Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 243 / Friday, December 18, 2015 / Notices 79039 

1On November 16, 2011, DOE’s Acting General 

Counsel restated the delegation to Western Area 

Power Administration’s Administrator of all the 

authorities of the General Counsel with respect to 

environmental impact statements. See ‘‘Restatement 

of Delegations of Environmental Impact Statement 

Authorities,’’ November 16, 2011. 

impacts associated with construction 

and operation would not occur. 

Agency Responsibilities 

Western has determined that an EIS is 

appropriate under DOE NEPA 

implementing procedures, 10 CFR part 

1021.1 Western would be the lead 

Federal agency for preparing the EIS, as 

defined at 40 CFR 1501.5. The proposed 

Project would include construction of a 

new single-circuit 500-kV transmission 

line and associated substations on 

mostly private land. Western will invite 

other Federal, State, local, and tribal 

agencies with jurisdiction by law or 

special expertise with respect to 

environmental issues to be cooperating 

agencies on the EIS, as defined at 40 

CFR 1501.6. Such agencies also may 

make a request to Western to be a 

cooperating agency by contacting Mr. 

Montan ̃ o at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section. Because the 

proposed Project may involve action in 

floodplains or wetlands, this NOI also 

serves as a notice of proposed 

floodplain or wetland action, in 

accordance with DOE regulations for 

Compliance with Floodplain and 

Wetlands Environmental Review 

Requirements at 10 CFR part 1022. The 

EIS will include a floodplain/wetland 

assessment and, if required, a 

floodplain/wetland statement of 

findings will be issued with the Final 

EIS or the Western Record of Decision 

(ROD). 

Environmental Issues 

This notice is to inform agencies and 

the public of Western’s and SMUD’s 

intent to prepare a joint EIS/EIR and 

solicit comments and suggestions for 

consideration in the EIS/EIS. To help 

the public frame its comments, the 

following list contains potential 

environmental issues preliminarily 

identified for analysis in the EIS/EIR: 

• Impacts on protected, threatened, 

endangered, or sensitive species of 

animals or plants; 

• Impacts on migratory birds; 

• Introduction of noxious weeds, 

invasive and non-native species; 

• Impacts on recreation and 

transportation; 

• Impacts on land use, wilderness, 

farmlands, and environmentallysensitive areas; 

• Impacts on cultural or historic 

resources and tribal values; 

• Impacts on human health and 

safety; 

• Impacts on air, soil, and water 

resources (including air quality and 

surface water impacts); 

• Visual impacts; and 

• Socioeconomic impacts and 

disproportionately high and adverse 

impacts to minority and low-income 

populations (i.e., environmental justice). 

This list is not intended to be allinclusive or to imply any 

predetermination of impacts. Western 

invites interested parties to suggest 

specific issues within these general 

categories, or other issues not included 

above, to be considered in the EIS/EIR. 

Public Participation 

The EIS/EIR process includes a public 

scoping period; public scoping 

meetings; publication and public review 

of the Draft EIS/EIR; publication of a 

Final EIS/EIR; and publication of a 

ROD. 

Western and SMUD will hold four 

public scoping meetings at the following 

times and locations: 

(1) Tuesday, January 12, 2016, from 

4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Colusa 

Casino Community Room, 3770 

California 45, Colusa, CA 95932; 

(2) Wednesday, January 13, 2016, 

from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the 

Colusa Casino Community Room, 3770 

California 45, Colusa, CA 95932; 

(3) Wednesday, January 13, 2016, 

from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Sutter 

Youth Organization Center, 7740 Butte 

House Road, Sutter, CA 95982; 

(4) Thursday, January 14, 2016, from 

8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Sutter 

Youth Organization Center, 7740 Butte 

House Road, Sutter, CA 95982. 

The meetings will be informal, and 

attendees will be able to speak directly 

with Western and SMUD 

representatives about the proposed 

Project. Attendees also may provide 

comments at these meetings. For the 

most recent information and for 

announcements, please visit the Project 

Web site at: www.CoSuLine.com. 

At the conclusion of the NEPA 

process, Western will prepare a ROD. 

