, please 

refer to the contact person listed in the 

preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

II. Background 

a. History of Ocean Disposal Offshore 

Humboldt Bay, California 

HOODS is the only designated ocean 

dredged material disposal site (ODMDS) 

off the coast of Humboldt Bay, 

California. The original HOODS was 

located three to four nautical miles 

(nmi) offshore Humboldt Bay, and was 

one square nautical mile (nmi2) in size. 

HOODS originally received final 

designation by the EPA in 1995. Since 

that time an average of one million 

cubic yards (cy) of dredged material has 

been disposed at HOODS each year. The 

great majority of this material has been 

sand dredged by USACE from the 

Humboldt Harbor entrance channel. The 

dredged sand that has been disposed at 

HOODS has mounded to the point 

where the site is now effectively 

reaching full capacity. The USACE San 

Francisco District and EPA Region 9 

have identified a need to increase the 

capacity of HOODS so that ongoing 

dredging can continue to provide for 

safe navigation in and around Humboldt 

Bay. The need for increasing ocean 

disposal capacity at HOODS is based on 

historical dredging volumes, estimates 

of future dredging needs, and currently 

limited availability of alternatives to 

ocean disposal in the area. 

The EPA is modifying the existing 

HOODS boundaries rather than 

designating a new ocean disposal site 

off the coast of Humboldt Bay. 

Monitoring studies at HOODS have 

confirmed that there have been no 

significant adverse environmental 

consequences of disposal in this area, 

and that there are no unique or limited 

habitats, features, or uses of the ocean 

that would be affected by expanding the 

site. Note that modifying the existing 

HOODS boundary does not by itself 

mean that dredged material from any 

specific project will necessarily be 

approved to be disposed at the site. 

Before any person can ocean dump 

dredged material at HOODS, the EPA 

and the USACE must evaluate the 

project according to the ocean dumping 

regulatory criteria (40 CFR 227) and the 

USACE must authorize the disposal 

under section 103 of the MPRSA. 33 

U.S.C. 1413(b). The USACE relies on the 

EPA’s ocean dumping criteria when 

evaluating permit requests for (and 

implementing federal projects 

involving) the transportation of dredged 

material for the purpose of dumping it 

into ocean waters. MPRSA permits and 

federal approvals for projects involving 

ocean dumping of dredged material are 

subject to the EPA’s review and 

concurrence in accordance with 33 

U.S.C. 1413(c). The EPA may concur 

with or without conditions or decline to 

concur (i.e., non-concur) on the permit 

or federal project authorization. If the 

EPA concurs with conditions, the final 

permit or authorization must include 

those conditions. If the EPA declines to 

concur, the USACE cannot issue the 

permit for ocean dumping of dredged 

material or authorize the transportation 

to and disposal of dredged material in 


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the ocean associated with the federal 

project. 

The draft Environmental Assessment 

(EA) supporting this action, along with 

other publicly available docket 

materials, was made available for public 

review at www.regulations.gov, and also 

on the EPA Region 9 web page: https:// 

www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/ 

humboldt-open-ocean-disposal-sitehoods-documents. EPA received 

comments from a total of four entities. 

Comments received, and EPA’s 

responses, are summarized below. 

b. Location and Configuration of the 

Modified HOODS 

This action is the modification (by 

expansion) of the original HOODS. The 

modified boundaries expand the 

original HOODS from one nmi2 to four 

nmi2 in size. The modified HOODS is in 

approximately ¥150 to ¥210 feet of 

water (¥45 to ¥64 meters). The 

location of the modified site is defined 

by the coordinates listed below. These 

new boundaries supersede and replace 

the original boundaries of HOODS. The 

coordinates for the expanded site are in 

North American Datum 83 (NAD 83): 

Modified HOODS Coordinates (NAD 83) 

(A) 40°50.300′ N, 124°018.017′ W 

(B) 40°49.267′ N, 124°15.767′ W 

(C) 40°47.550′ N, 124°17.083′ W 

(D) 40°48.567′ N, 124°19.300′ W 

The modification of the HOODS 

boundary will allow the EPA to 

adaptively manage the site to maximize 

its capacity, manage mounding and loss 

of fine sediments outside of the site, and 

minimize the potential for any longterm adverse effects to the marine 

environment. 

