29754 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 102 / Thursday, May 27, 2010 / Notices 

appropriate means, such as on the 

related collection instrument or form, if 

applicable. The display of OMB control 

numbers in certain EPA regulations is 

consolidated in 40 CFR part 9. 

Abstract: The New Source 

Performance Standards (NSPS) for the 

Graphic Arts Industry (40 CFR part 60, 

subpart QQ) were proposed on October 

28, 1980, and promulgated on 

November 8, 1982. The affected entities 

are subject to the General Provisions of 

the NSPS at 40 CFR part 60, subpart A 

and any changes, or additions to the 

Provisions specified at 40 CFR part 60, 

subpart QQ. 

Owners or operators of the affected 

facilities must make an initial 

notification, performance tests, periodic 

reports, and maintain records of the 

occurrence and duration of any startup, 

shutdown, or malfunction in the 

operation of an affected facility, or any 

period during which the monitoring 

system is inoperative. Reports, at a 

minimum, are required semiannually. 

Burden Statement: The annual public 

reporting and recordkeeping burden for 

this collection of information is 

estimated to average 37 hours per 

response. Burden means the total time, 

effort, or financial resources expended 

by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 

or disclose or provide information to or 

for a Federal agency. This includes the 

time needed to review instructions; 

develop, acquire, install, and utilize 

technology and systems for the purposes 

of collecting, validating, and verifying 

information, processing and 

maintaining information, and disclosing 

and providing information; adjust the 

existing ways to comply with any 

previously applicable instructions and 

requirements which have subsequently 

changed; train personnel to be able to 

respond to a collection of information; 

search data sources; complete and 

review the collection of information; 

and transmit or otherwise disclose the 

information. 

Respondents/Affected Entities: 

Graphic arts facilities. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

19. 

Frequency of Response: Initially, 

occasionally, and semiannually. 

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 

1,718. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost: 

$163,005, which includes $163,005 in 

labor costs exclusively. There are no 

annualized capital/startup costs or O&M 

costs associated with this ICR. 

Changes in the Estimates: There is no 

change in the number of hours in the 

total estimated burden currently 

identified in the OMB Inventory of 

Approved ICR Burdens. 

Dated: May 21, 2010. 

John Moses, 

Director, Collection Strategies Division. 

[FR Doc. 2010–12769 Filed 5–26–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0446; FRL–8827–3] 

Claims of Confidentiality of Certain 

Chemical Identities Contained in 

Health and Safety Studies and Data 

from Health and Safety Studies 

Submitted Under the Toxic Substances 

Control Act 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA will begin a general 

practice of reviewing confidentiality 

claims for chemical identities in health 

and safety studies, and in data from 

health and safety studies, submitted 

under the Toxic Substances Control Act 

(TSCA) in accordance with Agency 

regulations at 40 CFR part 2, subpart B. 

Section 14(b) of TSCA does not extend 

confidential treatment to health and 

safety studies, or data from health and 

safety studies, which, if made public, 

would not disclose processes used in 

the manufacturing or processing of a 

chemical substance or mixture or, in the 

case of a mixture, the release of data 

disclosing the portion of the mixture 

comprised by any of the chemical 

substances in the mixture. Where a 

chemical identity does not explicitly 

contain process information or reveal 

portions of a mixture, EPA expects to 

find that the information would clearly 

not be entitled to confidential treatment. 

This builds on similar efforts regarding 

confidentiality of chemical identities 

listed on the public version of the TSCA 

Chemical Substances Inventory (TSCA 

Inventory) and submitted in 

notifications pursuant to TSCA section 

8(e), discussed in the Federal Register 

of January 21, 2010. 

DATES: EPA expects to begin reviews of 

confidentiality claims — both newly 

submitted and existing claims — in 

accordance with this guidance on 

August 25, 2010. Though EPA is not 

required to solicit comment for this 

action, comments received before this 

date will inform these reviews. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0446, by 

one of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Document Control Office 

(7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention 

and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460– 

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: OPPT Document 

Control Office (DCO), EPA East Bldg., 

Rm. 6428, 1201 Constitution Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC. Attention: Docket ID 

Number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0446. 