Persons interested in receiving future 

notices, proposed Project information, 

copies of the EIS/EIR, and other 

information on the NEPA review 

process should contact Mr. Montan ̃ o at 

the address listed in the ADDRESSES

section. 

The purpose of the scoping meetings 

is to provide information about the 

proposed Project, review Project maps, 

answer questions, and take oral and 

written comments from interested 

parties. All meeting locations will be 

handicapped-accessible. Anyone 

needing special accommodations should 

contact Mr. Montan ̃o to make 

arrangements. 

The public will have the opportunity 

to provide written comments at the 

public scoping meetings. Written 

comments may also be sent to Mr. 

Montan ̃o by email or U.S. Postal Service 

mail. To help define the scope of the 

EIS/EIR, comments should be received 

by Western no later than February 16, 

2016. 

Dated: November 25, 2015. 

Mark A. Gabriel, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2015–31902 Filed 12–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–R08–OW–2015–0346; FRL–9940–34– 

Region 8] 

Issuance of NPDES General Permits 

for Wastewater Lagoon Systems 

Located in Indian Country in Region 8 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of NPDES 

general permits under the authority of 

Section 402 of the Clean Water Act. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) Region 8 is hereby giving 

notice of its issuance of six National 

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 

(NPDES) lagoon general permits for 

wastewater lagoon systems located in 

Indian country in Region 8 (CO, MT, 

ND, SD, UT, & WY). These general 

permits are similar to the existing 

permits and will authorize the discharge 

of wastewater from lagoons located in 

Region 8 Indian country in accordance 

with the terms and conditions described 

therein. 

DATES: The general permits become 

effective on January 1, 2016 and will 

expire five years from that date. For 

purposes of seeking review of this 

permit pursuant to 40 CFR 124.19(o) 

and 33 U.S.C. 1369(b)(1), the 120 day 

time period for appeal to the federal 

court will begin on January 1, 2016. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Additional information concerning the 

final permits may be obtained from 

VelRey Lozano, EPA Region 8, 

Wastewater Unit (8P–W–WW), 1595 

Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202– 

1129, telephone 303–312–6128 or email 

at lozano.velrey@epa.gov. 

The administrative record is available 

by appointment for review and copying, 

fee for copies may be required, at the 

EPA Region 8 offices during the hours 

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79040 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 243 / Friday, December 18, 2015 / Notices 

of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday 

through Friday, Federal holidays 

excluded. The final general permits, the 

fact sheet, and additional information 

may be downloaded from the EPA 

Region 8 Web page at http://www2.epa.

gov/region8/npdes-permits-documentdownload. Please allow one week after 

date of this publication for items to be 

uploaded to the Web page. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposed 

issuance of the general permits was 

published in the Federal Register on 

June 30, 2015, 80 FR 37255. The public 

comment period closed on July 30, 

2015. A summary of comments received 

and Region 8’s response to the 

comments are given in a separate 

document, ‘‘Response to Comments 

Received During the 2015 Public Notice 

of Draft NPDES General Permits for 

Wastewater Lagoon Systems Located in 

Indian country’’. 

These permits authorize the discharge 

of wastewater in accordance with the 

terms and conditions described therein. 

The fact sheet for the permits is provide 

for downloading concurrently with the 

permits and provides detailed 

information on: The decisions used to 

set limitations; the specific geographic 

areas covered by the permits; 

information on monitoring schedules; 

inspection requirements, and other 

regulatory decisions or requirements. 

Issuance of the general permits covers 

discharges from wastewater lagoon 

systems located in Indian country in 

Region 8. The general permits are 

grouped geographically by state, with 

the permit coverage being for specified 

Indian reservations located within a 

state boundary [specific permit coverage 

areas below]; any land held in trust by 

the United States for an Indian tribe; 

and any other areas which are Indian 

country within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 

1151. 

Colorado: The COG587### permit 

covers the Southern Ute and the Ute 

Mountain Reservations, including those 

portions of the Reservation located in 

New Mexico and Utah. 

Montana: MTG589### This permit 

covers the Blackfeet Indian Reservation 

of Montana; the Crow Indian 

Reservation; the Flathead Reservation; 

the Fort Belknap Reservation of 

Montana; the Fort Peck Indian 

Reservation; the Northern Cheyenne 

Indian Reservation; and the Rocky Boy’s 

Reservation. 

