Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 104 / Tuesday, June 1, 2010 / Notices 30393 

Cabot Corporation has demonstrated, to 

a reasonable degree of certainty, that 

there will be no migration of hazardous 

constituents out of the injection zone or 

into an underground source of drinking 

water (USDW) for at least 10,000 years. 

This final decision allows the continued 

underground injection by Cabot 

Corporation of specific restricted wastes 

from the silica production processes 

(codes D002, F003, and F039 under 40 

CFR part 261), into two Class I 

hazardous waste injection wells 

specifically identified as Injection Wells 

No. 2 and No. 3 at the Tuscola facility. 

This decision constitutes a final EPA 

action for which there is no 

Administrative Appeal. 

DATES: This action is effective as of June 

1, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dana Rzeznik, Lead Petition Reviewer, 

EPA, Region V, telephone (312) 353– 

6492. Copies of the petition and all 

pertinent information relating thereto 

are on file and are part of the 

Administrative Record. It is 

recommended that you contact the lead 

reviewer prior to reviewing the 

Administrative Record. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Cabot Corporation submitted a 

petition for renewal of an existing 

exemption from the land disposal 

restrictions of hazardous waste on 

March 8, 2007. EPA personnel reviewed 

all data pertaining to the petition, 

including, but not limited to, well 

construction, well operations, regional 

and local geology, seismic activity, 

penetrations of the confining zone, and 

computational models of the injection 

zone. EPA has determined that the 

geologic setting at the site as well as the 

construction and operation of the well 

are adequate to prevent fluid migration 

out of the injection zone within 10,000 

years, as required under 40 CFR part 

148. The injection zone at this site is 

composed of the Upper Franconia, 

Potosi, Eminence and Oneota 

formations at depths between 4,442 feet 

and 5,400 feet below ground level. The 

confining zone is the Shakopee 

formation at depths between 4,101 feet 

and 4,442 feet below ground level. The 

confining zone is separated from the 

lowermost underground source of 

drinking water (at a depth of 2700 feet 

below ground level) by a sequence of 

permeable and less permeable 

sedimentary rocks, which provide 

additional protection from fluid 

migration into drinking water sources. 

EPA issued a draft decision, which 

described the reasons for granting this 

exemption in more detail, a fact sheet, 

which summarized these reasons, and a 

public notice on December 28, 2009, 

pursuant to 40 CFR 124.10. The public 

comment period expired on February 1, 

2010. EPA received no comments on the 

proposed exemption granted to Cabot 

Corporation. A final exemption is 

therefore granted as proposed. 

Conditions 

This exemption is subject to the 

following conditions. Non-compliance 

with any of these conditions is grounds 

for termination of the exemption: 

(1) All regulatory requirements in 40 

CFR 148.23 and 148.24 are incorporated 

by reference; 

(2) The exemption applies to two 

existing injection wells, Well #2 and 

Well #3 located at the Cabot Corporation 

facility at 700 E. U.S. Highway 36, in the 

City of Tuscola in Douglas County, 

Illinois; 

(3) Injection is limited to that part of 

Upper Franconia, Potosi, Eminence and 

Oneota formations at depths between 

4,442 and 5,400 feet; 

(4) Only wastes denoted by the waste 

codes D002, F003 and F039 may be 

injected; 

(5) The concentrations of constituents 

of the injected waste will not exceed the 

amounts listed in Table 1–1 in the 

petition document; 

(6) The volume of wastes injected in 

any month through the wells must not 

exceed 17,280,000 gallons; 

(7) This exemption is approved for the 

21-year modeled injection period, 

which ends on December 31, 2027. 

Cabot Corporation may petition EPA for 

a reissuance of the exemption beyond 

that date, provided that a new and 

complete petition and no-migration 

demonstration is received at EPA, 

Region 5, by July 1, 2027; 

(8) Cabot Corporation shall quarterly 

submit to EPA a report containing a 

fluid analysis of the injected waste 

which shall indicate the chemical and 

physical properties upon which the nomigration petition was based, including 

the physical and chemical properties 

listed in Conditions 5 and 6 of this 

exemption approval; 

(9) Cabot Corporation shall annually 

submit to EPA a report containing the 

results of a bottom hole pressure survey 

(fall-off test) performed on Well #2 and 

Well #3 (alternating years). The survey 

shall be performed after shutting in the 

well for a period of time sufficient to 

allow the pressure in the injection 

interval to reach equilibrium, in 

accordance with 40 CFR 146.68(e)(1). 