The DCO is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

DCO is (202) 564–8930. Such deliveries 

are only accepted during the DCO’s 

normal hours of operation, and special 

arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to 

docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPPT– 

2010–0446. EPA’s policy is that all 

comments received will be included in 

the docket without change and may be 

made available on-line at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through regulations.gov or email. The regulations.gov website is an 

‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an e-mail comment directly 

to EPA without going through 

regulations.gov, your e-mail address 

will be automatically captured and 

included as part of the comment that is 

placed in the docket and made available 

on the Internet. If you submit an 

electronic comment, EPA recommends 

that you include your name and other 

contact information in the body of your 

comment and with any disk or CD-ROM 

you submit. If EPA cannot read your 

comment due to technical difficulties 

and cannot contact you for clarification, 

EPA may not be able to consider your 

comment. Electronic files should avoid 

the use of special characters, any form 

of encryption, and be free of any defects 

or viruses. 

Docket: All documents in the docket 

are listed in the docket index available 

at http://www.regulations.gov. Although 

listed in the index, some information is 

not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

will be publicly available only in hard 

copy. Publicly available docket 

materials are available electronically at 


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http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only 

available in hard copy, at the OPPT 

Docket. The OPPT Docket is located in 

the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) at Rm. 

3334, EPA West Bldg., 1301 

Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room 

hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 

legal holidays. The telephone number of 

the EPA/DC Public Reading Room is 

(202) 566–1744, and the telephone 

number for the OPPT Docket is (202) 

566–0280. Docket visitors are required 

to show photographic identification, 

pass through a metal detector, and sign 

the EPA visitor log. All visitor bags are 

processed through an X-ray machine 

and subject to search. Visitors will be 

provided an EPA/DC badge that must be 

visible at all times in the building and 

returned upon departure. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical information contact: Scott M. 

Sherlock, Environmental Assistance 

Division, Office of Pollution Prevention 

and Toxics, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone 

number: (202) 564–8257; e-mail address: 

sherlock.scott@epa.gov. 

For general information contact: The 

TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 

South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 

14620; telephone number: (202) 554– 

1404; e-mail address: TSCAHotline@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this Action Apply to Me? 

This document is directed to the 

public in general, though it does not 

directly impose any binding 

requirements on parties outside the 

Agency. It may, however, be of 

particular interest to you if you 

manufacture (defined by statute to 

include import) and/or process 

chemical substances and mixtures 

subject to TSCA (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). 

You may be identified by the North 

American Industrial Classification 

System (NAICS) codes 325 and 32411. 

Because this document is directed to the 

general public and other entities may 

also be interested, the Agency has not 

attempted to describe all the specific 

entities that may be interested in this 

action. If you have any questions 

regarding the applicability of this action 

to a particular entity, consult the 

technical person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare 

My Comments for EPA? 

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this 

information to EPA through 

regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark 

the part or all of the information that 

you claim to be CBI. For CBI 

information in a disk or CD-ROM that 

you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the 

disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, 

mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM 

as CBI and then identify electronically 

within the disk or CD-ROM the specific 

information that is claimed as CBI. In 

addition to one complete version of the 

comment that includes information 

claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment 

that does not contain the information 

claimed as CBI must be submitted for 

inclusion in the public docket. 

Information so marked will not be 

disclosed except in accordance with 

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. 

