[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79912-79914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22499]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-12144-02-R4]


Florida--Indian River-Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve 
Vessel Sewage No-Discharge Zone; Final Affirmative Determination

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of determination.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 4 has 
determined that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal 
and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for 
the Indian River-Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve (``the 
Preserve'') in Florida to support the designation of a vessel sewage 
no-discharge zone for such waters. Pursuant to the Clean Water Act 
section 312, this notice constitutes EPA's final affirmative 
determination on the application submitted by Florida on July 3, 2024. 
Following this final affirmative determination, Florida may designate 
all waters within the Preserve as a vessel sewage no-discharge zone in 
accordance with State law.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Dimaio, Ocean, Wetlands, and 
Streams Protection Branch, Water Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960; telephone number: (404) 562-9268; email address: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6f0b06020e060041050a010106090a1d2f0a1f0e41080019"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3054595d51595f1e5a555e5e59565542705540511e575f46">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On July 3, 2024, Florida submitted an application to the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 4, for a determination 
that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and 
treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for 
waters of the Preserve so that Florida may completely prohibit the 
discharge from all vessels of any sewage, whether treated or not, into 
such waters. This application for a no-discharge zone was made pursuant 
to Clean Water Act section 312(f)(3).
    The planned no-discharge zone would include all waters of the 
Preserve, as delineated in Chapter 258.39, Florida Statutes (F.S.), as 
described in the Official Records of Indian River County

[[Page 79913]]

in Book 368, pages 9-12, and in the Official Records of Saint Lucie 
County in Book 187, pages 1083-1086. This includes a segment of the 
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway between approximately mile 953.5 (North 
27 degrees 37.6153 minutes, West 80 degrees 22.1865 minutes) and mile 
964.8 (North 27 degrees 28.3272 minutes, West 80 degrees 19.4741 
minutes). The 9,500-acre Preserve extends 12 miles from the southern 
Vero Beach corporate limit to the north U.S. Highway A1A bridge in Fort 
Pierce and includes Big Starvation Cove, Wildcat Cove, and Fort Pierce 
Cut.
    In 2021, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1086 creating 
Chapter 327.521, F.S., designating, upon approval from EPA, all waters 
within the boundaries of aquatic preserves identified in Chapter 
258.39, F.S., as vessel sewage no-discharge zones. Florida's 
application and this final determination pertain only to the Indian 
River-Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve.
    In its application, Florida certified that the protection and 
enhancement of the quality of the waters within the Preserve require 
greater environmental protection than is afforded by the applicable 
Federal standard. Florida also provided information on the vessel 
population and usage of the Preserve and identified the pumpout 
facilities available to service these vessels. Florida's application is 
available electronically in Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OW-2024-0379 through 
https://www.regulations.gov.

II. Response to Public Comments

    On August 6, 2024, EPA published a tentative affirmative 
determination in the Federal Register that adequate facilities for the 
safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are 
reasonably available for the waters subject to Florida's proposed no-
discharge zone and solicited the public's input during a 30-day comment 
period (89 FR 63941).
    EPA received five comments on the tentative affirmative 
determination, four of which were in support of a no-discharge zone for 
the Preserve. First, a Florida boater who regularly pumps out a 43-foot 
cabin cruiser and traverses the 12-mile Preserve agreed that adequate 
pumpout facilities are reasonably available in the area. Additionally, 
one commenter expressed general support for the designation, noting 
that the Indian River Lagoon contains the county's healthiest seagrass 
beds. In its comment, the City of Vero Beach indicated that the city 
supports a no-discharge zone designation for the Preserve but requested 
guidance on how the city's corporate limits could be included in the 
designation. In a similar vein, another commenter recommended that EPA 
designate all seven preserves in the Indian River Lagoon area as no-
discharge zones. EPA acknowledges these commenters' support for a no-
discharge zone designation, but notes that the scope of EPA's 
determination is limited to those waters included in Florida's 
application dated July 3, 2024. To designate any other waters or 
preserves as vessel sewage no-discharge zones, Florida must first apply 
to EPA for a determination on those waters and provide the requisite 
information, as detailed in 40 CFR 140.4. Finally, one commenter 
discussed a proposed housing development adjacent to the Indian River 
Lagoon; however, this is outside the scope of EPA's action here to 
determine whether adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal 
and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for 
the waters subject to Florida's proposed no-discharge zone.

