Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 1997 / Notices 4285

States—James Warner, Minnesota

Pollution Control Agency; Anne Dobbs,

Texas Natural Resources Conservation

Commission; Gene Mitchell, Wisconsin

Department of Natural Resources; and

Bill Pounds, Pennsylvania Department

of Environmental Resources.

Federal officials—Paul Cassidy,

Deborah Dalton, Robert Dellinger,

Richard Kinch, and John Sager of the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Dated: January 22, 1997.

Elizabeth A. Cotsworth,

Director, Office of Solid Waste.

[FR Doc. 97–2193 Filed 1–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–M

[FRL–5681–8]

National Drinking Water Advisory

Council; Small Systems Working

Group; Notice of Open Meeting

Under Section 10(a)(2) of Public Law

92–423, ‘‘The Federal Advisory

Committee Act,’’ notice is hereby given

that a meeting of the Small Systems

Working Group of the National Drinking

Water Advisory Council established

under the Safe Drinking Water Act, as

amended (42 U.S.C. S300f et seq.), will

be held on February 10 and 11, 1997,

from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Loews L’Enfant

Plaza Hotel, 480 L’Enfant Plaza SW.,

Washington, DC 20024. The meeting is

open to the public, but due to past

experience, seating will be limited.

The purpose of this meeting is to

discuss options for how EPA might

implement the capacity development

and state affordability information

provisions of the Safe Drinking Water

Act Amendments of 1996. The meeting

is open to the public to observe. The

working group members are meeting to

gather information and analyze relevant

issues and facts. Statements will be

taken from the public at this meeting as

time allows.

For more information, please contact,

Peter E. Shanaghan, Designated Federal

Officer, Small Systems Working Group,

U.S. EPA, Office of Ground Water and

Drinking Water (4606), 401 M Street

SW., Washington, DC 20460. The

telephone number is (202) 260–5813

and the e-mail address is

shanaghan.peter@epamail.epa.gov.

Dated: January 22, 1997.

Cynthia C. Dougherty,

Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking

Water.

[FR Doc. 97–2190 Filed 1–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

[FRL–5681–2]

Request for Information and Public

Hearing to Evaluate Uses of Stream

Segments in Alabama

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of request for

information and holding of public

hearing.

SUMMARY: EPA is soliciting any

information from interested parties and

holding a public hearing to assist the

Agency in evaluating existing and

potential beneficial uses of certain

waters in the State of Alabama. This

information will be used by EPA in

assessing the attainability of such uses

and assist the Agency in determining

what federal use designations, if any,

would be appropriate for these waters.

EPA is holding a public hearing for the

purposes of receiving information from

interested parties. In addition, The

Alabama Department of Environmental

Management (ADEM) will be holding a

public hearing in March or April 1997

for the purposes of evaluating upgraded

use designations on some of these same

waters.

DATES: All written information and data

received on or before March 12, 1997

will be considered by EPA. A public

hearing will be held on February 26,

1997, at 1:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be directed to Morris Flexner, Life

Scientist, EPA Region 4, Atlanta Federal

Center, Water Management Division,

100 Alabama Street, S.W., Atlanta, GA

30303–3104, (404) 562–9272. A public

hearing will be held at the Alabama

Center for Commerce, 401 Adams

Avenue, Montgomery, AL 38130.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Morris Flexner or Fritz Wagener, Water

Quality Standards Coordinator, EPA

Region 4, Atlanta Federal Center, Water

Management Division, 100 Alabama

Street, S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303–3104,

(404) 562–9272 or (404) 562–9267.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

1. Statutory/Regulatory History

Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act

(CWA) directs States, with oversight by

EPA, to adopt water quality standards to

protect public health and welfare,

enhance the quality of water and serve

the purposes of the CWA. Under Section

303, States have the primary

responsibility to establish water quality

standards, defined under the Act as

designated uses of a water segment and

the water quality criteria necessary to

support those uses. Additionally, Indian

Tribes authorized to administer the

water quality standards program under

40 CFR § 131.8 also establish water

quality standards for waters within their

jurisdictions. This statutory framework

allows States and Tribes to work with

local communities to establish

appropriate designated uses, and adopt

criteria to protect those designated uses.

The Act specifies the minimum

beneficial uses to be considered by

States and Tribes in establishing water

quality standards as public water

supplies, propagation of fish and

wildlife, recreation, agricultural uses,

industrial uses and navigation.