2. Tips for preparing your comments. 

When submitting comments, remember 

to: 

i. Identify the document by docket ID 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

ii. Follow directions. The Agency may 

ask you to respond to specific questions 

or organize comments by referencing a 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 

or section number. 

iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

iv. Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used. 

v. If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 

vi. Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns and suggest 

alternatives. 

vii. Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

viii. Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

II. What Action is the Agency Taking? 

The Agency expects to respond to 

certain confidentiality claims regarding 

chemical identities in health and safety 

studies and in data from health and 

safety studies with a determination 

letter under 40 CFR 2.306(d), 40 CFR 

2.204(d)(2), and 40 CFR 2.205(f) that 

such information is clearly not entitled 

to confidential treatment. This Federal 

Register document only serves to 

announce an impending general Agency 

practice, and this document does not 

constitute a final Agency action; rather, 

any determination letter issued by EPA 

will constitute the Agency’s final 

determination that the chemical identity 

at issue is not entitled to confidential 

treatment under TSCA section 14 (15 

U.S.C. 2613), and the recipient of such 

a determination letter may seek judicial 

review under 5 U.S.C. 701 et seq. 

At this time, EPA expects to issue 

these determination letters when the 

chemical identity claimed as 

confidential: 

1. Was submitted as part of a health 

and safety study, or of data from a 

health and safety study, submitted 

under TSCA that is subject to TSCA 

section 14(b)(1). 

2. Does not explicitly contain process 

information. 

3. Does not reveal data disclosing the 

portion of the mixture comprised by any 

of the chemical substances in the 

mixture. 

Each determination letter will provide 

a contact person within the Agency 

whom the recipient of the letter can 

contact with any questions or concerns 

about the determination related to the 

submission. 

The TSCA Inventory is a list of 

chemical substances subject to TSCA 

that are in commerce in the United 

States, and the fact that a chemical 

substance is on the TSCA Inventory may 

be claimed as confidential. Release of a 

chemical identity under TSCA section 

14(b) may correspondingly affect the 

validity of a confidentiality claim for 

presence on the TSCA Inventory. EPA 

expects to examine TSCA Inventory 

confidentiality claims for chemical 

identity at the time it makes 

determinations under TSCA section 

14(b). EPA will issue determinations on 

confidential inventory status when 

appropriate. 

This action is part of a broader effort 

to increase transparency and provide 

more valuable information to the public 

by identifying data collections where 

information may have been claimed and 

treated as confidential in the past but is 

not in fact entitled to confidentiality 

under TSCA. For such information, EPA 

is considering what actions might be 

appropriate in accordance with its 

confidentiality regulations at 40 CFR 

part 2, subpart B. EPA believes these 

actions will make more health and 

safety information available to the 

public and support an important 

mission of the Agency to promote 

public understanding of the potential 

risks posed by chemical substances in 

commerce. 


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III. What is the Agency’s Authority for 

Taking this Action? 

Under TSCA section 3(6) (15 U.S.C. 

2602(6)): 

The term ‘‘health and safety study’’ means 

any study of any effect of a chemical 

substance or mixture on health or the 

environment or on both, including 

underlying data and epidemiological studies, 

studies of occupational exposure to a 

chemical substance or mixture, toxicological, 

clinical, and ecological studies of a chemical 

substance or mixture, and any test performed 

pursuant to this chapter. 

Health and safety studies may be 

submitted under various sections of 

TSCA, such as TSCA section 8(d) rules 

explicitly requiring submission of 

health and safety studies, notices of 

substantial risk under TSCA section 

8(e), and TSCA section 4 rules requiring 

persons to perform testing. (15 U.S.C. 

2603, 2607(d), and 2607(e)) 

Premanufacture notices submitted 

under TSCA section 5 must include test 

data in the possession or control of the 

person submitting the notice. (15 U.S.C. 

2605(d)(1)(B)) Chemical identity is part 

of a health and safety study. See, e.g., 

40 CFR 716.3 and 40 CFR 720.3(k). 

Section 14(b)(1) of TSCA provides 

that health and safety studies and data 

from health and safety studies are not 

entitled to confidential treatment unless 

such information, if made public, would 

disclose processes used in the 

manufacturing or processing of a 

chemical substance or mixture or in the 

case of a mixture, the portion of the 

mixture comprised by any of the 

chemical substances in the mixture. (15 

U.S.C. 2613(b)(1)) This document 

discusses the disclosure of process 

information element only, and does not 

deal with the portion of a mixture 

information element, which pertains to 

the concentrations of the components of 

a mixture. 