c. Management and Monitoring of the 

Site 

The modified HOODS is expected to 

continue to receive suitable dredged 

material from the Federal navigation 

project at Humboldt Harbor, California, 

and suitable dredged material from 

other local and regional dredging 

applicants who obtain an MPRSA 

permit for the disposal of dredged 

material at the site. Under the Ocean 

Dumping regulations (40 CFR 228.3(b)), 

EPA is responsible for the management 

of all ocean disposal sites designated 

under the MPRSA. Management of the 

ocean disposal sites consists of 

regulating the times, quantity and 

characteristics of the material dumped 

at the site; establishing disposal 

controls, conditions and requirements to 

avoid and minimize potential impacts to 

the marine environment; and 

monitoring the site and surrounding 

environment to verify that 

unanticipated or significant adverse 

effects are not occurring from past or 

continued use of the ocean disposal site 

and that terms of the MPRSA permit are 

met. All persons using HOODS will be 

required to follow any project-specific 

permit conditions, as well as provisions 

of the updated Site Management and 

Monitoring Plan (SMMP) for the 

modified site as identified or 

incorporated into a permit or Federal 

project approval. The updated SMMP is 

available as an appendix to the Final 

EA, and separately at https://

www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/ 

humboldt-open-ocean-disposal-sitehoods-documents. It includes 

management and monitoring 

considerations to ensure that disposal 

activities will not unreasonably degrade 

or endanger the marine environment, 

human health, welfare, or economic 

potentialities. The updated SMMP for 

the modified HOODS also includes 

management conditions to ensure 

adverse mounding does not occur at the 

site, and that the minimum area of the 

modified site is affected by disposal in 

any year. 

d. MPRSA Criteria 

In evaluating the modified HOODS, 

the EPA assessed the site according to 

the criteria of the MPRSA, with 

emphasis on the general and specific 

regulatory criteria of 40 CFR part 228, to 

determine whether the site modification 

action satisfies those criteria. The Final 

EA provides a detailed evaluation of the 

criteria and other related factors for the 

modification of HOODS. 

General Criteria (40 CFR 228.5) 

(a) Sites must be selected to minimize 

interference with other activities in the 

marine environment, particularly 

avoiding areas of existing fisheries or 

shellfisheries, and regions of heavy 

commercial or recreational navigation. 

(40 CFR 228.5(a)). 

The original 1995 site designation 

identified the HOODS location as 

having the least potential for adverse 

impacts to important fish and shellfish 

resources (particularly including smelt, 

flatfish, and decapods which are all 

most abundant in waters shallower than 

50 m in the area, closer to shore). In 

addition, as part of development of the 

Final EA supporting this action, the 

EPA completed informal consultation 

with the National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (USFWS), and 

confirmed that ongoing use of the 

modified HOODS would continue to 

avoid adverse effects on existing 

fisheries, shellfisheries, or habitats of 

concern. In addition, expansion of 

HOODS will ensure that mounding of 

disposed sand does not occur to the 

extent that the wave climate near the 

Humboldt entrance channel is altered 

and adversely affects navigation 

conditions. This action therefore 

satisfies this MPRSA criterion. 

(b) Sites must be situated such that 

temporary perturbations to water quality 

or other environmental conditions 

during initial mixing caused by disposal 

operations would be reduced to normal 

ambient levels or undetectable 

contaminant concentrations or effects 

before reaching any beach, shoreline, 

marine sanctuary, or known 

geographically limited fishery or 

shellfishery. (40 CFR 228.5(b)). 

The HOODS modification area will be 

used for disposal of suitable dredged 

material as determined by Section 102 

of the MPRSA, 33 U.S.C. 1412, and the 

Ocean Dumping Criteria published at 40 

CFR 220–228. Based on the USACE and 

EPA dredged material testing and 

evaluation procedures, disposal of 

dredged maintenance material and 

proposed new work material is not 

expected to have any significant impact 

on water quality. The existing and 

modified HOODS boundaries are 

located sufficiently far from shore and 

fisheries resources to allow temporary 

water quality disturbances caused by 

disposal of dredged material to be 

reduced to ambient conditions before 

reaching any environmentally sensitive 

areas. 

(c) The sizes of disposal sites will be 

limited in order to localize for 

identification and control any 

immediate adverse impacts, and to 

permit the implementation of effective 

monitoring and surveillance to prevent 

adverse long-range impacts. Size, 

configuration, and location are to be 

determined as part of the disposal site 

evaluation. (40 CFR 228.5(d)). 

The location, size, and configuration 

of the modified HOODS boundaries 

provide long-term capacity, while also 

permitting effective site management, 

site monitoring, and limiting 

environmental impacts to the 

surrounding area to the greatest extent 

practicable. 

The Final EA supporting this action 

considered two alternatives for 

modifying HOODS: Expansion by 0.5 

nmi to the north and west; and 

expansion by 1.0 nmi to the north and 

west (the selected action). Under the 

selected action, the effective total 

capacity of the site increases from the 

original 25 million cy to over 100 

million cy (i.e., allowing for 75 million 

cy of additional disposal to occur), 

before mounding to ¥130 feet could 

again occur across the entire site. If 


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today’s disposal practices were to 

continue unchanged (i.e., if an average 

of 1 million cy of entrance channel sand 

per year were to continue being 

disposed of at HOODS indefinitely), the 

site would reach capacity again in about 

75 years. In contrast, the smaller 

expansion alternative would provide 

effective capacity for about 30 years of 

disposal. This smaller footprint would 

also limit on-site management options 

compared to the selected action. 

When determining the size of the 

modified site, the ability to implement 

effective monitoring and surveillance 

programs was considered to ensure that 

the environment of the site could be 

protected, and that navigational safety 

would not be compromised by the 

mounding of dredged material. The EPA 

and USACE have demonstrated that the 

modified HOODS area is feasible to 

manage and monitor, as shown by 

successful surveys in 2008 and 2014. 

