Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 158 / Friday, August 15, 2014 / Notices 48147 

have been subject to a previous 

cancellation action, the effective date of 

cancellation and all other provisions of 

any earlier cancellation action are 

controlling. 

V. Provisions for Disposition of Existing 

Stocks 

Existing stocks are those stocks of 

registered pesticide products that are 

currently in the United States and that 

were packaged, labeled, and released for 

shipment prior to the effective date of 

the cancellation action. Because the 

Agency has identified no significant 

potential risk concerns associated with 

these pesticide products, upon 

cancellation of the products identified 

in Table 1 of Unit II., EPA anticipates 

allowing registrants to sell and 

distribute existing stocks of these 

products until January 15, 2015. 

Thereafter, registrants will be prohibited 

from selling or distributing the 

pesticides identified in Table 1 of Unit 

II., except for export consistent with 

FIFRA section 17 or for proper disposal. 

Persons other than registrants will 

generally be allowed to sell, distribute, 

or use existing stocks until such stocks 

are exhausted, provided that such sale, 

distribution, or use is consistent with 

the terms of the previously approved 

labeling on, or that accompanied, the 

canceled products. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, Pesticides 

and pests. 

Dated: June 16, 2014. 

Michael Hardy, 

Acting Director, Information Technology and 

Resources Management Division, Office of 

Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2014–19449 Filed 8–14–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9915–13–Region 10] 

Re-Proposal of an NPDES General 

Permit for Oil and Gas Geotechnical 

Surveying and Related Activities in 

Federal Waters of the Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of re-proposal of general 

permit. 

SUMMARY: Environmental Protection 

Agency Region 10 (EPA) re-proposes a 

National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) General 

Permit for Oil and Gas Geotechnical 

Surveying and Related Activities in 

Federal Waters of the Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas (Permit No. AKG–28– 

4300). On November 22, 2013, EPA 

released a draft NPDES general permit 

for oil and gas geotechnical surveys and 

related activities in federal waters of the 

Beaufort and Chukchi Seas for public 

review. The public comment period 

closed on February 19, 2014. Based on 

the comments received, EPA has made 

revisions to the draft Geotechnical 

General Permit and re-proposes a 

revised draft for public review 

accompanied by a Fact Sheet describing 

the revisions and a revised Ocean 

Discharge Criteria Evaluation. 

EPA seeks public comment only on 

the following proposed changes: (1) 

Inclusion of seasonal prohibitions on 

wastewater discharges specific to the 

3–25 mile lease deferral area in the 

Chukchi Sea; (2) Clarification of drilling 

fluid testing requirements (Discharge 

001); (3) Clarification of Environmental 

Monitoring Program requirements and 

inclusion of language regarding preexisting baseline data; (4) Revision of 

sampling frequencies for fecal coliform 

and total residual chlorine (Sanitary 

Wastewater, Discharge 003); and (5) 

Clarification of Notice of Intent 

submission requirements. 

As proposed, the Geotechnical 

General Permit authorizes twelve types 

of discharges from facilities engaged in 

oil and gas geotechnical surveys to 

evaluate the subsurface characteristics 

of the seafloor and related activities in 

federal waters of the Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas. Geotechnical borings are 

collected to assess the structural 

properties of subsurface soil conditions 

for potential placement of oil and gas 

installations, which may include 

production and drilling platforms, ice 

islands, anchor structures for floating 

exploration drilling vessels, and 

potential buried pipeline corridors. 

Geotechnical surveys result in a 

disturbance of the seafloor and produce 

discharges consisting of soil, rock and 

cuttings materials, in addition to 

facility-specific waste streams 

authorized under this general permit. 

Geotechnical related activities also 

result in a disturbance of the seafloor 

and produce similar discharges. These 

activities may include feasibility testing 

of equipment that disturbs the seafloor, 

and testing and evaluation of trenching 

technologies. 

DATES: Comments. The public comment 

period for the re-proposed Geotechnical 

General Permit will be from the date of 

publication of this document until 

September 15, 2014. Comments must be 

received or post-marked by no later than 

midnight Pacific Standard Time on 

September 15, 2014. EPA will only 

consider comments on the re-proposed 

permit provisions. Comments submitted 

previously on the initial draft 

Geotechnical General Permit need not 

be resubmitted; comments addressing 

permit provisions or issues beyond the 

scope of this re-proposal will not be 

considered. 

