UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WASHINGTON , D. C

. 2046 0



## AUG 0 5 

## 2015 OFFICE OF WATER
Re: Not ification of f ina l Cons ultation and Coo rdin ation on Proposed Renewa l of the EPA Stormwater Construction Genera l Permit Dear Honorab le L ea d er , T h e U.S

. E nvironm enta l Protecti on Agency (EPA) is ini tiating consultation a nd coordination with federally -recognized Indian Tribes on the renewal of the National Pollutant Di scharge E limination System (NPD E S) stormwater Construction General P ermit (CGP ) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The E PA renews this perm it every five years. The CGP regulates stormw ater di scharges from construction activities (including , but not limited to , clearing , grading , excavating , and s tockpiling) that disturb one or more acres , or smaller s ites that are part of a large r common plan of development or sale. Under the CWA NPDES sto rmwater program, const ru ct io n operators must obtain coverage under a NPDES Permit consistent with the permit conditions. With limited except ion s , th e EPA directly imp leme nt s the NPDES program in Indian country where tribes do not have the EPA approval to administer the NPDE S prog ram ; as a result , all e li gible s tormwater discharge s from construction activities in Indian country fall under the CGP , or may b e covered under an indi v idual permit. Co ns truction operators intending to seek coverage und e r the EPA ' s CGP must s ubmit a Notice of Inte nt (N OJ) certifying that they hav e met the permit ' s eligibility conditions and that th ey will comply with the p ermit ' s requirements; discharge witho ut coverage subjects the owner and/ or op erator of the construction activities to enforcement actions unde r the CW A. Additional information about the CGP can be found at http: //water.epa.gov / polwaste / npdes/ stormwater /EPA-Construction-General-Permit.cfm. T hi s consu ltation a n d coord in at i on process wi ll be con du cted in accordance ·with the 

### EPA Policy o n Con s ultation and Coordination (http: //www.epa.gov/ tribal/consultation / index.htm). The EPA invites you and your designated consultation representative(s) to participate in this p r ocess. E PA s pecifica ll y seeks your partic ipat i on in a teleconference on Tuesday , September 22 , 2015 at 2:30 pm (eastern day li g ht time). T h e EPA's anticipated time line for the cons ultati o n and coordinat i on period is from August 17 , 2015 , to October 13 , 20 1 5. Enc l osed is a consultation and coord in at io n plan for this acti o n that furt h er describes the CGP renewal acti o n und er co n s ultation and the process t hat the EPA intend s to follow. includin g a timeline for the co n s ult ati o n a nd coord ination period an d information on h ow you can prov i de input on thi s action. 

### This inf o rmation is also a v ailable on the EPA' s Trib a l Po rtal (hll p:l /ww w . epa.go v/ tribal /co ns ultation )

. The offic i al E PA contact person for this consu lt ation and coordina tion process i s Ms. Erika Farris , (202) 564

- 7548 , Office of Wa s tewater Management , farris.erika @ epa . gov . Plea se do not h e s itate to contact Ms. Farris if you have any

l n t emel A ddress (URL) • hll p :// www .e pa. g ov Recycled/Recyctable • Prinled with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Pos 1 consumer, Process Ch l orine Free Recyc l ed Paper

### que s tions or would like to re qu es t a ltern ate arra n ge ment s to th e process outlin e d in th e co n sultation pl a n. Ifyou de c id e n o t to parti c ip ate in th i s consultation proce ss , you wi ll st ill have the o pportuni ty to provide input o n this action durin g th e public co mm e nt p er i od followin g pub l ication of th e draft CGP in th e Federal R eg i ster. The propo se d p e rmit renewal wi ll b e publishe d in the Fede ral Reg i ster and accessib le at www.regu lati ons . gov. I loo k forward to hearing from yo u on thi s important matter. Sincerel y yours ,

# od~S Water Permits Di v is ion , Office of Wate r

cc : Tribal E nv iro nme ntal Director s Regional Indian Coordinator s E nc lo sureCons ul tat i o n Plan-- Consu ltat i on and Coordination on Proposed Renewal ofthe EPA National Pollutant D i sc h arge Elimination System CNPDES) Storm Water Construction General Permit 

### Backg ro u nd in fo rm atio n o n th e in itiati ve Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) prohibits the discharge of pollutants by point sources into surface waters without an NPDES permit issued by EPA or an authorized state or tribe

. An NPDES perm it can apply to an individual discharger , or cover multiple dischargers via a general permit (40 C.F.R. 122.28) for specific categories of discharges. With very lim ited exceptions prov i ded by a specific Federal statute , EPA directly implements th e NPDES program i n Indian country wh ere tribes do not have EPA approval to administer the NPDES program . Thi s i ncludes developing and issuing individual permits and general permits for tribal and non-tribal dischargers located on tribal l ands

. The action for which EPA is initiating tribal consu l tation is for the renewal of the NPDES general permit that covers storm water discharges from construction activities

. The current Construction General P ermit ( COP), issued in 2012, is e xpiring in February 2017 , at the end of its five-year term , which is the standard durat i on of all NPDES permits