The updated SMMP (Appendix D of the 

Final EA) describes the future 

monitoring and management activities 

that the EPA and USACE will 

implement to confirm that disposal at 

the site is not significantly affecting 

adjacent areas. 

(d) EPA will, wherever feasible, 

designate ocean dumping sites beyond 

the edge of the continental shelf and 

other such sites where historical 

disposal has occurred. (40 CFR 

228.5(e)). 

The continental shelf break is 

approximately 10 nmi offshore at 

Eureka, California. The Zone of Siting 

Feasibility (ZSF) analysis prepared by 

USACE in support of the original (1995) 

HOODS designation determined that an 

economically practicable ocean disposal 

site serving Humboldt Harbor could not 

be located off the continental shelf, but 

rather would have to be within 

approximately 4 nmi from the ends of 

the entrance channel jetties. The 

original HOODS boundary is 2.5 to 3.7 

nmi from these jetties. The modified 

HOODS boundary will extend from 3 

nmi to 5 nmi from the jetties, largely 

encompassing and superseding the 

original boundary. While portions of the 

modified site are slightly beyond the 

original ZSF threshold of 4 nmi, the 

expansion area remains as close to the 

entrance channel as practicable while 

allowing capacity for future disposal 

needs without creating potentially 

unsafe mounding. Also, the modified 

HOODS will occur immediately 

adjacent to where disposal of virtually 

identical dredged material has occurred 

for the past 25 years. This allows the 

least area to be disturbed overall from 

ongoing and future disposal activity. 

Specific Criteria (40 CFR 228.6) 

(1) Geographical Position, Depth of 

Water, Bottom Topography and 

Distance from Coast. (40 CFR 

228.6(a)(1)). 

The modified HOODS is on the 

continental shelf three to five nmi 

offshore of Eureka, California, in water 

depths of approximately 150 to 210 feet 

(45 to 64 m). The seafloor in this area 

is comprised of a gently sloping, 

essentially featureless sedimentary plain 

that grades evenly from fine sand in 

shallower depths to silts in deeper 

areas. The EA contains a map of the 

modified HOODS boundaries. 

(2) Location in Relation to Breeding, 

Spawning, Nursery, Feeding, or Passage 

Areas of Living Resources in Adult or 

Juvenile Phases. (40 CFR 228.6(a)(2)). 

The HOODS area provides feeding 

and breeding areas for common resident 

benthic organisms, fish, marine 

mammal, turtle, and seabird species. 

However, the modified HOODS 

boundaries have been selected to avoid 

the presence of any unique or limited 

breeding, spawning, nursery, feeding, or 

passage areas for adult or juvenile 

phases of living resources and 

modification of the site is not expected 

to affect any geographically limited (i.e., 

unique) resources or habitats. Informal 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

consultation with USFWS, and both 

ESA and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) 

consultations with NMFS, confirmed 

that ongoing disposal operations in the 

modified HOODS will not have 

significant impacts to sensitive living 

resources or their habitats. 

(3) Location in Relation to Beaches 

and Other Amenity Areas. (40 CFR 

228.6(a)(3)). 

The modified HOODS boundaries 

begin at approximately three nmi 

offshore and the square site extends two 

nmi further offshore. The site is 

therefore well removed from beaches or 

amenity areas, and currents in the area 

are not expected to transport material 

disposed at HOODS toward shore. No 

significant impacts to beaches or 

amenity areas associated with use of the 

existing HOODS have been detected. 

(4) Types and Quantities of Wastes 

Proposed to be Disposed of, and 

Proposed Methods of Release, including 

Methods of Packing the Waste, if any. 

(40 CFR 228.6(a)(4)). 

Only suitable dredged material that 

meets the Ocean Dumping Criteria in 40 

CFR 220–228 and receives a permit or 

is otherwise authorized for dumping by 

the USACE, and concurred with by 

EPA, will be disposed in the modified 

HOODS. Dredged materials dumped in 

this area will be primarily sand with 

some fines, and most will originate from 

Humboldt Harbor. Average yearly 

disposal of dredged material is expected 

to continue to be approximately 

1,000,000 cubic yards, primarily by 

government owned or contracted 

hopper dredges. None of the material is 

packaged in any manner. If a Nearshore 

Sand Placement Site (NSPS) is 

established nearby in the future, the 

volume of sand disposed at HOODS 

could substantially decrease. 

(5) Feasibility of Surveillance and 

Monitoring. (40 CFR 228.6(a)(5)). 

The EPA expects monitoring and 

surveillance at the modified HOODS to 

continue to be feasible and readily 

performed from ocean or regional class 

research vessels. The area of the 

modified HOODS has been successfully 

surveyed and sampled in 2008 and 

2014. The EPA and USACE will 

continue to periodically monitor the site 

for physical, biological and chemical 

attributes, as described in the draft 

SMMP for the proposed modified site. 

(6) Dispersal, Horizontal Transport 

and Vertical Mixing Characteristics of 

the Area, including Prevailing Current 

Direction and Velocity, if any. (40 CFR 

228.6(a)(6)). 