ADDRESSES: EPA will consider 

comments on the re-proposed permit 

provisions before making its final 

decision. You may submit comments by 

any of the following methods. 

Mail: Send paper comments to Erin 

Seyfried, Office of Water and 

Watersheds, Mail Stop OWW–130, 1200 

6th Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 

98101–3140. 

Email: Send electronic comments to 

R10geotechpermit@epa.gov. 

Fax: Fax comments to the attention of 

Erin Seyfried at (206) 553–0165. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: Deliver 

comments to Erin Seyfried, Office of 

Water and Watersheds, Mail Stop 

OWW–130, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 

Seattle, WA 98101–3140. Call (206) 

553–0523 before delivery to verify 

business hours. 

Viewing and/or Obtaining Copies of 

Documents. A copy of the draft 

Geotechnical General Permit and the 

Fact Sheet, which explains the proposal 

in detail, may be obtained by contacting 

EPA at 1 (800) 424–4372. Copies of the 

documents are also available for 

viewing and downloading at: http:// 

yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/npdes+

permits/DraftPermitsAK http://yosemite.

epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/npdes+permits/

arctic-gp. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for other document 

viewing locations. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Seyfried, Office of Water and 

Watersheds, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 10, Mail Stop 

OWW–130, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 

Seattle, WA 98101–3140, (206) 553– 

1448, seyfried.erin@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 22, 2013, EPA issued a draft 

Geotechnical General Permit for public 

review, and established a comment 

deadline of January 27, 2014 (78 FR 

70042). In response to requests for an 

extension of the deadline from the 

Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission 

and the Inupiat Community of the 

Arctic Slope, EPA extended the 

comment period for an additional 23 

days, from January 27, 2014 to February 

19, 2014 (79 FR 4344). 

Based on the comments received 

during the public review of the draft 

Geotechnical General Permit, EPA 

determined that certain permit 


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48148 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 158 / Friday, August 15, 2014 / Notices 

provisions warranted further 

consideration and notified interested 

parties of this determination on March 

21, 2014. To further that process, EPA 

met with several commenters to clarify 

certain technical issues and obtain 

additional information. The public 

comments and subsequent information 

resulted in EPA revising several permit 

provisions, as described further in the 

Fact Sheet. 

Document Viewing Locations. The reproposed Geotechnical General Permit 

and Fact Sheet may also be viewed at 

the following locations: 

(1) EPA Region 10 Library, Park Place 

Building, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 

Seattle, WA 98101; (206) 553–1289. 

(2) EPA Region 10, Alaska Operations 

Office, 222 W. 7th Avenue, #19, Room 537, 

Anchorage, AK 99513; (907) 271–5083. 

(3) Z. J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 

Denali Street, Anchorage, AK 99503; (907) 

343–2975. 

(4) North Slope Borough School District 

Library/Media Center, Pouch 169, 829 Aivak 

Street, Barrow, AK 99723; (907) 852–5311. 

EPA’s current administrative record 

for the draft Geotechnical General 

Permit is available for review at the EPA 

Region 10 Office, Park Place Building, 

1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, 

WA 98101, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 

p.m., Monday through Friday. Contact 

Erin Seyfried at seyfried.erin@epa.gov or 

(206) 553–1448. 

Oil Spill Requirements. Section 311 of 

the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321, prohibits the 

discharge of oil and hazardous materials 

in harmful quantities. Discharges 

authorized under the Geotechnical 

General Permit are excluded from the 

provisions of CWA section 311, 33 

U.S.C. 1321. However, the Geotechnical 

General Permit will not preclude the 

institution of legal action, or relieve the 

permittees from any responsibilities, 

liabilities, or penalties for other 

unauthorized discharges of oil and 

hazardous materials, which are covered 

by section 311. 

