VGP and sVGP

- CZMA Review Extension For Maine John Nagle to : Burrowes, Todd Cc· Juhi Saxena, Robin Danesi , Ryan Albert, Caitlin Gregg, Thelma

· Murphy History : This message has been forwarded

. John Nagle VGP and sVGP- CZMA Review Extension For Maine 07/16/2012 03:13PM

Burrowes , Todd John: Thanks for the prompt and timely response to ourrequest

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Todd: This e -mail responds to your phone call and e-mail of July 13,2012, requesting a n extension of time for you to provide your Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) consistency concurrence or objection on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) national consistency determinations fo r re-issuance ofthe Vessel General Permit (VGP) and issuance of the Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP). EPA provided its "national consistency determinations" to you for review under section 307 ofthe CZMA by a letter dated D ecember 19

**~** 20 11. In that letter, EPA explained that it anticipated your response within 60 days of receipt or that EPA would presume concurrence. EPA provided you an extension oftime until July 16,2012, for completion ofyour CZMA consi stency review , including your concurrence with or objection to EPA's national consistency determinations f or the VGP and sVGP, respectively. Subsequent to that action, EPA extended the 401 certification deadline to October 1, 2012, for all States/Tribes to certify the draft permits.

You have previously indicated that you will be unable to complete your CZMA consistency review until the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP) issues Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 certifications for the draft VGP and sVGP because under Maine 's networked coastal program, the 401 certifications will provide the basis for the State's concurrence with or objection to EPA's consistency determination. You also said that you would like to be able to coordi nate with Maine DEP. EPA believes that it is appropriate to provide additional time for completion ofyour CZMA consistency review until October 15, 2012, because Maine DEP now has until October 1, 2012, to either provide or waive CW A section 401 certification on the permits. In order to enable you to fully and appropriately consider the results of the CW A section 401 certification process in Maine, the CZMA consistency review extension is provided until October 15 , 2012. We are also noti fying you now that in order to enable you to timely complete final action on these two permits, EPA generally will not be able to accommodate extensions beyond October 15. If a reply is not received within that time period , EPA intends to presume your concurrence. See, 15 C.F.R. 930.4 1(a). It is important to all of us that we are able to take timely final action on the next VGP and sVGP, and completion oft he CZMA review process is an important part ofthat. EPA urges you toinitiate your CZMA review promptly, including in coordination with your colleagues in Maine DEP. We look forward to work i ng with you, and should you have further questions, please do

not hesitate to contact me. JHN John H. NagleBiologist I Environmental Scientist U.S. Environmenta l Protection Agency New England Region I 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 Ma il Code OEP06-1 Bosto n , MA 02109- 3912 (617) 918-1054 (phone) (617) 918-1505 (fax)

nag le .john@epa.gov (e-mail) From : T o: Date : Subject:

"B u rrowes , Todd" <Todd . Burrowes@maine.gov> Jo hn Nagle/R1/USEPAJUS@EPA 07/13/2012 04:51 PM CZMA review; VGP/sVGP Hi, John : I'm following up on our recen t conversation and re la ted voice mail I left for you this afternoon . I am writing to confirm our request for an extension of the CZMA review period regarding EPA 's VGP/sVGP. You recently explained that EPA has set a deadline of October 1, 2012 for states to respond to EPA water quality certification and you were speaking with EPA headquarters about a comparable extension re: CZMA consistency review. Ma ine DEP staff has indica ted i t is working to finalize its 401 order , which would provide the basis for the State's response to EPA's consistency determination. Therefore, we are request ing an extension of the CZMA review period until August 17 , 2012. Please confirm EPA's agreement with the proposed extension at your earliest convenience . Thanks for your consideration.

-Todd