Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 24, 2000 / Notices 63583

of the CWA section 311(b)(3) and 40

CFR part 112. EPA determined that

AT&T Broadband, LLC met the criteria

set out in the Audit Policy for a 100%

waiver of the gravity component of the

penalty. As a result, EPA waived the

gravity based penalty ($80,437) and

proposed a settlement penalty amount

of sixteen thousand, four hundred and

ninety-five dollars ($16,495). This is the

amount of the economic benefit gained

by AT&T Broadband, LLC, attributable

to their delayed compliance with the

SPCC regulations. AT&T Broadband,

LLC has agreed to pay this amount in

civil penalties. EPA and AT&T

Broadband, LLC negotiated and signed

an administrative consent agreement,

following the Consolidated Rules of

Procedure, 40 CFR 22.13, on October 18,

2000 (In Re: AT&T Broadband, LLC,

Docket No. MM–HQ–2001–0001). This

consent agreement is subject to public

notice and comment under CWA section

311(b)(6), 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(6).

Under CWA section 311(b)(6)(A), 33

U.S.C. 1321 (b)(6)(A), any owner,

operator, or person in charge of a vessel,

onshore facility, or offshore facility from

which oil is discharged in violation of

the CWA section 311 (b)(3), 33 U.S.C.

1321 (b)(3), or who fails or refuses to

comply with any regulations that have

been issued under CWA section 311(j),

33 U.S.C. 1321(j), may be assessed an

administrative civil penalty of up to

$137,500 by EPA. Class II proceedings

under CWA section 311(b)(6) are

conducted in accordance with 40 CFR

part 22.

The procedures by which the public

may comment on a proposed Class II

penalty order, or participate in a Clean

Water Act Class II penalty proceeding,

are set forth in 40 CFR 22.45. The

deadline for submitting public comment

on this proposed final order is

November 24, 2000. All comments will

be transferred to the Environmental

Appeals Board (‘‘EAB’’) of EPA for

consideration. The powers and duties of

the EAB are outlined in 40 CFR 22.04(a).

Pursuant to CWA section 311(b)(6)(C),

EPA will not issue an order in this

proceeding prior to the close of the

public comment period.

Dated: October 18, 2000.

David A. Nielsen,

Director, Multimedia Enforcement Division,

Office of Enforcement and Compliance

Assurance.

[FR Doc. 00–27256 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–U

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6890–6]

Clean Water Act Class II: Proposed

Administrative Settlement, Penalty

Assessment and Opportunity To

Comment Regarding Qwest

Communications International, Inc., et

al.

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA has entered into a

consent agreement with Qwest

Communications International, Inc., et.

al to resolve violations of the Clean

Water Act (‘‘CWA’’), and its

implementing regulations. Qwest failed

to prepare Spill Prevention Control and

Countermeasure (‘‘SPCC’’) plans for

thirty-five facilities where they stored

diesel oil in above ground tanks. EPA,

as authorized by CWA section 311(b)(6),

33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(6), has assessed a civil

penalty for these violations. The

Administrator, as required by CWA

section 311(b)(6)(C), 33 U.S.C.

1321(b)(6)(C), is hereby providing

public notice of, and an opportunity for

interested persons to comment on, this

consent agreement and proposed final

order.

DATES: Comments are due on or before

November 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to

the Enforcement & Compliance Docket

and Information Center (2201A), Docket

Number EC–2000–010, Office of

Enforcement and Compliance

Assurance, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW., Mail Code 2201A,

Washington, DC 20460. (Comments may

be submitted on disk in WordPerfect 8.0

or earlier versions.) Written comments

may be delivered in person to:

Enforcement and Compliance Docket

Information Center, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Rm. 4033, Ariel Rios

Bldg., 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC. Submit comments

electronically to docket.oeca@epa.gov.

Electronic comments may be filed

online at many Federal Depository

Libraries.