Ocean current monitoring in the 

vicinity of HOODS has confirmed both 

up- and down-coast current directions 

(depending on the season), with nearsurface current velocities on the order of 

25 cm/sec (0.5 knot), and deeper-water 

current velocities of 20 cm/sec (0.4 

knot) at 45 meters deep and 15 cm/sec 

(0.3 knot) at the bottom. These current 

conditions have not adversely affected 

the ability to successfully and precisely 

dispose of dredged material permitted 

or authorized for disposal at HOODS in 

the past nor are they expected to affect 

disposal in the future. 

(7) Existence and Effects of Current 

and Previous Discharges and Dumping 

in the Area (including Cumulative 

Effects). (40 CFR 228.6(a)(7)). 

Previous disposal of dredged material 

at the existing HOODS has resulted in 

mounding of sand and burial of benthic 

organisms within the site but no 

discernable physical, chemical, or 

biological effects outside the site. Water 

quality effects from active disposal are 

temporary, spatially limited, and return 

to background levels prior to the next 

disposal event. Short-term, long-term, 

and cumulative effects of dredged 

material disposal in the modified site 

would be negligible, and similar to 

those for the existing HOODS. 

The only discharge in the vicinity of 

HOODS is from DG Fairhaven Power 

LLC’s Fairhaven Power Facility on the 

Samoa Peninsula. Fairhaven Power is 

permitted to discharge a maximum of 


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0.35 million gallons per day of 

powerplant-related process water, 

cooling tower water, and other 

wastewater under terms of their current 

National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) permit No. 

CA0024571, issued by the State of 

California’s North Coast Water Board. 

The company discharges through an 

existing outfall into ocean waters 

adjacent to the Samoa Peninsula. The 

NPDES permit prohibits discharging 

wastewater in violation of effluent 

standards or prohibitions established 

under Section 307(a) of the Clean Water 

Act, and it also prohibits discharging 

sewage sludge. The outfall is located 

approximately 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 

kilometers) east of the HOODS. 

Prevailing nearshore currents would 

direct discharge plumes from this 

outfall up or down the coast, depending 

of the seasonal current regime, not 

offshore towards the HOODS. The EPA 

believes that there will be no adverse 

cumulative or synergistic impacts from 

the use of HOODS and discharges from 

the outfall described. 

(8) Interference with Shipping, 

Fishing, Recreation, Mineral Extraction, 

Desalination, Fish and Shellfish 

Culture, Areas of Special Scientific 

Importance and Other Legitimate Uses 

of the Ocean. (40 CFR 228.6(a)(8)). 

Minor, short-term interferences with 

commercial and recreational boat traffic 

may occur within Humboldt Harbor 

during dredging operations. However, 

interference as a result of the transport 

and disposal of dredged material to 

HOODS would be even less because 

disposal vessels move slowly, remain in 

established navigation channels, and 

operations are announced via U.S. Coast 

Guard Notice to Mariners. There may be 

minor, temporary interferences with 

recreational fishing in the area during 

disposal operations, but HOODS is not 

closed to fishing or other uses. HOODS 

has not been identified as an area of 

special scientific importance. There are 

no aquaculture areas near the site. The 

likelihood of direct interference with 

these activities is therefore negligible. 

(9) The Existing Water Quality and 

Ecology of the Sites as Determined by 

Available Data or Trend Assessment of 

Baseline Surveys. (40 CFR 228.6(a)(9)). 

Water quality at the existing HOODS 

is typical of waters offshore of the 

northern California coast. Monitoring 

conducted in the vicinity of the 

proposed modified HOODS and 

experience with past disposals in the 

existing HOODS have not identified any 

adverse water quality impacts from 

ocean disposal of dredged material. 

Water column plumes associated with 

disposal events rapidly return to 

background, before subsequent disposal 

events occur. The seafloor in this area 

is comprised of a gently sloping, 

essentially featureless sedimentary plain 

that grades evenly from fine sand in 

shallower depths to silts in deeper 

areas. The existing HOODS supports 

benthic and epibenthic fauna 

characteristic of the region, but there are 

no unique or limited habitats in the 

vicinity. No adverse impacts to benthos 

outside the disposal site have been 

identified based on comprehensive 

monitoring. 

(10) Potentiality for the Development 

or Recruitment of Nuisance Species in 

the Disposal Site. (40 CFR 228.6(a)(10)). 

Nuisance species, considered as any 

undesirable organism not previously 

existing at a location, have not been 

observed at, or in the vicinity of, the 

modified HOODS. Disposal of dredged 

material, as well as monitoring, has 

been ongoing for the past 25 years. The 

dredged material to be disposed at the 

modified site is expected to be from 

similar locations to those dredged 

previously and disposed of at the 

existing site; therefore, it expected that 

any benthic organisms transported to 

the site would be relatively similar in 

nature to those already present. 

(11) Existence at or in Close Proximity 

to the Site of any Significant Natural or 

Cultural Feature of Historical 

Importance. (40 CFR 228.6(a)(11)). 