Section 303 includes a requirement

that States and Tribes review their

standards at least once each three year

period using a process that includes

public participation, and a process for

EPA review of State and Tribal

standards. Under Section 303(c), EPA is

required to either approve new or

revised State/Tribal standards that meet

the requirements of the Act, or

disapprove standards that fail to meet

those requirements. Where EPA

disapproves a new or revised State/

Tribal standard, section 303(c)(4)(A) of

the Act states that the Agency is to

promptly propose substitute federal

standards and promulgate federal

standards within 90 days thereafter. In

addition, the Agency is authorized to

promulgate a federal standard whenever

the Agency determines that a new or

revised standard is necessary to meet

the requirements of CWA Section

303(c)(4)(B).

The implementing regulations for

water quality standards regulations are

found at 40 CFR Part 131. Under 40 CFR

§ 131.10(j), States and Tribes are

required to conduct a use attainability

analysis whenever the State/Tribe

designates or has designated uses that

do not include the uses specified in

Section 101(a)(2) of the CWA, or when

the State/Tribe wishes to remove a

designated use that is specified in

Section 101(a)(2) of the Act, or adopt

subcategories of uses that require less

stringent criteria. Uses are considered

by EPA to be attainable, at a minimum,

if the uses can be achieved (1) when

effluent limitations under Section

301(b)(1) (A) and (B) and Section 306

are imposed on point source

dischargers, and (2) when cost effective

and reasonable best management

practices are imposed on nonpoint

source dischargers.

A use attainability analysis (UAA) is

defined in 40 CFR § 131.3(g) as a

‘‘structured scientific assessment of the

factors affecting the attainment of a use

which may include physical, chemical,
4286 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 1997 / Notices

biological, and economic factors as

described in § 131.10(g).’’ In a UAA, the

physical, chemical and biological

factors affecting the attainment of a use

are evaluated through a water body

survey and assessment.

Guidance on water body survey and

assessment techniques is contained in

the Technical Support Manual, Volumes

I–III: Waterbody Surveys and

Assessments for Conducting Use

Attainability Analyses (Volume I

provides information on waterbodies in

general, Volume II contains information

on estuarine systems and Volume III

contains information on lake systems;

Volumes I–II, November 1983; Volume

III, November 1984), and in the Water

Quality Standards Handbook: Second

Edition (EPA–823–B–94–005, August

1994). Guidance on economic factors

affecting the attainment of a use is

contained in the Interim Economic

Guidance for Water Quality Standards

Workbook (EPA–823–B–95–002, March

1995). Requests for copies of these

guidance documents should be directed

to the EPA Water Resource Center, (202)

260–7786.

Water body surveys and assessments

should be sufficiently detailed to

answer the following questions: (1)

What are the aquatic uses currently

being achieved in the water body? (2)

What are the causes of any impairment

of the aquatic uses? (3) What are the

aquatic uses that can be attained based

on the physical, chemical and biological

characteristics of the water body?

2. History of ADEM/EPA Actions

On October 14, 1986, the EPA

Regional Administrator for Region 4

disapproved use designations adopted

by ADEM for 49 stream segments

because the State failed to justify lower

use classifications in accordance with

40 CFR § 131.10(j). Although the State

had previously submitted use

attainability analyses for these stream

segments, the analyses did not

adequately describe the basis for the

lower use classifications nor did they

provide adequate information to

determine if such classifications were

appropriate. From 1986 to 1991, 19 of

the beneficial use designations were

either upgraded to Fish and Wildlife

(F&W) by ADEM or approved as

Agricultural and Industrial Water

Supply (A&I) by EPA. On July 18, 1991,

the EPA Regional Administrator for

Region 4 disapproved 30 beneficial use

designations adopted by ADEM, 29 of

which were previously disapproved in

1986. Five of these 30 segments have

been upgraded to F&W by ADEM since

1991, leaving the 25 segments that are

the subject of this notice.

Based on information provided to

EPA by the State, of the 25 stream

segments identified in today’s notice,

ADEM is currently considering a

proposal for the complete or partial

upgrade of uses on 14 of these segments.

The State also currently plans to submit

UAAs to EPA for 12 of the stream

segments, including 3 of the streams for

which partial upgrades are being

considered by the State. The State is

also evaluating the appropriate steps to

take on the remaining segments.

B. Request for Information

The Agency is currently in the

process of evaluating the existing data

and information with regard to the uses

of 25 stream segments that were the

subject of EPA’s disapproval decisions.