Endangered Species Act. Section 7 of 

the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 

1531–1544, requires federal agencies to 

consult with the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) if 

their actions have the potential to either 

beneficially or adversely affect any 

threatened or endangered species. EPA 

analyzed the discharges proposed to be 

authorized by the draft Geotechnical 

General Permit, and their potential to 

adversely affect any of the threatened or 

endangered species or their designated 

critical habitat areas in the vicinity of 

the discharges in a Biological Evaluation 

dated December 2013. EPA completed a 

supplemental analysis evaluating the 

effects of interrelated and 

interdependent actions on the Pacific 

walrus on February 11, 2014. On 

January 31 and March 19, 2014, EPA 

received letters of concurrence from the 

USFWS and NMFS, respectively, 

agreeing with EPA’s determinations of 

effects. On March 13, 2014, in response 

to EPA’s request for a conference on the 

Pacific walrus, the USFWS confirmed 

that the proposed permit action would 

not jeopardize the continued existence 

of this species. EPA has reviewed the reproposed draft permit and determined 

that the proposed changes would not 

alter the original conclusions that the 

discharges may affect, but are not likely 

to adversely affect listed, proposed, and 

candidate species or their designated 

critical habitat areas. The Fact Sheet, the 

re-proposed draft Geotechnical General 

Permit, and the revised Ocean Discharge 

Criteria Evaluation will be sent to NMFS 

and the USFWS for review during the 

public comment period. 

Essential Fish Habitat. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

requires EPA to consult with NMFS 

when a proposed permit action has the 

potential to adversely affect Essential 

Fish Habitat (EFH). EPA’s EFH 

assessment is included as Appendix A 

to the BE. The EFH assessment 

concluded that the discharges 

authorized by the draft Geotechnical 

General Permit will not adversely affect 

EFH. EPA has also concluded that the 

re-proposed permit changes will not 

adversely affect EFH. 

Coastal Zone Management Act. As of 

July 1, 2011, there is no longer a Coastal 

Zone Management Act (CZMA) program 

in Alaska. Consequently, federal 

agencies are no longer required to 

provide the State of Alaska with CZMA 

consistency determinations. 

Executive Order 12866. The Office of 

Management and Budget exempts this 

action from the review requirements of 

Executive Order 12866 pursuant to 

section 6 of that order. 

Paperwork Reduction Act. EPA has 

reviewed the requirements imposed on 

regulated facilities in the Geotechnical 

General Permit and finds them 

consistent with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. Under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq., a federal agency must 

prepare an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis ‘‘for any proposed rule’’ for 

which the agency ‘‘is required by 

section 553 of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA), or any other law, 

to publish general notice of proposed 

rulemaking.’’ The RFA exempts from 

this requirement any rule that the 

issuing agency certifies ‘‘will not, if 

promulgated, have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities.’’ EPA has 

concluded that NPDES general permits 

are permits, not rulemakings, under the 

APA and thus not subject to APA 

rulemaking requirements or the FRA. 

Notwithstanding that general permits 

are not subject to the RFA, EPA has 

determined that the Geotechnical 

General Permit will not have a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. This 

determination is based on the fact that 

the regulated companies are not 

classified as small businesses under the 

Small Business Administration 

regulations established at 49 FR 5023 et 

seq. (February 9, 1984). These facilities 

are classified as Major Group 13—Oil as 

Gas Extraction SIC 1311 Crude 

Petroleum and Natural Gas. 

Authority: This action is taken under the 

authority of section 402 of the Clean Water 

Act as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1342. I hereby 

provide public notice of the revised draft 

Geotechnical General Permit in accordance 

with 40 CFR 124.10. 

Dated: August 5, 2014. 

Christine Psyk, 

Associate Director, Office of Water and 

Watersheds, Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2014–19137 Filed 8–14–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS 

ADVISORY BOARD 

Notice of Reappointment of FASAB 

Members 

AGENCY: Federal Accounting Standards 

Advisory Board. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Board Action: Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 

3511(d), the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463), as 

amended, and the FASAB Rules Of 

Procedure, as amended in October 2010, 

notice is hereby given that Dr. Michael 

Granof has been reappointed to a fiveyear term as a member of the Federal 

Accounting Standards Advisory Board 

(FASAB) beginning July 1, 2014. 

FASAB also announces that Mr. D. 

Scott Showalter has been reappointed to 

a five-year term as a member of the 

Federal Accounting Standards Advisory 

Board beginning July 1, 2014. 

For Further Information Regarding 

Mr. Granof or Mr. Showalter, Contact: 

Ms. Wendy M. Payne, Executive 

Director, 441 G St., NW., Mail Stop 

6H20, Washington, DC 20548, or call 

(202) 512–7350. 


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