EPA extended government-togovernment consultation offers to 10 

potentially affected tribes. The Tribal 

Historic Preservation Offices of three of 

those (the Wiyot Tribe, the Blue Lake 

Rancheria, and the Bear River Band of 

the Rohnerville Rancheria) requested 

further discussion. Based on those 

discussions, the tribes determined that 

the offshore location of the HOODS 

expansion would not affect their 

onshore cultural resources of concern. 

EPA also evaluated state records and 

coordinated with the California State 

Lands Commission concerning historic 

shipwrecks near HOODS. The EA 

documents that the nearest recorded 

shipwreck sites are close to shore and 

would not be affected by ongoing 

disposal at HOODS. In addition, USACE 

conducted a survey for potential 

shipwrecks near the existing HOODS in 

1991 (prior to designation of the existing 

HOODS). The USACE survey identified 

three magnetic anomalies that could 

potentially be associated with 

unrecorded shipwrecks. None of these 

anomalies has been buried by the 

existing HOODS disposal mound. The 

EPA collected high-resolution 

multibeam echo sounder data in 2014 at 

the locations of each magnetic anomaly, 

and confirmed that no debris, 

structures, or other material extended 

above the sediment surface at any of 

these locations. Because these 

anomalies do not extend above the 

surface now, and apparently have not 

since at least 1991, their exact character 

remains unknown. Ongoing disposal 

operations may effectively bury these 

features further but will not otherwise 

directly affect them. 

III. Environmental Statutory Review 

a. National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

The EPA’s primary voluntary NEPA 

document for modifying the original 

HOODS is the Final EA, prepared by the 

EPA in cooperation with the USACE. 

The draft EA was issued for public 

review simultaneously with the 

proposed rule on May 29, 2020. The 

Final EA, including all public 

comments received and EPAs responses 

to comments, is being published 

simultaneously with this final rule and 

is also available separately at https://

www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/ 

humboldt-open-ocean-disposal-sitehoods-documents. The Final EA and its 

Appendices provide the threshold 

environmental review for modification 

of HOODS. It discusses in detail the 

purpose and need for the proposed 

action and examines alternatives. The 

EPA determined that there would be no 

significant adverse impacts of 

implementing either of the action 

alternatives evaluated for modifying 

HOODS. 

The following three ocean disposal 

alternatives were considered in detail in 

the Final EA. 

No Action Alternative 

The No Action Alternative is defined 

as not modifying the size of the original 

HOODS boundaries. This alternative 

would not address the need for an 

adequately sized ocean disposal site to 

accommodate an annual average of 

1,000,000 cy of ongoing and future 

dredging. Because there is no other 

currently available disposal site for this 

material, rapid shoaling of the entrance 

channel would quickly render 

navigation unsafe, significantly affecting 

the economy of the greater Eureka area. 

Increased wave action in the Harbor 

entrance would endanger commercial 

ships as well as fishing and recreational 

vessels. This situation would discourage 

shippers from using Humboldt Bay for 

commerce, because it requires 

additional vessel trips to accommodate 

‘‘light-loaded’’ vessels, resulting in 

increased transportation costs, 

decreased vessel safety, and 

maneuvering problems. This would 


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have a long-term adverse impact on the 

local economy. In addition, use of the 

Humboldt Harbor as a port of refuge 

could be affected. Finally, ship 

groundings caused by improperly 

maintained deep-draft channels could 

result in adverse ecological 

repercussions (i.e., oil and fuel spills). 

Although the No Action Alternative 

would not address the purpose and 

need for action, it was evaluated as a 

basis to compare the effects of the other 

alternatives considered. 

Alternative 1: Expansion of HOODS by 

1 nmi (Preferred Alternative) 

Alternative 1, the Selected Action, is 

to slightly reorient and expand the 

existing HOODS boundary by one nmi 

to the north (upcoast) and one nmi to 

the west (offshore). Alternative 1 is the 

Selected Action because it would 

provide environmentally acceptable 

disposal capacity for many years, while 

also affording the most operational 

flexibility for managing the dredged 

material in a manner that would further 

minimize even physical impacts over 

time. This configuration would result in 

the total area of the site increasing from 

one square nmi to four square nmi, and 

would supersede the original HOODS 

boundary. The effective total capacity of 

the site would increase from the original 

25 million cy to over 100 million cy 

(i.e., allowing for 75 million cy of 

additional disposal to occur), before 

mounding to ¥130 feet could again 

occur across the entire site. If current 

disposal practices were to continue 

unchanged (i.e., if 1 million cy of 

entrance channel sand per year were to 

continue to be disposed of at HOODS 

indefinitely), the modified site would 

reach capacity in about 75 years. 