Based on such information, EPA can

determine whether the uses designated

by Alabama are consistent with the

requirements of the Clean Water Act, or

whether upgrading those uses is

necessary. To assist the Agency in

ensuring that its decisions are based

upon the best available information, the

Agency is soliciting information

regarding the stream segments listed

below. The waters identified in the

water quality standards revisions

adopted by ADEM on February 20, 1991

for which EPA is soliciting information

are as follows:

Basin Stream From To Classification

Cahaba ................................... Buck Creek ............................ Cahaba Valley ....................... Its source ............................... A&I.

Coosa ..................................... Shirtee Creek ......................... Tallasseehatchee Ck ............. Its source ............................... A&I.

Mobile ..................................... Mobile River ........................... Its mouth ................................ Spanish River ........................ A&I.

Mobile ..................................... Three Mile Ck. ....................... Mobile River ........................... Mobile Street .......................... A&I.

Mobile ..................................... Chickasaw Ck. ....................... Mobile River ........................... Limit of tidal effects (Hwy 43) A&I.

Mobile ..................................... Hog Bayou ............................. Chickasaw Ck. ....................... Its source ............................... A&I.

Perdido-Escambia .................. Pigeon Creek ......................... Piney Woods Ck. ................... Its source ............................... A&I.

Perdido-Escambia .................. Unnamed Trib. to Pigeon Ck Pigeon Creek ......................... Its source ............................... A&I.

Perdido-Escambia .................. Rocky Creek .......................... Persimmon Ck. ...................... County road crossing N. of

Chapman.

A&I

Perdido-Escambia .................. Hollinger Ck. .......................... Road 5 mi. E. of Bay Minette Its source ............................... A&I.

Tallapoosa .............................. Sougahatchee Creek ............. County road 11 crossing ....... Pepperell Branch ................... A&I.

Tallapoosa .............................. Pepperell Br. .......................... Sougahatchee Ck. ................. Its source ............................... A&I.

Tallapoosa .............................. Sugar Creek ........................... Elkahatchee Ck. ..................... Its source ............................... A&I.

Tennessee .............................. Flint Creek ............................. Alabama Hwy. 36 .................. Shoal Creek ........................... A&I.

Upper Tombigbee ................... Little Bear Creek .................... Bear Creek ............................. Highway 82 ............................ A&I.

Warrior .................................... Valley Creek .......................... Head of backwater above

Bankhead Lock Dam.

Co. road crossing 11⁄2 mi. NE

of Johns.

A&I.

Warrior .................................... Valley Creek .......................... Co. road crossing 11⁄2 mi. NE

of Johns.

Opossum Creek ..................... IO.

Warrior .................................... Valley Creek .......................... Opossum Creek ..................... Its source ............................... A&I.

Warrior .................................... Opossum Creek ..................... Valley Creek .......................... Its source ............................... IO.

Warrior .................................... Village Creek ......................... Locust Fork ............................ Its source ............................... A&I.

Warrior .................................... Five Mile Crk. ......................... Locust Fork ............................ Ketona ................................... A&I.

Warrior .................................... Lost Creek ............................. AL Hwy 124 ........................... Its source ............................... A&I.

Warrior .................................... Cane Ck/Oakman .................. Lost Creek ............................. Its source ............................... A&I.

Warrior .................................... Cane Ck/Jasper ..................... Mulberry Fork ......................... Its source ............................... A&I.

Warrior .................................... Town Creek ........................... Cane Creek ............................ Its source ............................... A&I.

Note: The existing use classifications for the 25 stream segments adopted by ADEM are either A&I or Industrial Operations (IO) as indicated

in the above table.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 1997 / Notices 4287

Specifically EPA is seeking

information that would assist in

determining whether F&W uses are

currently being attained, or have been

attained since or before 1975, or

whether natural conditions or features

or human caused conditions prevent the

attainment of F&W uses and cannot be

remedied or would cause more

environmental damage to correct than to

leave in place. Below is a general

discussion of the types of data/

information requested by the Agency:

Ambient Monitoring Information: (1)

Any instream data for any of the above

stream segments reflecting either natural

conditions (e.g., instream flow data or

other data relating to stream hydrology)

or irretrievable human-caused

conditions which prevent the F&W uses

or supporting water quality criteria from

being attained, (2) Any available

instream biological data, (3) Any

chemical and biological monitoring data

that verify improvements to water

quality as a result of treatment plant/

facility upgrades and/or expansions and

(4) Any instream data reflecting

nonpoint sources of pollution or best

management practices that have been

implemented for nonpoint source

control.