North Dakota: NDG589### This 

permit covers the Fort Berthold 

Reservation; the Spirit Lake Indian 

Reservation; the Standing Rock Sioux 

Reservation; and the Turtle Mountain 

Reservation. 

This permit includes that portion of 

the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation 

and associated Indian country located 

within the State of South Dakota. It does 

not include any land held in trust by the 

United States for the Sisseton-Wahpeton 

Oyate or any other Indian country 

associated with that Tribe, which is 

covered under general permit 

SDG589###. 

South Dakota: SDG589### This 

permit covers the Cheyenne River 

Reservation; Crow Creek Reservation; 

the Flandreau Santee Sioux Indian 

Reservation; the Lower Brule 

Reservation; the Pine Ridge Reservation 

(including the entire Reservation, which 

is located in both South Dakota and 

Nebraska); the Rosebud Sioux Indian 

Reservation; and the Yankton Sioux 

Reservation. 

This permit includes any land in the 

State of North Dakota that is held in 

trust by the United States for the 

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate or any other 

Indian country associated with that 

Tribe. It does not include the Standing 

Rock Sioux Reservation or any 

associated Indian country, which is 

covered under general permit 

NDG589###. 

Utah: UTG589### This permit covers 

the Northwestern Band of Shoshoni 

Nation of Utah Reservation (Washakie); 

the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah 

Reservation; the Skull Valley Indian 

Reservation; and Indian country lands 

within the Uintah & Ouray Reservation. 

It does not include any portions of the 

Navajo Nation or the Goshute 

Reservation. 

Wyoming: WYG589### This permit 

covers the Wind River Reservation. 

Coverage under the general permits is 

limited to lagoon systems treating 

primarily domestic wastewater and 

includes two categories of coverage; 

discharging lagoons, and lagoons 

expected to have no discharge. The 

effluent limitations for discharging 

lagoons are based on the Federal 

Secondary Treatment Regulation (40 

CFR part 133) and best professional 

judgement. The fact sheet also addresses 

situations in which more stringent and/ 

or additional effluent limitations are 

determined necessary to comply with 

applicable water quality standards. 

Lagoon systems under the no discharge 

category are required to have no 

discharge except in accordance with the 

bypass provisions of the permit. Selfmonitoring requirements and routine 

inspection requirements are included in 

the permits. 

Where the Tribes have Clean Water 

Act § 401(a)(1) certification authority; 

Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Flathead 

Indian Reservation, the Fort Peck Indian 

Reservation, Northern Cheyenne Indian 

Reservation, and the Ute Mountain 

Indian Reservation; EPA has requested 

certification that the permits comply 

with the applicable provisions of the 

CWA and tribal water quality standards. 

Other Legal Requirements 

Economic Impact (Executive Order 

12866): EPA has determined that the 

issuance of this general permit 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 formal OMB 

review prior to proposal. 

Paperwork Reduction Act: EPA has 

reviewed the requirements imposed on 

regulated facilities in these proposed 

general permits under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 501, et 

seq. The information collection 

requirements of these permits have 

already been approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget in submissions 

made for the NPDES permit program 

under the provisions of the Clean Water 

Act. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA): 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq., as amended by the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act (SBREFA): The RFA 

requires that the EPA prepare a 

regulatory flexibility analysis for rules 

subject to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 

553(b) that have a significant impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The permits proposed today, however, 

are not a ‘‘rule’’ subject to the 

requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and is 

therefore not subject to the RFA. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: 

Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law 104–4, 

generally requires Federal agencies to 

assess the effects of their ‘‘regulatory 

actions’’ defined to be the same as 

‘‘rules’’ subject to the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA)) on tribal, state, 

local governments and the private 

sector. The permit proposed today, 

however, is not a rule and is therefore 

not subject to the requirements of the 

UMRA. 

Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 

1251, et seq. 

Dated: December 3, 2015. 

Darcy O’Connor, 

Acting Assistant Regional Administrator, 

Office of Partnerships and Regulatory 

Assistance. 

[FR Doc. 2015–31916 Filed 12–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

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