Alternative 2: Expansion of HOODS by 

1⁄2 nmi 

Alternative 2 is the expansion of the 

existing HOODS boundary by 1⁄2 nmi to 

the north (upcoast) and 1⁄2 nmi to the 

west (offshore). This configuration 

would result in the total area of the site 

increasing from 1 square nmi to 2.25 

square nmi and would supersede the 

original HOODS boundary. The effective 

total capacity of the site would increase 

from the original 25 million cy to 

approximately 56 million cy (i.e., 

allowing for approximately 31 million 

cy of additional disposal to occur), 

before mounding to ¥130 feet could 

again occur across the entire site. If 

current disposal practices were to 

continue unchanged (i.e., if 1 million cy 

per year of entrance channel sand were 

to continue to be disposed of at HOODS 

indefinitely), the modified site would 

reach capacity in about 31 years. 

b. Magnuson-Stevens Act 

The EPA submitted an EFH 

assessment to the NMFS, pursuant to 

Section 305(b), 16 U.S.C. 1855(b)(2), of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, as 

amended, 16 U.S.C. 1801 to 1891. The 

EPA determined that this action will not 

significantly affect managed species or 

EFH. NMFS concurred with the EPA’s 

determination, but included one 

Conservation Recommendation to 

further minimize potential impacts. 

Specifically, NMFS recommended 

continuing to manage future disposal at 

HOODS by expanding the mound while 

leaving other areas of the site 

undisturbed as long as possible, rather 

than purposely spreading disposal 

events throughout the site each year. 

The updated SMMP discusses how EPA 

will implement this NMFS Conservation 

Recommendation. 

c. Coastal Zone Management Act 

The EPA submitted a Consistency 

Determination (CD) package to the 

California Coastal Commission (CCC) on 

July 20, 2020, following the close of the 

public comment period on the draft EA 

and the proposed rule. The CD package 

specifically addresses how the proposed 

action to expand HOODS is consistent 

to the maximum extent practicable with 

the California Coastal Act Chapter 3 

policies. On October 9, 2020, the CCC 

unanimously concurred with EPA’s CD 

and did not propose any additional 

measures beyond those already 

contained in the updated SMMP. 

d. Endangered Species Act 

The ESA, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531 

tthrough 1544, requires federal agencies 

to consult with NMFS and the USFWS 

to ensure that any action authorized, 

funded, or carried out by the federal 

agency is not likely to jeopardize the 

continued existence of any endangered 

species or threatened species or result in 

the destruction or adverse modification 

of any critical habitat. The EPA 

completed informal ESA consultations 

with USFWS and NMFS, and the 

consultations are included as an 

Appendix to the EA. 

Based on those consultations, the EPA 

determined that this action will have 

‘‘no effect’’ on marine mammals, sea 

turtles and certain seabird species. The 

EPA further determined that this action 

‘‘may affect but is not likely to adversely 

affect’’ anadromous fish (including the 

SONCC Coho ESU, the CC Chinook 

Salmon ESU, the NC Steelhead DPS, 

Eulachon, and sDPS Green Sturgeon), 

marbled Murrelet, and short-tailed 

albatross. The Services concurred with 

these findings and no additional 

mitigation measures were recommended 

beyond the avoidance and minimization 

aspects of the EPA mandatory disposal 

site use conditions which would apply 

to every project using HOODS (these 

conditions are included with the 

SMMP, and relevant provisions of the 

SMMP would be identified or 

incorporated into subsequently issued 

permits and Federal projects). 

e. National Historic Preservation Act 

The National Historic Preservation 

Act (NHPA), 16 U.S.C. 470 through 

470a–2, requires federal agencies to 

consider the effect of their actions on 

districts, sites, buildings, structures, or 

objects, included in, or eligible for 

inclusion in the National Register of 

Historic Places (NRHP). The depths of 

the expanded HOODS (approximately 

150–210 feet) generally excludes 

potential habitation or resources related 

to human settlements in this area. 

Historic shipwreck remnants do exist in 

the general vicinity, but none would be 

affected by ongoing disposal activities 

within the expanded HOODS 

boundaries. 

IV. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

This rule modifies the HOODS by 

replacing the boundaries of the existing 

site with expanded boundaries, 

pursuant to Section 102 of the MPRSA, 

33 U.S.C 1412. This action complies 

with applicable executive orders and 

statutory provisions as follows: 

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’’ under the terms of 

Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and is therefore not 

subject to review under Executive 

Orders 12866 and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011). 

b. Executive Order 13089: Coral Reef 

Protection 

Executive Order 13089 on Coral Reef 

Protection directs agencies ‘‘to preserve 

and protect the biodiversity, health, 

heritage, and social and economic value 

of U.S. coral reef ecosystems and the 

marine environment.’’ This E.O. does 

not apply to this action because there 

are no coral reef ecosystems in the 

HOODS area. 

c. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This action does not impose an 

information collection burden under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 


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9878 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Burden is 

defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). This site 

modification does not require persons to 

obtain, maintain, retain, report, or 

publicly disclose information to or for a 

federal agency. 

d. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

generally requires federal agencies to 

prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis 

of any rule subject to notice and 

comment rulemaking requirements 

under the Administrative Procedure Act 

or any other statute unless the agency 

certifies that the rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

Small entities include small businesses, 

small organizations, and small 

governmental jurisdictions. For 

purposes of assessing the impacts of this 

rule on small entities, small entity is 

defined as: (1) A small business defined 

by the Small Business Administration’s 

size regulations at 13 CFR 121.201; (2) 

a small governmental jurisdiction that is 

a government of a city, county, town, 

school district, or special district with a 

population of less than 50,000; and (3) 

a small organization that is any not-forprofit enterprise which is independently 

owned and operated and is not 

dominant in its field. The EPA 

determined that this action will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

small entities because the rule will only 

have the effect of modifying an existing 

site in order to allow ongoing disposal 

of dredged material in ocean waters. 