Current and Historical Effluent Data:

(1) Any data and information relating to

mass loadings from point source

discharges of pollutants such as BOD,

NH 3-N, Chlorine, metals (e.g., As, Cd,

Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ni, Ag, Zn), toxics (e.g.,

volatile organic chemicals such as

benzene or toluene, acid extractables

such as pentachlorphenol, base neutrals

such as anthracene, fluorene or pyrene,

and pesticides such as aldrin, lindane,

DDT, dieldrin, endrin and toxaphene),

(2) Data and information related to

facility or treatment plant effluent

quality and (3) Any information related

to releases of pollutants from other

sources such as landfills, transportation

facilities, construction sites, agriculture/

silviculture, incinerators, and

contaminated sediments.

Models: (1) Any data or information

on analytical models which can be used

to evaluate or predict stream quality,

flow and/or morphology, (2) Any

physical, biological or chemical

characteristics relating to beneficial uses

and (3) The results of any such models

which can be used to evaluate beneficial

uses. Economic Data: Any information

relating to costs and benefits associated

with facility or treatment plant

expansions or upgrades. This

information includes: (1) Qualitative

descriptions or quantitative estimates of

any costs and benefits associated with

facilities or treatment plants meeting

F&W limits, (2) Any information on

costs to households in the community

with facility or treatment plant

expansions or upgrades, whether

through an increase in user fees, an

increase in taxes, or a combination of

both, (3) Descriptions of the

geographical area affected, (4) Any

changes in median household income,

employment, and overall net debt as a

percent of full market value of taxable

property and (5) Any effects of changes

in tax revenues if the private-sector

entity were to go out of business,

changes in income to the community if

workers lose their jobs, and effects on

other businesses both direct and

indirect.

Dated: January 21, 1997.

Robert F. McGhee,

Director, Water Management Division.

[FR Doc. 97–2044 Filed 1–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[Report No. 2174]

Petitions for Reconsideration and

Clarification of Action in Rulemaking

Proceedings

January 24, 1997.

Petitions for reconsideration and

clarification have been filed in the

Commission’s rulemaking proceedings

listed in this Public Notice and

published pursuant to 47 CFR 1.429(e).

The full text of these documents are

available for viewing and copying in

Room 239, 1919 M Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. or may be purchased

from the Commission’s copy contractor,

ITS, Inc. (202) 857–3800. Oppositions to

these petitions must be filed February

13, 1997. See Section 1.4(b)(1) of the

Commission’s rules (47 CFR 1.4(b)(1)).

Replies to an opposition must be filed

within 10 days after the time for filing

oppositions has expired.

Subject: Amendment of Section

73.202(b), Table of Allotments, FM

Broadcast Stations. (Rose Hill, Trenton,

Aurora, and Ocracoke, North Carolina)

(MM Docket No. 95–88, RM–8641, RM–

8688, RM–8689)

Number of Petition Filed: 1.

Subject: Interconnection and Resale

Obligations Pertaining to Commercial

Mobile Radio Services. (CC Docket No.

94–54)

Number of Petition Filed: 2.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–2082 Filed 1–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–M

FEDERAL EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency

Management Agency has submitted the

following proposed information

collection to the Office of Management

and Budget for review and clearance in

accordance with the requirements of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3507).

Title: Approval and Coordination of

Requirements to Use the NETC for

Extracurricular Training Activities.

Type of Information Collection:

Extension of a currently approved

collection.

OMB Number: 3067–0219.

Abstract: The National Emergency

Training Center (NETC) is a FEMA

facility, located in Emmitsburg,

Maryland, that houses the Emergency

Management Institute and the National

Fire Academy. It provides training and

education programs for Federal, State,

and local personnel in hazard

mitigation, emergency response and

preparedness, fire prevention and

control, disaster response, and longterm disaster recovery. Special groups

sponsored by the EMI, NFA, or other

FEMA organizations may use NETC

facilities to conduct activities closely

related to, or in direct support of their

activities. Such groups include other

Federal departments and agencies,

groups chartered by Congress such as

the American Red Cross, State and local

governments, volunteer groups and

national and international associations

representing State and local

governments. The collection of

information will be used to obtain

information from special groups that

request the use of NETC facilities for

extracurricular training activities.

Affected Public: Individuals and

households, business or other for-profit,

not-for-profit institutions, Federal

Government, and State, Local, or Tribal

Government.

FEMA Forms:

(1) FEMA Form 75–10, Request for

Housing Accommodations, is used by

an organization’s or group’s contact

person to provide information on

participants who will be staying on

campus. NETC staff use the information

to assign dormitory rooms. Estimated

burden for this form is 110 hours—1,100

responses at 6 minutes per response.

(2) FEMA Form 75–11, Request for

Use of NETC Facilities, is used by