The annual report shall include a 

comparison of reservoir parameters 

determined from the fall-off test with 

parameters used in the approved nomigration petition; 

(10) The petitioner shall fully comply 

with all requirements set forth in 

Underground Injection Control Permit 

UIC–011–CC issued by the Illinois 

Environmental Protection Agency; and 

(11) Whenever EPA determines that 

the basis for approval of a petition may 

no longer be valid, EPA may terminate 

this exemption and will require a new 

demonstration in accordance with 40 

CFR 148.20. 

Dated: March 5, 2010. 

Tinka G. Hyde, 

Director, Water Division, EPA Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13089 Filed 5–28–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9157–2; Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–ORD– 

2009–0934] 

The Effects of Mountaintop Mines and 

Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of 

the Central Appalachian Coalfields and 

a Field-Based Aquatic Life Benchmark 

for Conductivity in Central 

Appalachian Streams 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Extension of Public Comment 

Period to July 13, 2010. 

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing an 

extension of the public comment period 

for two related draft documents: (1) 

‘‘The Effects of Mountaintop Mines and 

Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of 

the Central Appalachian Coalfields’’ 

(EPA/600/R–09/138A) and (2) ‘‘A Fieldbased Aquatic Life Benchmark for 

Conductivity in Central Appalachian 

Streams’’ (EPA/600/R–10/023A). We are 

specifically extending the comment 

period to give the public an opportunity 

to evaluate the data used to derive a 

benchmark for conductivity. By 

following the link below, reviewers may 

download the initial data and EPA’s 

derivative data sets that were used to 

calculate the conductivity benchmark. 

These reports were developed by the 

National Center for Environmental 

Assessment (NCEA) within EPA’s Office 

of Research and Development as part of 

a set of actions taken by EPA to further 

clarify and strengthen environmental 

permitting requirements for 

Appalachian mountaintop removal and 

other surface coal mining projects, in 

coordination with Federal and State 

regulatory agencies (http:// 

www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/ 

mining.html). 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
30394 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 104 / Tuesday, June 1, 2010 / Notices 

Both documents will be reviewed by 

an independent review panel convened 

by EPA’s Science Advisory Board 

(SAB). The SAB’s peer review meeting, 

which the public will be able to attend 

as observers, is scheduled for July 20– 

22, 2010. The public comment period 

and the SAB meeting are separate 

processes that provide opportunities for 

all interested parties to comment on the 

document. EPA intends to forward the 

public comments that are submitted, in 

accordance with this notice, to the SAB 

review panel prior to the meeting for 

their consideration. When finalizing the 

draft documents, EPA intends to 

consider any significant public 

comments that it receives in accordance 

with this notice. 

EPA is releasing these draft 

documents for the purpose of predissemination peer review under 

applicable information quality 

guidelines. The documents have not 

been formally disseminated by EPA. 

They do not represent and should not be 

construed to represent a final Agency 

policy or determination; however, the 

documents reflect EPA’s best 

interpretation of the available science. 

The draft documents are available via 

the Internet on NCEA’s home page 

under the Recent Additions and 

Publications menus at http:// 

www.epa.gov/ncea. 

DATES: The public comment period 

began on April 12, 2010 and ends on 

July 13, 2010. Technical comments 

should be in writing and must be 

received by EPA by July 13, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: The draft reports, ‘‘The 

Effects of Mountaintop Mines and 

Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of 

the Central Appalachian Coalfields’’ and 

‘‘A Field-based Aquatic Life Benchmark 

for Conductivity in Central Appalachian 

Streams’’ are available primarily via the 

Internet on the National Center for 

Environmental Assessment’s home page 

under the Recent Additions and 

Publications menus at http:// 

www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of 

paper copies are available, contact the 

EPA; telephone: 703–347–8629; 

facsimile: 703–347–8691. If you are 

requesting a paper copy, please provide 

your name, your mailing address, and 

the document titles (1) ‘‘The Effects of 

Mountaintop Mines and Valley Fills on 

Aquatic Ecosystems of the Central 

Appalachian Coalfields’’ and (2) ‘‘A 

Field-based Aquatic Life Benchmark for 

Conductivity in Central Appalachian 

Streams.’’ 