After considering the economic impacts 

of this rule, the EPA certifies that this 

action will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

e. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This action contains no federal 

mandates under the provisions of Title 

II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act (UMRA) of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1531 

through 1538, for State, local, or tribal 

governments or the private sector. This 

action imposes no new enforceable duty 

on any State, local or tribal governments 

or the private sector. Therefore, this 

action is not subject to the requirements 

of sections 202 or 205 of the UMRA. 

This action is also not subject to the 

requirements of section 203 of the 

UMRA because it contains no regulatory 

requirements that might significantly or 

uniquely affect small government 

entities. Those entities are already 

subject to existing permitting 

requirements for the disposal of dredged 

material in ocean waters. 

f. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications. It does not have 

substantial direct effects on the States, 

on the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among various levels of 

government, as specified in Executive 

Order 13132. Thus, Executive Order 

13132 does not apply to this action. In 

the spirit of Executive Order 13132, and 

consistent with the EPA policy to 

promote communications between the 

EPA and State and local governments, 

the EPA specifically solicited comments 

on this action from State and local 

officials. 

g. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 because the modification of 

the existing HOODS will not have a 

direct effect on Indian Tribes, on the 

relationship between the federal 

government and Indian Tribes, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the federal 

government and Indian Tribes. In 

addition, the depths of the modified 

HOODS (approximately 150 to 200 feet) 

generally exclude potential habitation or 

resources related to human settlements. 

Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not 

apply to this action. Nevertheless, the 

EPA specifically solicited input from 

officials of 10 potentially interested 

tribal governments during both the 

scoping and public review phases of 

this action. EPA also extended 

government-to-government consultation 

offers to these 10 potentially affected 

tribes. The Tribal Historic Preservation 

Offices of three of them (the Wiyot 

Tribe, the Blue Lake Rancheria, and the 

Bear River Band of the Rohnerville 

Rancheria) requested further discussion 

concerning any potential for effects on 

cultural resources of concern. Based on 

those discussions, the tribes determined 

that the offshore location of the HOODS 

expansion would not affect onshore 

cultural resources. 

h. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets Executive Order 

13045 as applying only to those 

regulatory actions that concern health or 

safety risks, such that the analysis 

required under section 5–501 of the 

Executive Order has the potential to 

influence the regulation. This action is 

not subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it does not establish an 

environmental standard intended to 

mitigate health or safety risks. 

i. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not subject to Executive 

Order 13211, ‘‘Actions Concerning 

Regulations that Significantly Affect 

Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use’’ (66 

FR 28355) because it is not a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ as 

defined under Executive Order 12866. 

j. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 104– 

113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272), directs the 

EPA to use voluntary consensus 

standards in its regulatory activities 

unless to do so would be inconsistent 

with applicable law or otherwise 

impractical. Voluntary consensus 

standards are technical standards (e.g., 

materials specifications, test methods, 

sampling procedures, and business 

practices) that are developed or adopted 

by voluntary consensus bodies. The 

NTTAA directs the EPA to provide 

Congress, through Office of Management 

and Budget, explanations when the 

Agency decides not to use available and 

applicable voluntary consensus 

standards. This action includes 

environmental monitoring and 

measurement as described in the 

updated SMMP. The EPA will not 

require the use of specific, prescribed 

analytic methods for monitoring and 

managing the modified HOODS. The 

Agency plans to allow the use of any 

method, whether it constitutes a 

voluntary consensus standard or not, 

that meets the monitoring and 

measurement criteria discussed in the 

SMMP. 

k. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629) 

establishes federal executive policy on 

environmental justice. Its main 

provision directs federal agencies, to the 

greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law, to make 

environmental justice 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. The 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 9879 

EPA determined that this action will not 

have disproportionately high and 

adverse human health or environmental 

effects on minority or low-income 

populations because it does not affect 

the level of protection provided to 

human health or the environment. The 

EPA has assessed the overall 

protectiveness of modifying the existing 

HOODS against the criteria established 

pursuant to the MPRSA to ensure that 

any adverse impact to the environment 

will be mitigated to the greatest extent 

practicable. 

V. Response to Comments on the 

Proposed Rule, EA and SMMP 

EPA published the draft EA and the 

proposed rule for a 30-day public 

comment period on May 29, 2020, and 

accepted comments until June 29, 2020. 

Both the draft EA and proposed rule 

were available at www.regulations.gov 

(Docket ID No. EPA–R09–OW–2020– 

0188) and at https://www.epa.gov/ 

ocean-dumping/humboldt-open-oceandisposal-site-hoods-documents. 