The consent agreement, the proposed

final order, and public comments, if

any, may be reviewed at the

Enforcement and Compliance Docket

Information Center, U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, Rm. 4033, Ariel Rios

Bldg., 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC. Persons interested in

reviewing these materials must make

arrangements in advance by calling the

docket clerk at 202–564–2614. A

reasonable fee may be charged by EPA

for copying docket materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth

Cavalier, Multimedia Enforcement

Division (2248–A), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460;

telephone (202) 564–3271; fax: (202)

564–9001; e-mail:

cavalier.beth@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Copies: Electronic copies of

this document are available from the

EPA Home Page under the link ‘‘Laws

and Regulations’’ at the Federal

Register—Environmental Documents

entry (http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr).

I. Background

Qwest Communications International,

Inc., a telecommunications company

incorporated in the State of Delaware

and located at 700 Qwest Tower, 555

Seventeenth Street, Denver, Colorado,

80202 failed to prepare SPCC plans for

thirty-five facilities. Qwest

Communications International, Inc.

disclosed, pursuant to the EPA

‘‘Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery,

Disclosures, Correction and Prevention

of Violations’ (‘‘Audit Policy’’), 60 FR

66706 (December 22, 1995), that they

failed to prepare SPCC plans for thirtyfive facilities where they stored diesel

oil in above ground storage tanks, in

violation of the CWA section 311(b)(3)

and 40 CFR part 112. EPA determined

that Qwest met the criteria set out in the

Audit Policy for a 100% waiver of the

gravity component of the penalty. As a

result, EPA waived the gravity based

penalty ($146,175.00) and proposed a

settlement penalty amount of sixteen

thousand, four hundred and eighty-four

($16,484.00). This is the amount of the

economic benefit gained by Qwest,

attributable to their delayed compliance

with the SPCC regulations. Qwest

Communications International, Inc. has

agreed to pay this amount in civil

penalties. EPA and Qwest negotiated

and signed an administrative consent

agreement, following the Consolidated

Rules of Procedure, 40 CFR 22.13, on

October 18, 2000 (In Re: Qwest

Communications International, Inc. et.

al, Docket No. MM–HQ–2001–002).

This consent agreement is subject to

public notice and comment under CWA

section 311(b)(6), 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(6).

Under CWA section 311(b)(6)(A), 33

U.S.C. 1321(b)(6)(A), any owner,

operator, or person in charge of a vessel,

onshore facility, or offshore facility from

which oil is discharged in violation of

the CWA section 311(b)(3), 33 U.S.C.

1321(b)(3), or who fails or refuses to

63584 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 24, 2000 / Notices

comply with any regulations that have

been issued under CWA section 311(j),

33 U.S.C. 1321(j), may be assessed an

administrative civil penalty of up to

$137,500 by EPA. Class II proceedings

under CWA section 311(b)(6) are

conducted in accordance with 40 CFR

part 22.

The procedures by which the public

may comment on a proposed Class II

penalty order, or participate in a Clean

Water Act Class II penalty proceeding,

are set forth in 40 CFR 22.45. The

deadline for submitting public comment

on this proposed final order is

November 24, 2000. All comments will

be transferred to the Environmental

Appeals Board (‘‘EAB’’) of EPA for

consideration. The powers and duties of

the EAB are outlined in 40 CFR 22.04(a).

Pursuant to CWA section 311(b)(6)(C),

EPA will not issue an order in this

proceeding prior to the close of the

public comment period.

Dated: October 18, 2000.

David A. Nielsen,

Director, Multimedia Enforcement Division,

Office of Enforcement and Compliance

Assurance.

[FR Doc. 00–27258 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6890–8]

New York State Prohibition on Marine

Discharges of Vessel Sewage; Receipt

of Petition and Tentative Determination

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a

petition was received from the State of

New York on April 29, 1999 requesting

a determination by the Regional

Administrator, Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA), pursuant to

section 312(f) of Public Law 92–500, as

amended by Public Law 95–217 and

Public Law 100–4 (the Clean Water Act),

that adequate facilities for the safe and

sanitary removal and treatment of

sewage from all vessels are reasonably

available for the waters of the Hudson

River and its tributaries including, but

not limited to, Rondout Creek, Esopus

Creek and Catskill Creek. The southern

boundary of the proposed No Discharge

Area (NDA) in this application would

begin at the Battery in Manhattan, New

York and the northern boundary would

be the Federal Dam in Troy, New York.

