### 65547 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 209 / Monday, October 29, 2012 / Notices

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings of comments, protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the ‘‘eFiling’’ link at http:// www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file electronically should submit an original and 7 copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. This filing is accessible on-line at http:// www.ferc.gov, using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link and is available for review in the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an ‘‘eSubscription’’ link on the Web site that enables subscribers to receive email notification when a document is added to a subscribed docket(s). For assistance with any FERC Online service, please email FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, or call (866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502–8659.

Comment Date: November 8, 2012.

Dated: October 18, 2012. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012–26438 Filed 10–26–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6717–01–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY** 

**[FRL–9747–6]**

**Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee** 

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

**ACTION :**  Notice of cancellation of teleconference.

**SUMMARY :**  EPA announced in the Federal Register on October 3, 2012 [FRL–9737–3] a Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee (FRRCC) Teleconference to be held on October 22, 2012. Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92463, EPA gives notice of cancellation of that public meeting for the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee (FRRCC). The FRRCC provides policy advice, information, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on a range of environmental issues and policies that are of importance to agriculture and rural communities. The purpose of this teleconference was to discuss specific topics of relevance for consideration by the Committee in order to provide advice and insights to the Agency on environmental policies and programs that affect and engage agriculture and rural communities. **FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Alicia Kaiser, Designated Federal Officer, kaiser.alicia@epa.gov, 202–564– 7273, U.S. EPA, Office of the Administrator (1101A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460.

Dated: October 17, 2012. Alicia Kaiser, Designated Federal Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012–26527 Filed 10–26–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY** 

**[FRL–9747–5]**

**Reissuance of the NPDES General Permits for Oil and Gas Exploration**  **Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf and Contiguous State Waters in**  **the Beaufort Sea and on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Chukchi Sea,**  **AK**

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

**ACTION :**  Notice of availability of final NPDES general permits.

**SUMMARY :**  The Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, EPA Region 10, is publishing this notice of availability of the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permits for Oil and Gas Exploration Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf and Contiguous State Waters in the Beaufort Sea (Permit No. AKG282100) and on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Chukchi Sea (Permit No. AKG288100). The Beaufort and Chukchi general permits authorize thirteen types of discharges from facilities engaged in field exploration and exploratory drilling activities under the Offshore Subcategory of the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category (40 CFR part 425, Subpart A), as authorized by Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA or ‘‘the Act’’), 33 U.S.C. 1342. The Beaufort and Chukchi general permits contain effluent limitations and requirements that ensure the discharges will not cause unreasonable degradation of the marine environment, as required by Section 403(c) of the Clean Water Act (i.e. the Ocean Discharge Criteria), 33 U.S.C. 1343(c).

**DATES :**  The issuance date of the Beaufort and Chukchi NPDES general permits is October 29, 2012, the date of publication of this notice. The Beaufort and Chukchi general permits shall become effective on November 28, 2012. Operators must submit a new Notice of Intent (NOI) to discharge within 120 days prior to initiation of discharges. Operators that have administratively extended coverage under the previous general permit must submit new NOIs that comply with the submission requirements of the Beaufort and Chukchi general permits.

**ADDRESSES :**  Copies of the Beaufort and Chukchi general permits, the Response to Comments document, and the Ocean Discharge Criteria Evaluations may be found on the Region 10 Web site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/npdes+public+notices/arctic-gp-pn2012. Copies of the documents are available upon request. Written requests for copies of the documents may be submitted to EPA, Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, OWW–130, Seattle, WA 98101. Electronic requests may be
sent to: washington.audrey@epa.gov. Requests by telephone may be made to Audrey Washington at (206) 553–0523.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Erin Seyfried at (206) 553–1448, seyfried.erin@epa.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  On June 26, 2011, the previous NPDES general permit, the Arctic general permit, No. AKG280000, expired. EPA is replacing the Arctic general permit with two general permits, the Beaufort and Chukchi general permits, renumbered as AKG282100 and AKG288100, respectively. EPA solicited public comments on the draft Beaufort and Chukchi general permits in the Federal Register on January 31, 2012. Notices of the draft general permits were also published in the Anchorage Daily News, the Arctic Sounder, and Petroleum News on January 30, 2012. Public meetings and hearings were held in communities on the North Slope and in Anchorage the week of March 12–16, 2012. The comment period closed on March 30, 2012. Changes have been made to the general permits in response to comments received from tribal, state, and local governments, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, environmental advocacy groups, industry representatives, trade organizations, and individual citizens. All comments, along with EPA’s responses, are summarized in the Response to Comments document.

State Certification of Beaufort General Permit. Pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1341, on October 9, 2012, the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) certified that the conditions of the Beaufort general permit comply with State Water Quality Standards (Alaska Administrative Code 18 AAC 15, 18 AAC 70, and 18 AAC