Comments may be submitted 

electronically via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, by mail, by 

facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. 

Please follow the detailed instructions 

provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on submitting comments to 

the docket, please contact the Office of 

Environmental Information Docket; 

telephone: 202–566–1752; facsimile: 

202–566–1753; or e-mail: 

ORD.Docket@epa.gov. For technical 

information, please leave a message at 

703–347–8629 or send e-mail to MTM– 

Cond@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The purpose of the first draft report 

entitled, ‘‘The Effects of Mountaintop 

Mines and Valley Fills on Aquatic 

Ecosystems of the Central Appalachian 

Coalfields,’’ is to assess the state of the 

science on the ecological impacts of 

Mountaintop Mining and Valley Fill 

(MTM–VF) operations on streams in the 

Central Appalachian Coal Basin. This 

basin covers about 12 million acres in 

West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and 

Tennessee. The draft report reviews 

literature relevant to evaluating five 

potential consequences of MTM–VF 

operations: (1) Impacts on headwater 

streams; (2) impacts on downstream 

water quality; (3) impacts on stream 

ecosystems; (4) the cumulative impacts 

of multiple mining operations; and (5) 

effectiveness of mining reclamation and 

mitigation. The impacts of MTM–VF 

operations on cultural and aesthetic 

resources are not included in the 

review. EPA used two primary sources 

of information for the evaluation: (1) 

The peer reviewed, published literature 

and (2) the Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) 

on Mountaintop Mining/Valley Fills in 

Appalachia and its associated 

appendices prepared in draft in 2003 

and finalized in 2005. 

The second draft report entitled, ‘‘A 

Field-based Aquatic Life Benchmark for 

Conductivity in Central Appalachian 

Streams,’’ uses field data to derive an 

aquatic life benchmark for conductivity. 

Conductivity is a measurement of the 

salt content of water. The saltier the 

water, the more it will conduct 

electricity. This benchmark value may 

be applied to waters in the Appalachian 

Region that are near neutral or mildly 

alkaline in their pH and are influenced 

by salts of sulfate and bicarbonate. This 

benchmark is intended to protect the 

biological integrity of waters in the 

region. It is derived by a method 

modeled on the U.S. EPA’s standard 

methodology for deriving water quality 

criteria. In particular, the methodology 

was adapted for use of field data. Field 

data were used because sufficient and 

appropriate laboratory data were not 

available and because high quality field 

data were available to relate 

conductivity to effects on biotic 

communities. This draft report provides 

scientific evidence for a conductivity 

benchmark in a specific region rather 

than for the entire United States. 

II. How To Submit Technical Comments 

to the Docket at http:// 

www.regulations.gov 

Submit your comments, identified by 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–ORD 2009– 

0934, by one of the following methods: 

• http://www.regulations.gov: Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• E-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov. 

• Fax: 202–566–1753. 

• Mail: Office of Environmental 

Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 

2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20460. The phone 

number is 202–566–1752. 

• Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is 

located in the EPA Headquarters Docket 

Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 

1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC. The EPA Docket 

Center’s Public Reading Room is open 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

Public Reading Room is 202–566–1744. 

Such deliveries are only accepted 

during the docket’s normal hours of 

operation, and special arrangements 

should be made for deliveries of boxed 

information. 

If you provide comments by mail or 

hand delivery, please submit three 

copies of the comments. For 

attachments, provide an index, number 

pages consecutively with the comments, 

and submit an unbound original and 

three copies. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–ORD–2009– 

0934. Please ensure that your comments 

are submitted within the specified 

comment period. Comments received 

after the closing date will be marked 

‘‘late,’’ and may only be considered if 

time permits. It is EPA’s policy to 

include all comments it receives in the 

public docket without change and to 

make the comments available online at 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided, 

unless a comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through http:// 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 104 / Tuesday, June 1, 2010 / Notices 30395 

www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 

an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an e-mail comment directly 

to EPA without going through http:// 

www.regulations.gov, your e-mail 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket, visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http:// 

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

Docket: Documents in the docket are 

listed in the http://www.regulations.gov 

index. Although listed in the index, 

some information is not publicly 

available, e.g., CBI or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other materials, such as 

copyrighted material, are publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

either electronically in http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the OEI Docket in the EPA Headquarters 

Docket Center. 