This area includes waters up to the New

Jersey-New York boundary and does not

include waters in New Jersey. EPA is

currently reviewing a petition submitted

by the New Jersey Department of

Environmental Protection requesting a

No Discharge Area for the New Jersey

waters of the Hudson River. The area

proposed by the State of New York is

153 miles long and encompasses

approximately 81,000 acres of tidal

waters and wetlands.

Following EPA’s review of the

petition and discussions with EPA, the

State revised the application on certain

occasions, most recently on August 24,

2000.

Previously, EPA established on

December 13, 1995 two NDAs to protect

drinking water intake zones. Zone 1 is

bounded by the northern confluence of

the Mohawk River on the south and

Lock 2 on the north. It is approximately

8 miles long. Zone 2 is bounded on the

south by the Village of Roseton on the

western shore and bounded on the north

by the southern end of Houghtaling

Island. Zone 2 is approximately 60

miles long.

This petition was made by the New

York State Department of State, in

conjunction with the New York State

Department of Environmental

Conservation. Upon receipt of a final

affirmative determination in response to

this petition, the State of New York

would completely prohibit the

discharge of sewage, whether treated or

not, from any vessel on the Hudson

River in the area north of the Battery in

Manhattan, New York and south of

Federal Dam in Troy, New York in

accordance with section 312(f)(3) of the

Clean Water Act and 40 CFR 140.4(a).

According to the State’s petition, the

vessel population for the waters of the

Hudson River is approximately 7300

vessels. This number is based on

analyses of aerial photographs taken

before and during the Labor Day

weekend. Each photo was identified by

the embayment or reach and all boats

were counted. Totals were tabulated by

embayment. Surveys of the marinas

operating on the Hudson River were

also used when estimating the size of

the fleet operating on the Hudson River.

Information regarding commercial

vessels indicates that many of the

commercial operators have installed

pumpout facilities at their docks to

service their vessels. These operators

include NY Waterway, Circle Line and

World Yacht. Other operators make

arrangements with local waste haulers

to service their vessels while docked at

facilities such as the Brooklyn Naval

Yard. Marinas which are capable of

providing pumpout service to

commercial vessels are Liberty Landing

Marina and Port Imperial Marina in

New Jersey. Liberty Landing Marina can

accommodate essentially any size

commercial vessel, while Port Imperial

Marina has a draft restriction of 4 feet

and a length restriction of 45 feet. In

New York, Pancor Marine, Inc., White’s

Marina and Kingston West Strand

provide pumpout service to commercial

vessels according to the application

submitted by the State of New York.

With 35 pumpout facilities available

to vessels, the ratio of boats is

approximately 208 vessels per pumpout.

Standard guidelines refer to acceptable

ratios falling in the range of 300 to 600

vessels per pumpout. The State of New

York divided the river into 8 segments

and analyzed pumpout availability for

each segment. All segments met the

more stringent criterion of 300 vessels

per pumpout. There are also 21 facilities

capable of servicing portable toilets.

The EPA hereby makes a tentative

affirmative determination that adequate

facilities for the safe and sanitary

removal and treatment of sewage from

all vessels are reasonably available for

the Hudson River, New York. A final

determination on this matter will be

made following the 30-day period for

public comment and will result in a

New York State prohibition of any

sewage discharges from vessels in the

Hudson River from the Battery in

Manhattan, New York to the Federal

Dam at Troy, New York.

Comments and views regarding this

petition and EPA’s tentative

determination may be filed on or before

November 24, 2000. Comments or

requests for information or copies of the

applicant’s petition should be addressed

to Walter E. Andrews, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region II, Water Programs Branch, 290

Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, New

York, 10007–1866. Telephone: (212)

637–3880.

Dated: September 28, 2000.

Jeanne M. Fox,

Regional Administrator, Region II.

[FR Doc. 00–27257 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[Report No. AUC–00–38–A (Auction No. 38);

DA 00–2291]

Auction of Licenses for the 700 MHz

Guard Bands Scheduled for February

13, 2001; Comment Sought on Reserve

Prices or Minimum Opening Bids and

Other Auction Procedural Issues

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.