Section 14(b)(1) of TSCA is limited to 

health and safety studies and data 

submitted with respect to chemical 

substances or mixtures that have been 

offered for commercial distribution and 

those for which testing is required 

under TSCA section 4 or for which 

notification is required under TSCA 

section 5. 

Until recently, EPA has not 

announced the Agency’s views 

regarding when disclosure of chemical 

identities may in turn disclose process 

information. In the Federal Register 

issue of January 21, 2010 (75 FR 3462) 

(FRL–8807–9), EPA announced that 

‘‘[w]here a health and safety study 

submitted under section 8(e) of TSCA 

involves a chemical identity that is 

already listed on the public portion of 

the TSCA Chemical Substances 

Inventory, EPA expects to find that the 

chemical identity clearly is not entitled 

to confidential treatment.’’ 

In that January 21, 2010 Federal 

Register document the Agency stated 

that: 

‘‘Where the identity of a chemical substance 

is already contained on the public portion of 

the TSCA Chemical Substances Inventory, 

which is publicly available from the National 

Technical Information Service and other 

sources, EPA believes that the identity itself, 

even assuming it might otherwise be CBI, as 

well as any information that might be derived 

from it about processes or portions, has 

already been disclosed.’’ 

Id. 

The January 21, 2010 Federal Register 

document did not, however, address 

chemical substances not on the public 

TSCA Inventory. With respect to such 

chemical substances, EPA is aware that 

some companies believe their 

competitors are sufficiently 

knowledgeable that if EPA were to 

disclose the chemical identity, the 

competitors would be capable of 

ascertaining on their own how the 

chemical substance might be 

manufactured or processed, and 

therefore this would in effect disclose 

process information. 

EPA, however, questions the assertion 

that when disclosing a chemical identity 

of a chemical substance inspires a 

competitor to ascertain a process for 

manufacturing the chemical substance, 

such disclosure is equivalent to 

disclosing the process itself. Disclosing 

the end product of a process (i.e., a 

chemical identity) is not the same thing 

as disclosing the process to make that 

end product. The process information 

would come from the competitor’s 

expertise, research, or publicly available 

sources, not from EPA. Although some 

companies might find such use of a 

chemical identity undesirable, EPA does 

not believe that TSCA section 14(b) was 

intended to limit the uses of information 

from a health and safety study. 

Interpreting TSCA section 14(b)(1) 

otherwise might for all intents and 

purposes exclude chemical identities in 

health and safety studies from the 

disclosure provisions of TSCA section 

14(b). Carried to its logical conclusion, 

the argument that the manufacturing 

process for chemical substances can be 

figured out by someone knowledgeable 

in the area and for that reason 

disclosure of chemical identities is 

considered equivalent to disclosing 

process information, would yield the 

perverse result that chemical identities 

would rarely, if ever be subject to TSCA 

section 14(b) disclosure. 

Chemical identify has been claimed as 

confidential in a significant number of 

health and safety submissions. The 

result, in the context of substantial risk 

notices under TSCA section 8(e) for 

example, has been that the public is able 

to see that some unidentified chemical 

substance might present a substantial 

risk of injury to health or the 

environment. EPA believes that 

Congress generally intended for the 

public to be able to know the identities 

of chemical substances for which health 

and safety studies have been submitted. 

Congress did not specifically exempt 

chemical identities from TSCA section 

14(b), and EPA believes that interpreting 

TSCA section 14(b) in such a manner 

would be inconsistent with the intent of 

Congress in enacting the provision. 

