[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 197 (Friday, October 10, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53002-53004]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27021]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5908-1]


State Program Requirements; Revision of the Approved National 
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program in Oklahoma

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of revision of the Oklahoma Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System under the Clean Water Act.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 6, provides 
notice that the approved program for the State of Oklahoma under the 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program has 
been revised. The requirements for revising authorized state programs 
are found in Volume 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 
123.62. The revised program provides Oklahoma Department of 
Environmental Quality (ODEQ) the authority to issue general permits 
under the OPDES permitting program; and changes the enforcement program 
to include authority for the Oklahoma Ordinance Works Authority (OOWA).

DATES: This revision was approved by the EPA Region 6 Administrator on 
September 11, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The revised Oklahoma program documents are available to the 
public during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, excluding 
holidays, at:

EPA Region 6, 12th Floor Library, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 
75202, (214) 665-7513
ODEQ Headquarters, Department of Environmental Quality, Water Quality 
Division, 1000 N.E. 10th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73117-1212.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Wilma Turner at the EPA address 
listed above or by calling (214) 665-7516; or Norma Aldridge at the 
ODEQ address listed above or by calling (405) 271-5205.
    Part or all of the State's revised program (which comprises 
approximately 2260 pages) may be copied at the ODEQ office in Oklahoma 
City, or EPA office in Dallas, at a minimal cost per page. A paper copy 
of the entire submission may be obtained from the ODEQ office in 
Oklahoma City for a $339 fee (the cost of the changed pages only is 
$121.55). An electronic copy of the documents stored on computer disk 
will be provided at no cost to interested parties who supply three 
disks to ODEQ for that purpose, with a self-addressed, stamped mailing 
container. The disks must be new, 3.5'' high density/double-sided 
microdisks. The documents will be copied to the disks in WordPerfect 
6.0.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (Act) 
created the NPDES program under which EPA may issue permits for the 
point source discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States 
under conditions required by the Act. Section 402 also provides that 
EPA may authorize a State to administer an equivalent state program 
upon a showing the State has authority and a program sufficient to meet 
the Act's requirements.
    The approved state program, i.e., the Oklahoma Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (OPDES) program, is a partial program which operates 
in lieu of the EPA administered NPDES program pursuant to section 402 
of the CWA. The OPDES program is administered by the Oklahoma 
Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ). The basic requirements for 
revising approved state programs are listed in 40 CFR section 123.62. 
EPA Region 6 considers the documents submitted by the State of Oklahoma 
complete at the time of this notice and believes they comply with the 
regulations found at 40 CFR part 123. These changes to the Oklahoma 
program were explained in the Federal Register Notice (61 FR 65047) 
approving the OPDES program, and are not considered to be significant. 
Therefore, EPA has approved the OPDES program revision as described by 
the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. As of this Notice EPA 
will transfer administration of its general permits to ODEQ [except for 
those discharges which are not under the jurisdiction of ODEQ, see 
Scope and Summary of the OPDES Permitting Program in 61 FR 65047].

Changes to the Approved OPDES Documents

    The Federal Register Notice of EPA's approval of the OPDES program 
(61 FR 65047) restricted approval of the OPDES program with respect to 
enforcement authority for the Oklahoma Ordinance Works Authority (OOWA) 
facility, and ODEQ's general permitting authority:
    ``5. Oklahoma Ordinance Works Authority (OOWA). EPA will retain 
enforcement authority for OOWA (NPDES permit No. OK0034568), located in 
Pryor, Oklahoma, and all industries served by this facility. ODEQ is 
legally responsible for implementing the pretreatment program at OOWA.
    6. Authority over EPA issued general permits: EPA will retain 
authority to administer general permits in accordance with 40 CFR 
123.1. As explained in the Federal Register Notice proposing approval 
of the OPDES program, Oklahoma is revising its statutes and regulations 
to provide the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of 
Environmental Quality with the full authority to issue general permits 
under the OPDES program. This revision of Oklahoma Law is to ensure 
that the Oklahoma general permitting program is consistent with the 
requirements of 40 CFR 123.25(c).''
    ODEQ has now restructured its oversight of the OOWA facility's 
pretreatment program to ensure separation of responsibility from its 
NPDES enforcement activities. The Memorandum of Agreement, the Program 
Description and the Enforcement Management System have been changed to 
reflect these separations of responsibilities from each other. These 
changes in responsibility and procedures are reflected in those 
documents and are available to the public.
    With regard to general permitting authority, the State of Oklahoma 
has revised its statutes to provide the Director of ODEQ with the 
authority to issue general permits in a manner consistent with the 
requirements of 40 CFR part 123. The revision of Oklahoma's statutes 
was done through that State's public legislative process. The program 
documents (i.e., the Memorandum of Agreement, the Program Description 
and the Attorney General's Statement) have been revised to reflect this 
new authority and procedures. These changes, along with the new 
statutory authority are available to the public.

[[Page 53003]]

    In the interim EPA has continued to administer the general permits 
which it had issued or proposed prior to 1996 program authorization in 
Oklahoma. Permittees under those general permits will be notified that 
administration of those general permits is being transferred to the 
State agency. The address for Notices of Intent and Termination and 
compliance data under those general permits which are to be transfered 
to the state will be: ODEQ Water Quality Division, 10th floor, 1000 
N.E. 10th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73117-1212.
    Questions on those general permits should be directed to Dave 
Farrington of the ODEQ. Mr. Farrington may be contacted at the address 
above or by telephoning (405) 271-5205 ext. 118.
    An additional change has been made to the MOA that clarifies ODEQ's 
authority over Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code 13. This 
change to the MOA clarifies that ODEQ is the permitting authority over 
SIC groups 1321 and 1389 where the discharges are not associated with 
an exploration or production site. This is a specific clarification of 
the scope of the program as listed below in part 2.

