[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38615-38616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18588]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8940-1]


Notice of Final NPDES General Permit for Discharges From 
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in New Mexico 
(NMG010000)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 6.

ACTION: Notice of NPDES General Permit Reissuance.

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SUMMARY: EPA Region 6 today issues a National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System general permit for discharges from eligible owners/
operators of existing concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), 
in New Mexico, except those discharges on Indian Country. All currently 
operating animal feeding operations that are defined as CAFOs or 
designated as CAFOs by the permitting authority (See part VII 
Definitions, ``CAFOs'') and that are subject to 40 CFR part 412, 
subparts A (Horses) and C (Dairy Cows and Cattle Other than Veal 
Calves) are eligible for coverage under this permit. This permit covers 
the types of animal feeding operations listed above which meet the 
definition of a CAFO and discharge or propose to discharge pollutants 
to waters of the United States. A CAFO proposes to discharge if it is 
designed, constructed, operated, or maintained such that a discharge 
will occur.
    A copy of the Region's responses to comments and the final permit 
may be obtained from the EPA Region 6 Internet site: http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/npdes/cafo/index.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Diane Smith, Water Quality 
Protection Division, EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 
75202-2733, telephone: (214) 665-2145, or via e-mail at: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#60130d0914084e0409010e05200510014e070f16"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e99a84809d81c78d8088878ca98c9988c78e869f">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Significant Changes From the Draft Permit

    Pursuant to section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 
section 1342, EPA proposed and solicited comments on NPDES general 
permit NMG010000 at 74 FR 3592 (January 21, 2009). The comment period 
closed on February 20, 2009.
    Region 6 received comments from the New Mexico Environment 
Department, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, New 
Mexico Department of Agriculture, Dairy Producers of New Mexico, 
Seaboard Foods, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, 
Oklahoma Pork Council, and Amigos Bravos.
    EPA Region 6 has considered all comments received. In response to 
those comments the following significant changes were made to the 
proposed permit.
    1. Based on NMED condition of certification under section 401 of 
the Clean Water Act, part III.A.8 of the permit has been changed to 
require the use of a certified specialist to develop, modify, review, 
and/or approve the nutrient management plan.
    2. Part III.A.3.h has been added to the permit to require that the 
nutrient management plan (NMP) include site maps of the production and 
land application areas.
    3. Part II.A.2.a.x has been modified to include the term ``as 
appropriate.'' Part II.A.2.a.x and part III.A.3.b have also been 
modified to clarify that retention structures must include adequate 
storage capacity for clean water that is not diverted.
    4. EPA has removed part III.A.3.f.i-iv from the permit and has 
modified part III.A.3.f to require that the NMP include any additional 
information necessary to assess the adequacy of the application rates 
included in the NMP.
    5. EPA has modified part III.A.7.d of the permit to require that 
manure sampling be conducted annually prior to the first land 
application event of each year of permit coverage and to allow for 
representative sampling protocols to be established in the NMP.
    6. The spills reporting requirement has been removed from part 
III.D.3 of the permit and was replaced with a requirement to document 
spills and clean-up activity.
    7. Part III.D.3 of the permit has been modified to state that 
handling procedures and storage for any toxic and other pollutants must 
be specified in the NMP.
    8. EPA has modified part III.D.1.c to state that any mechanical or 
structural damage to the liner must be evaluated by a Natural Resources 
Conservation Service (NRCS) Engineer or Professional Engineer and that 
the permittee shall have a NRCS Engineer or Professional Engineer 
review documentation.
    9. The infiltration monitoring requirement of part III.D.1.c has 
been modified to be based on a direct hydrological connection to waters 
of the United States. EPA has also modified this section to allow for 
other appropriate measures to be used in lieu of leak detection systems 
or monitoring wells.
    10. EPA has modified the permit to require that annual reports be 
submitted to EPA and NMED on January 31 as opposed to basing the due 
date on the NOI submittal date.
    11. Parts VI.B.1, VI.B.2, and VI.C.1 have been removed from the 
permit as they are repetitive of provisions found elsewhere in the 
permit.
    12. EPA has added part I.H to address the procedure for a change in 
ownership.
    13. The Water Quality-Based Reduction Plan requirement of part 
II.A.3.c has been removed from the permit.
    14. EPA has modified part III.C to exclude amounts less than 10 
tons per year to a single recipient from the transfer of manure, 
litter, and process wastewater recordkeeping requirement.
    15. EPA has removed the notification requirement form part 
III.D.8.a and will rely on the notification requirement of part 
III.D.5, which has been modified to require notification within 48 
hours.
    16. The proposed corrective action requirement proposed as part 
II.A.3.d has been clarified to address discharges or proposed 
discharges to impaired waters and has been moved to part II.A.3.a.iv.
    17. EPA has modified part IV.A of the permit to require CAFOs to 
orally report the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United 
States to NMED.
    18. Part I.D.8 and part I.E.8 of the final permit have been amended 
to clarify that new sources must submit an Environmental Impact 
Document (EID), not a previous EPA National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) review document, with their NOIs.
    19. Part II.A.5.c has been amended to clarify that there shall be 
no unauthorized dry weather discharges from land application sites.
    20. EPA has clarified part I.E.1.a.i to state that for any facility 
that received authorization to discharge under the 1993 CAFO general 
permit and complies with the 90-day NOI timeframe, authorization under 
the 1993 CAFO permit is automatically continued until coverage is 
granted under this permit or coverage is otherwise terminated.
    21. EPA has amended part I.E.8 to clarify that the applicant must 
submit to EPA information describing an expansion so that EPA may 
determine if the expansion is a new source.

[[Page 38616]]

Revision to the Permit

    EPA is through today's notice revising part I.E.6 of the proposed 
permit. The option to submit a notice of intent (NOI) and nutrient 
management plan (NMP) electronically via the EPA Region 6 Web site has 
been removed from the permit due to unforeseen technical problems. If 
at any time such a process is implemented by EPA Region 6 for CAFO 
general permits, CAFOs seeking permit coverage under this permit may 
use electronic submission.

    Authority:  Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

    Dated: July 24, 2009.
Claudia V. Hosch,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. E9-18588 Filed 8-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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