EPA received feedback from a total of 

four commenters on the draft EA and 

proposed rule. Most of the comments 

did not specify whether they applied to 

the EA, the proposed rule, or the SMMP; 

EPA therefore accepted them as 

applicable to all three documents. The 

full comments, and EPA’s responses, are 

included in Appendix E to the Final EA 

and are summarized below. Based on 

the comments received, only minor, 

clarifying wording changes have been 

made to the Final EA, final rule, and 

updated SMMP. 

One citizen commenter supported 

expanding HOODS, asked how long 

before expansion might be needed 

again, hoped that expansion would 

cause no environmental harm, and 

recommended that dumping violations 

should be punished. EPA responded 

that the site should not need further 

expansion for approximately 75 years at 

present disposal rates; that EPA had 

substantial enforcement authority 

should violations occur; and that 

environmental impacts are not expected 

based on the prior 25 years of site use 

and the results of recent comprehensive 

monitoring studies. 

One agency commenter pointed out 

some potential for confusion regarding 

whether the modified HOODS boundary 

would completely supersede the 

original HOODS boundary on future 

NOAA navigation charts, or whether 

both old and new boundaries would be 

shown. The commenter pointed out that 

if both were shown, confusion could 

result because small corners of the old 

boundary would protrude from the 

(otherwise perfectly square) new 

boundary. EPA responded that the new 

boundary would completely supersede 

the original boundary on future NOAA 

navigation chart updates. 

Another agency commented that it 

looked forward to receiving EPA’s 

consistency determination for the 

proposed boundary modification and to 

working with EPA staff on this 

submittal. EPA thanked the agency and 

noted that EPA would not publish the 

final rule for modifying HOODS until 

the agency’s comments (if any) had been 

fully considered. 

The final agency commenter pointed 

out a minor typographical error in draft 

EA Section 4.4.1. This typographical 

error was corrected. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 228 

Environmental protection, Water 

pollution control. 

Authority: This action is issued under the 

authority of Section 102 of the Marine 

Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, as 

amended, 33 U.S.C. 1401, 1411, 1412. 

Dated: February 3, 2021. 

Deborah Jordan, 

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 

9. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, the EPA amends chapter I, 

title 40 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations as follows: 

PART 228—CRITERIA FOR THE 

MANAGEMENT OF DISPOSAL SITES 

FOR OCEAN DUMPING 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 228 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1412 and 1418. 

■ 2. Section 228.15 is amended by 

revising paragraph (l)(10) to read as 

follows: 

§ 228.15 Dumping sites designated on a 

final basis. 

* * * * * 

(l) * * * 

(10) Humboldt Open Ocean Disposal 

Site (HOODS) Ocean Dredged Material 

Disposal Site—Region IX. 

(i) Location: The coordinates of the 

four corners of the square site are: 

40°50.300′ North latitude (N) by 

124°018.017′ West longitude (W); 

40°49.267′ N by 124°15.767′ W; 

40°47.550′ N by 124°17.083′ W; and 

40°48.567′ N by 124°19.300′ W (North 

American Datum from 1983). The 

expanded disposal site boundary 

defined by these coordinates replaces 

and supersedes the previous boundary. 

(ii) Size: 4 square nautical miles (13.4 

square kilometers). 

(iii) Depth: Water depths within the 

area range between approximately 150 

to 210 feet (45 to 64 meters). 

(iv) Use Restricted to Disposal of: 

Disposal shall be limited to dredged 

material determined to be suitable for 

ocean disposal according to 40 CFR 

220–228. 

(v) Period of Use: Continuing use for 

50 years from the effective date of this 

updated site designation, subject to 

restrictions and provisions set forth in 

paragraph (l)(10)(vi) of this section. 

(vi) Restrictions/Provisions: Disposal 

at HOODS shall be in accordance with 

the permit or Federal project approval 

that incorporates all conditions set forth 

in the most recent Site Management and 

Monitoring Plan (SMMP) for the 

HOODS published by EPA in 

consultation with USACE, and as may 

be modified in EPA concurrences for 

individual projects disposing at 

HOODS. The SMMP may be 

periodically revised as necessary; 

proposed substantive revisions to the 

SMMP shall be made following 

opportunity for public review and 

comment. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2021–02731 Filed 2–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 281 

[EPA–R05–UST–2020–0685; FRL–10020– 

05–Region 5] 

Indiana: Final Approval of State 

Underground Storage Tank Program 

Revisions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA 

or Act), the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is taking direct final 

action to approve revisions to the State 

of Indiana’s Underground Storage Tank 

(UST) program submitted by the State. 

EPA has determined that these revisions 

satisfy all requirements needed for 

program approval. The State’s federallyauthorized program, as revised pursuant 

to this action, will remain subject to 

EPA’s inspection and enforcement 

authorities under sections 9005 and 

9006 of RCRA subtitle I and other 

applicable statutory and regulatory 

provisions. 

DATES: This rule is effective April 19, 

2021, unless EPA receives adverse 

comment by March 19, 2021. If EPA 

receives adverse comment, it will 

publish a timely withdrawal in the 


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