Dated: May 25, 2010. 

Rebecca Clark, 

Acting Director, National Center for 

Environmental Assessment. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13072 Filed 5–28–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OW–2010–0464; FRL–9156–7] 

Stakeholder Input; National Pollutant 

Discharge Elimination System 

(NPDES) Permit Requirements for 

Municipal Sanitary Sewer Collection 

Systems, Municipal Satellite Collection 

Systems, Sanitary Sewer Overflows, 

and Peak Wet Weather Discharges 

From Publicly Owned Treatment Works 

Treatment Plants Serving Separate 

Sanitary Sewer Collection Systems 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency is announcing plans to hold 

several ‘‘listening sessions’’ beginning in 

June 2010 to obtain information from 

the public on certain issues EPA is 

considering. EPA is considering 

whether to propose to modify the 

National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) 

regulations as they apply to municipal 

sanitary sewer collection systems and 

sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) in 

order to better protect the environment 

and public health from the harmful 

effects of sanitary sewer overflows and 

basement back ups. The Agency is 

considering whether to propose possible 

modifications to the NPDES regulations, 

including establishing standard permit 

conditions for publicly owned treatment 

works (POTW) permits that specifically 

address sanitary sewer collection 

systems and SSOs, and clarifying the 

regulatory framework for applying 

NPDES permit conditions to municipal 

satellite collection systems. The Agency 

is also considering whether and how it 

should resolve several longstanding 

issues that are the subject of the 

December 22, 2005 draft Peak Flows 

Policy. This draft Policy attempted to 

clarify EPA’s interpretation that the 

existing ‘‘bypass’’ provision of the 

NPDES regulations applies to peak wet 

weather diversions at POTW treatment 

plants that are recombined with the 

flows from the secondary treatment 

units prior to discharge. The Agency is 

considering whether to adopt this or a 

revised Policy and/or address questions 

about peak flow as part of an SSO 

rulemaking to allow for a holistic and 

integrated approach to reducing SSOs 

while at the same time addressing peak 

flows at the POTW treatment plant. 

In addition to submitting information 

at the listening sessions, the public may 

also provide input to the Agency 

directly through e-mail, fax or mail in 

order to help the Agency shape any 

possible future regulatory proposals. 

The Agency is undertaking this outreach 

to help advance the Clean Water Act 

objective to restore and maintain the 

chemical, physical and biological 

integrity of the nation’s waters (CWA, 

Section 101(a)). 

DATES: EPA is asking for statements and 

input from the interested public on or 

before August 2, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your statements or 

input, identified by Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OW–2010–0464, by one of the 

following methods: 

• http://www.regulations.gov: Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

input. 

• E-mail: OW–Docket@epa.gov, 

Attention Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OW– 

2010–0464. 

• Fax: 202–566–9744. 

• Mail: Water Docket, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, Mail 

code: 4203M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC 20460. Attention 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–2010– 

0464. 

• Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA 

Docket Center, EPA West Building 

Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket 

ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–2010–0464. Such 

deliveries are only accepted during the 

Docket’s normal hours of operation, and 

special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your input to 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OW–2010– 

0464. EPA’s policy is that all input 

received will be included in the public 

docket without change and may be 

made available online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the input includes information claimed 

to be Confidential Business Information 

(CBI) or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. Do 

not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through http:// 

www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 

an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your input. If 

you send an e-mail with input directly 

to EPA without going through http:// 

www.regulations.gov your e-mail 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the input that is 

placed in the public docket and made 

available on the Internet. If you submit 

an electronic input, EPA recommends 

that you include your name and other 

contact information in the body of your 

input and with any disk or CD–ROM 

you submit. If EPA cannot read your 

input due to technical difficulties and 

cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 

may not be able to consider your input. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http:// 

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information about this notice, 

contact Charles Glass, EPA 

Headquarters, Office of Water, Office of 

Wastewater Management at tel.: 202– 

564–0418 or e-mail: 

glass.charles@epa.gov. 


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