. The COP applies to storm water discharges from construction sites d i sturb ing one or more acres of land or smaller sites that are part of a common plan of development of sale , where EPA is the permitting authority. EPA is the permitting authority for four states (Idaho , New Mexico , New Hampshire and Massachusetts) , the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and most other territories , certain discharges in some states , and Ind i an Country lands within Alabama, Alaska , Arizona, California, Colorado , Connecticut , Florida , Idaho , Iowa, Kansas , Lou isiana, Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota, Mississippi , Montana , Nebraska, Nevada , New Mexico , New York, North Carolina , North Dakota , Oklahoma , Oregon, Rhode Island , South Dakota , Texas , Utah , Vermont , Virginia, Washington , Wisconsin , and Wyoming

. The 2012 COP include s additional water

quality based requirements E PA received from 15 Tribes under the CWA 401 cert ification process. The current 2012 COP has seen broad usage by operators in Indian country. From the e f fective date of the current permit through June 2015, over 1,400 notices for cove rage or termination of coverage in Indian country have been submitted to EPA; these submissions are from almost 200 Indian reservations in 30 States. The COP contains el ig ib il ity requi rements that all operators must comp ly with before obtaining permit coverage , includ i ng requirements under the Nationa l Histori c Preservat ion Act (NHPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) , and developing and implementing a stormwater pollution prevention p l an (SWPPP). Construction site operators intending to seek coverage under EPA's COP must submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) certifying that they have met the permit's eligibility conditions and that th ey will comply with the permit ' s effluent limits and other requirements.At this time , we have identified certain conditions in the 2012 CGP permit that we are considering proposing changes. We specifically request comment on these changes that we are considering making , as well as all aspects of the 2012 CGP.

• Stream linin g the permit ; • Revising the non-numeric technology -based effluent limitations based on the 2014 Construction and Development effluent guidelines amendments; and • Make corrections and updates as appropriate

. We are a lso specifically requesting comment on:

• Making the stabi li zation deadlines and inspection frequencies the same for all sites (i.e

. , the same deadlines that app ly to sens iti ve waters); • Requesting the SWPPP or portion of the SWPPP be publicly available on the NOI form; • Adding more protective controls for dewatering discharges ; • Specific BMPs that would protect ESA -li sted species and / or critical habitat from adverse effects. For more informat ion visit http: //water.epa.gov / polwaste /npdes/ stormwater /EPA-ConstructionGeneral-Permit.cfm


### Potential impacts to Tribes All tribes , especially those that co uld potentially be affected by the renewal of the CGP are invite d to participate. As described above , there has been significant use of the CGP in Indian country. This permit may be of high interest to tribes , and EPA appreciate any and a ll tribal views o n the existin g permit or on the revisions we are contemplating to strengthen the protection of our Nation's waters
. As with the 2012 CGP, Indian lands in the E PA Regions 1, 2 , 4, 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , and 10 will be covered by the renewed CGP. We are working with Region 3 to determine if it is appropriate to include the Virginia tribe within coverage. 

### Opportunities for Tribes to participate The E PA is seeking discussion with tribes and feedback on the changes being cons id ered for the renewal of the CGP

. The agency will hold a tribes-only consu ltation teleconference for trib a l leaders and staff. The teleconference will consist of two parts; the first part will provide tribes an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the proposed CGP. The last part of the teleconference will be reserved for consultation comments from tribal leaders or their consultation designees.Tribes may also s ubmi t writte n co n s ultat ion comm ent s to: Ms. Eri ka Farris U.S

. Environmental Protect ion Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Ave , N .W. (MC 4203M) Washington, D C 20460 farris. erika@epa. gov EPA will post co ns ultat io n information in the Tribal Consultatio n Opportunities Tracking System (TCOTS) loca ted on EPA's tribal portal (http: / /tcots
. epa.gov/oita/ T Consul tation

. ns f/TC ? OpenView)

. In addition to the tribal co n s ul tati on process , Tribes may participate in the pub lic review and co mme n t proc ess whe n the propo se d COP i s published in t h e Fe deral R egister, w hi c h is curre ntl y sche dul e d for ear ly 20 16. The E PA w i ll provide information about th e prop ose d permit on the EPA COP website at http: //water.epa.gov /polwaste /npdes/ stormwater/EPAConstruction-General-P ermit.cfm Th e co mbin e d goa l for a ll these efforts is to ens ure th e re is s u fficie nt information fo r tribal leaders to make a n informed d ecis ion about the desire to continue w ith co n su ltation and t o understand ho w to pro vi d e informe d input. 

### Triba l Consultation and Coordination Process and Time line Date/Time Event Contract Information August 17 , 2015 Initiation of consul tation Mailing to trib al leaders; e -m a il to staff Sept. 22, 20 15 T ribal Lead er EPA Contact : 2 : 30 pm (E DT) Information and Erika Farris Cons ultati on 202 564-7548 Teleconference: farris.erika@epa.gov Propo se d R e n ewa l of the Cons tru ctio n General Teleconference No. 1 866

- 299

- 3188 Permit Code : 202 564-7548#
Oct. 13 ,20 15 E nd date of consultati on Early 20 1 6 Pub l ication ofthe http ://cfpub

. cpa.gov/ npdes/ sto rm wate propo se d renewal of r / cgp.cfm the CGP in t he Fe d er a l Register and beg innin g of publ ic comme nt p eriod.