It is EPA’s view that as a general 

matter disclosure of a chemical identity 

does not disclose process information 

except where the identity explicitly 

contains process information. For 

example, a name such as 

‘‘formaldehyde’’ (Chemical Abstracts 

Service (CAS) No. 50–00–0) reveals 

nothing about the process to make the 

chemical substance, even if any chemist 

could figure out independently that 

formaldehyde can be generated by 

oxidizing methanol. 

In contrast, the names of some 

chemical substances — especially 

polymers and chemical substances of 

unknown or variable composition, 

complex reaction products and 

biological materials (known as UVCB 

substances) — do explicitly contain 

process information. An illustrative 

UVCB example is CAS No. 64742–28–5, 

specific chemical substance’s name 

‘‘Distillates (petroleum), chemically 

neutralized light paraffinic.’’ A polymer 

example is CAS No. 68474–52–2, 

safflower oil, polymer with adipic acid, 

glycerol and phthalic anhydride. The 

monomers adipic acid, glycerol and 

phthalic anhydride are reactants, 

information pertaining to manufacture 

of the polymer. EPA expects that such 

names would not be subject to TSCA 

section 14(b) disclosure in those 

instances where the chemical 

substances’ name were claimed as 

confidential in a study. 

EPA intends to begin review of 

confidentiality claims for identities of 

chemical substances in health and 

safety studies, and data from health and 

safety studies, as described in this 

guidance, on August 18, 2010. The 

Agency solicits comments prior to that 

date regarding classes of chemical 

substances and attributes of chemical 

identities that do or do not disclose 

process information. Such comments 

will inform the Agency’s reviews. 

Where process information in the 

chemical identity is unnecessary to 


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characterize the chemical substance or 

mixture, EPA may release a version of 

the chemical identity with the process 

information removed. 

EPA premanufacture notification 

regulations at 40 CFR 720.90(c) state 

that EPA will deny a confidentiality 

claim for chemical identity in a health 

and safety study submitted as part of a 

premanufacture notice unless: 

1. The information in turn discloses 

process information, 

2. The information discloses portions 

of a mixture, or 

3. ‘‘[t]he specific chemical identity is 

not necessary to interpret a health and 

safety study’’ (see also 40 CFR 725.92(c) 

regarding microbial commercial activity 

notices). Consistent with the intent of 

TSCA section 14(b) to allow broad 

public availability of health and safety 

data, with limited exceptions, EPA 

intends to interpret paragraph 3. 

narrowly. 

IV. Why is EPA Taking this Action? 

Part of the Agency’s mission is to 

promote public understanding of 

potential risks by providing 

understandable, accessible, and 

complete information on potential 

chemical risks to the broadest audience 

possible. In support of this mission, 

EPA posts useful information about 

chemical substances regulated under 

TSCA for the public on its website 

(http://www.epa.gov/oppt/index.htm). 

One important source of this 

information is health and safety studies 

submitted to the Agency. The TSCA 

section 14(b) exclusion from 

confidential protection for information 

from health and safety studies indicates 

the importance attributed by Congress to 

making such information available to 

the public. Chemical identities in 

particular constitute basic information 

that helps the public to place risk 

information in context. Making public 

chemical identities in health and safety 

studies whose confidentiality is 

precluded by TSCA will support the 

Agency’s mission. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, Chemicals, 

Confidential Business Information, 

Health and safety, Reporting and 

recordkeeping. 

Dated: May 20, 2010. 

Stephen A. Owens, 

Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical 

Safety and Pollution Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2010–12646 Filed 5–26–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9155–2] 

New York State Prohibition of 

Discharges of Vessel Sewage; Final 

Affirmative Determination 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of determination. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Regional Administrator of the 

Environmental Protection Agency— 

Region 2, has determined that adequate 

facilities for the safe and sanitary 

removal and treatment of sewage from 

all vessels are reasonably available for 

the waters of the New York State (NYS) 

Canal System, including the 524 linear 

miles of navigable waterways within the 

Erie, Oswego, Champlain, and CayugaSeneca canal segments, and including 

Onondaga, Oneida, and Cross Lakes. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 

30, 2009, the State of New York 

petitioned the Regional Administrator, 

EPA—Region 2, pursuant to Section 

312(f)(3) of Public Law 92–500 as 

amended by Public Law 95–217 and 

Public Law 100–4, for a determination 

that adequate facilities for the safe and 

sanitary removal and treatment of 

sewage from all vessels are reasonably 

available for the NYS Canal System. 