Scope of the OPDES Program and Clarifications on EPA Authority and 
Oversight

    EPA continues to be the NPDES authority for the following 
discharges:
    1. Agricultural industries regulated by the Oklahoma Department of 
Agriculture including concentrated animal feeding operations and 
silviculture. EPA will remain the NPDES permitting authority for all 
point source discharges associated with agricultural production, 
services, silviculture, feed yards, livestock markets and animal 
wastes.
    2. Oil and Gas exploration and production related industries and 
pipeline operations regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. 
EPA will retain NPDES authority over these industries and their 
discharges to surface waters of the state.
    3. Discharges in Indian Country. The State of Oklahoma does not 
seek jurisdiction over Indian Country. EPA will retain NPDES authority 
to regulate discharges in Indian Country (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 
1151). The State of Oklahoma has undertaken steps to revise regulation 
252:605-1-3(c) clarifying ODEQ does not seek to issue authorized OPDES 
permits to discharges in Indian Country. EPA and ODEQ will work 
together with tribal authorities to resolve questions of permitting 
authority for individual discharges.
    4. Discharges of radioactive materials regulated by the federal 
government [i.e. those radioactive materials covered by the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2011 et. seq.)]. EPA does not 
have the authority to approve the OPDES program to regulate radioactive 
wastes governed by the Atomic Energy Act. The regulatory authority for 
radioactive materials will remain under the jurisdiction of the U.S. 
Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. [Some 
industrial discharges which contain very low level radioactive wastes 
(e.g., manufacturers of watches may discharge trace amounts of radium, 
and hospital wastes sometimes contain iodine isotopes) are not 
regulated under the Atomic Energy Act and may be regulated by EPA; upon 
authorization of the OPDES program, the authority to regulate those 
discharges may become the responsibility of ODEQ.]
    5. Status of applications, proposed permits, contested permit 
actions, and unresolved EPA enforcement actions: Except for the files 
listed below, all pending NPDES permit applications and issued NPDES 
permits under jurisdiction of ODEQ were transferred to Oklahoma. In 
accordance with the signed MOA, EPA retains temporary authority for all 
proposed permits until final issuance; permits contested under 
evidentiary hearing proceedings until those are resolved; and 
compliance files and authority for all open enforcement orders until 
such time as ODEQ has issued parallel orders or EPA has resolved the 
enforcement action.

Other Federal Statutes

A. National Historic Preservation Act

    EPA, ODEQ and the State Historic Preservation Officer consulted 
under the requirements of section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (NHPA) on the original approval of the OPDES program. 
[Regulations outlining the requirements of a section 106 consultation 
on a federal undertaking are found at 36 CFR part 800.] In the 
consultation, EPA, the SHPO and ODEQ outlined procedures by which the 
SHPO will confer on permit actions likely to affect historic 
properties. These processes are reflected in a memorandum of 
understanding signed by EPA and the SHPO on EPA's oversight role and 
objection procedures on permits when the two state agencies can not 
agree on the protection of historic properties. The EPA/ODEQ MOA 
includes conditions for EPA and ODEQ to follow to ensure that the 
requirements of the consultation with the SHPO are met. Based on the 
previous consultation, EPA believes that this program revision will not 
have any effect on historic properties or sites listed or eligible for 
listing in the National Register of Historic Places. EPA has provided 
notice of this program revision to the SHPO.

B. Endangered Species Act

    EPA, ODEQ and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service consulted under 
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on the original approval 
of the OPDES program. Regulations controlling consultation under ESA 
section 7 are codified at 50 CFR part 402. In the consultation, EPA, 
the Service, and ODEQ outlined procedures by which ODEQ and FWS, will 
confer on permits which are likely to affect federally listed species. 
These processes are reflected in a Memorandum of Understanding between 
the State and FWS. In addition, a consultation agreement was reached 
between EPA and FWS on EPA's oversight role and objection procedures 
when ODEQ and FWS cannot agree on the protection of species in an 
individual State permit action. These conditions are reflected in the 
EPA/ODEQ MOA. Based on the previous consultation, EPA believes this 
proposed revision of the OPDES program will have no effect on federally 
listed species. Notice of this program revision has been sent to the 
Service.

C. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    Under section 801(a)(1)(A) of the Administrative Procedures Act 
(APA) as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996, EPA submitted a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives and the Comptroller General of the General Accounting 
Office prior to publication of the rule in today's Federal Register. 
This rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by section 804(2) of the 
APA as amended.

D. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    After review of the facts presented in this document, I hereby 
certify, pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 605(b), that this 
action will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. This revision of the Oklahoma NPDES permit program will 
merely allow the ODEQ to issue general permits under the previously 
approved program; and to perform NPDES enforcement oversight over the 
OOWA facility.
    I hereby authorize this revision of the OPDES program in accordance 
with 40 CFR 123.


[[Page 53004]]


    Dated: September 11, 1997.
Jerry Clifford,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-27021 Filed 10-9-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P