III. Adequacy and Availability of Pumpout Facilities

    In the tentative determination, EPA outlined the Agency's role in 
evaluating Florida's application for a vessel sewage no-discharge zone 
under Clean Water Act section 312(f)(3), which requires that the Agency 
determine whether adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal 
and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for 
the waters proposed for a no-discharge zone designation.
    Based on the information provided by Florida and EPA's subsequent 
review, there are an estimated 1,534 recreational vessels operating in 
the Preserve that will likely require pumpout services, and those 
vessels may be serviced by eight stationary sewage pumpout facilities 
(Table 1). During peak usage, EPA estimates that 614 recreational 
vessels can be served by these available facilities. This estimate is 
based on the number of vessels that can be serviced per hour by each 
available facility and the hours of operation of each facility. As 
such, EPA determined that adequate pumpout facilities are reasonably 
available to meet the expected demand during periods of peak 
recreational boating. Additionally, EPA finds that the cost for 
recreational vessels to access these facilities is minimal, with most 
of the facilities charging only five dollars per use.
    Florida estimated that there are 146 commercial vessels operating 
within the Preserve that will likely require pumpout services, and 
those vessels may also be serviced by the eight stationary pumpout 
facilities (Table 1). Table 1 also includes two mobile service 
providers that were identified by Florida as having coverage areas that 
include the Preserve. To determine whether pumpout facilities are 
reasonably available to commercial vessels, EPA compared the volume of 
sewage produced by commercial vessels with the volume that can be 
received by available pumpout facilities and considered the costs 
associated with accessing and using those facilities. As described in 
the tentative affirmative determination, EPA's screening analysis 
showed that demand for pumpout services is never expected to exceed 
capacity in the Preserve, indicating that sufficient pumpout capacity 
is available for commercial vessels. In fact, capacity greatly exceeds 
demand, and EPA expects that this capacity surplus would be sufficient 
even if both recreational and commercial vessels access the facilities 
during peak usage. EPA also considered the various costs incurred by 
commercial vessels to determine how the proposed no-discharge zone 
would impact baseline operating costs. Working vessels (e.g., tugboats) 
may incur an estimated 0.8 percent increase in baseline operating 
costs, while commercial fishing vessels may incur an estimated 6.3 
percent increase. This increase is largely attributable to lost revenue 
due to the time it takes to pump out sewage from a vessel; however, 
these costs would only be incurred when the vessel operator is forgoing 
paid work in favor of pumping out sewage. The actual increase, 
therefore, is likely much lower on the basis that vessel operators 
should be able to time their pumpout activities to minimize cost 
impacts.
    Finally, EPA verified that the treatment of wastes from the pumpout 
facilities is in conformance with federal law. As discussed in EPA's 
tentative affirmative determination, the wastewater treatment plants 
that receive sewage from the stationary pumpout facilities are the Fort 
Pierce Utilities Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant and the City of 
Vero Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant. Florida indicated that both 
facilities are in compliance with effluent limits and are not expected 
to be meaningfully impacted by an increase in volume of sewage to be 
treated as a result of a no-discharge zone designation.

IV. Determination

    Based on EPA's review of both the information provided in Florida's 
application and the comments received on EPA's tentative affirmative

[[Page 79914]]

determination, EPA Region 4 hereby makes a final determination that 
adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of 
sewage from all vessels are available for the waters of the Indian 
River-Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve.

                                                           Table 1--List of Pumpout Facilities
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                                                                                                     Water
               Name                       Location             Contact       Operating schedule      depth           Fee ($)          Type of facility
                                                             information                            (feet)
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Causeway Cove Marina..............  601 Seaway Dr., Fort    (772) 242-3552  9 a.m.-5 p.m........         5.6  5.00................  Stationary.
                                     Pierce, FL 34949.
Fort Pierce City Marina...........  1 Ave. A, Fort          (772) 464-1245  6:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m..         7.6  5.00................  Stationary.
                                     Pierce, FL 34950.
Harbour Isle......................  801 Seaway Dr., Fort    (772) 461-9049  9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.          9.0  5.00................  Stationary.
                                     Pierce, FL 34949.                       (Mon.-Fri.) 10 a.m.-
                                                                             1 p.m. (Sat.-Sun.).
Pelican Yacht Club................  1120 Seaway Dr.,        (772) 464-2700  11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.            6.0  5.00................  Stationary.
                                     Fort Pierce, FL                         (Wed.-Sat.) 8 a.m.-
                                     34949.                                  6 p.m. (Sun.).
Quail Valley River Club...........  2345 Hwy. A1A, Vero     (772) 492-2020  9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.....         8.0  5.00................  Stationary.
                                     Beach, FL 32963.
Riverside Boatyard & Marina.......  2350 Old Dixie Hwy.,    (772) 464-5720  8 a.m.-7 p.m. (Mon.-         6.0  Private.............  Stationary.
                                     Fort Pierce, FL                         Sat.).
                                     34946.
Safe Harbor Harbortown............  1936 Harbortown Dr.,    (772) 466-7300  7 a.m.-5 p.m........         6.5  15.00...............  Stationary.
                                     Fort Pierce, FL
                                     34946.
Vero Beach Municipal Marina.......  3611 Rio Vista          (772) 978-4960  8 a.m.-5 p.m........         8.0  5.00................  Stationary.
                                     Blvd., Vero Beach,
                                     FL 32963.
Coastal Tank......................  Service area from       (954) 562-8656  7 a.m.-5 p.m.;               N/A  Variable (See         Mobile (3 trucks).
                                     Miami to Fort                           advanced scheduling               Section II.B. of
                                     Pierce.                                 for off hours and                 EPA's tentative
                                                                             emergency services                determination for
                                                                             available.                        details).
Marine and RV Pumping ToGo........  Service area from       (954) 740-7506  7 a.m.-7 p.m. (Mon.-         N/A  Variable (See         Mobile (9 trucks).
                                     Key West to Florida/                    Sat.); advanced                   Section II.B. of
                                     Georgia border.                         scheduling for off                EPA's tentative
                                                                             days/hours and                    determination for
                                                                             emergency services                details).
                                                                             available.
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    Dated: September 25, 2024.
Jeaneanne M. Gettle,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2024-22499 Filed 9-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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