The NYS Department of 

Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), 

in collaboration with the New York 

State Canal Corporation, the New York 

Department of State, and the New York 

State Environmental Facilities 

Corporation, prepared and submitted 

the petition, and NYSDEC certified the 

need for greater protection of the water 

quality in the NYS Canal System. 

The waters of the proposed No 

Discharge Zone fall within the 

jurisdictions of the NYS Thruway 

Authority and NYS Canal 

Recreationway Commission, and 

include four distinct segments of the 

NYS Canal System. Adequate pumpout 

facilities are defined as one pumpout 

station for every 300 to 600 boats, 

pursuant to the Clean Vessel Act: 

Pumpout Station and Dump Station 

Technical Guidelines (59 FR 11290–02). 

Findings: Potential vessel population 

in the NYS Canal System was 

determined using three sources of 

information: slips (6,896), boater 

registrations (21,201), and lockings 

(23,278). Based on the numbers 

determined through these sources and 

the number of pumpouts available (87), 

the following ratios were determined: 

using number of slips: 1:80, using NYS 

Boater Registrations 1:243, and using 

number of lockings: 1:267, respectively. 

Thus adequate pumpouts are available 

for all boaters using the NYS Canal 

System. For all vessel waste disposal 

from pumpouts, there are 87 NYS Clean 

Vessel Assistance Program (CVAP) 

completed projects, 4 dispose of wastes 

to an on-site septic system, 21 dispose 

to a holding tank and 62 dispose to a 

municipal wastewater treatment plant. 

Thus all vessel sewage will be either 

discharge into State approved and 

regulated septic tanks or holding tanks 

for transport to a sewage treatment 

plant. Online maps are provided at 

http://www.nysefc.org/maps and 

include Google maps of pumpout 

locations and marina sheets that provide 

boaters with detailed availability 

information. Based on the above, EPA 

Region 2, has determined that adequate 

facilities for the safe and sanitary 

removal and treatment of sewage from 

all vessels are reasonably available for 

the waters of the New York State (NYS) 

Canal System. The following is a 

summary of EPA’s findings regarding 

the adequacy of pumpout facilities for 

the four Canal System segments at issue: 

Champlain Canal 

The Champlain Canal encompasses an 

area from the Federal lock in Troy, NY, 

to Whitehall, NY. The Champlain Canal 

leads north to Lake Champlain. Lake 

Champlain is a large waterbody that is 

already designated as a No Discharge 

Zone (NDZ) for vessel sewage, and the 

direct disposal of greywater into the 

lake is also prohibited. The total travel 

distance of the canal area is 60 miles, 

and to travel the entire length takes 

approximately 7 hours. There are 276 

slips available and 7 operating 

pumpouts on the Champlain Canal. The 

1:300 ratio would only require one 

pumpout, if the calculation were based 

solely on the number of slips. The 

availability of seven pumpouts for this 

canal meets the criteria for sufficient 

pumpout access, even accounting for 

some additional demand from transient 

traffic. The NYS side of Lake Champlain 

has an additional 1,014 slips available 

and 8 additional pumpouts. 

Erie Canal 

The Erie Canal stretches from 

Waterford (at the confluence of the 

Mohawk and Hudson Rivers) to the 

Tonawandas (at the Niagara River), 

traveling through Oneida Lake and 

Cross Lake, and connecting to Onondaga 

Lake along the way. This portion of the 

Canal is 338 miles long and has 44 

pumpouts available for 2,555 slips. 

Achieving a 1:300 ratio would require a 

minimum of nine pumpouts for the 


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