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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19282-19284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7686]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9650-8]

Draft NPDES General Permit for Discharges From the Oil and Gas 
Extraction Point Source Category to Coastal Waters in Texas (TXG330000)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposal of NPDES General Permit Renewal.

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SUMMARY: EPA Region 6 today proposes a National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) general permit regulating discharges from 
oil and gas wells in the Coastal Subcategory in Texas and in the 
Stripper Subcategory which discharge into coastal waters in Texas.

DATES: Comments must be received by May 14, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Ms. Diane Smith (6WQ-NP), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, 
Texas 75202-2733.
    Comments may also be submitted via EMAIL to the following address: 
smith.diane@epa.gov.

Public Meeting/Public Hearing Information

    A public meeting and a public hearing on the proposed permit will 
be held at the times and place below. The meeting will include a 
presentation on the proposed permit followed by the opportunity for 
questions and answers. The public hearing will be held in accordance 
with the requirements of 40 CFR 124.12. At the public hearing, any 
person may submit oral or written

[[Page 19283]]

statements and data concerning the proposed permit. Any person who 
cannot attend the public hearing may still submit written comments, 
which have the same weight as comments made at the public hearing, 
through the end of the public comment period.
    Date: April 11, 2012.
    Time: Public meeting starts at 2 p.m. and public hearing starts at 
3:30 p.m.
    Place: Houston Marriott South Hobby Airport, Galveston Room, 9100 
Gulf Freeway, Houston, TX 77017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Diane Smith, Region 6, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-
2733. Telephone: (214) 665-2145.
    A complete draft permit and a fact sheet more fully explaining the 
proposal may be obtained online from the Web site below or from Ms. 
Smith. In addition, the Agency's current administrative record on the 
proposal is available for examination at the Region's Dallas offices 
during normal working hours after providing Ms. Smith 24 hours advance 
notice. A copy of the proposed permit, fact sheet, and this Federal 
Register Notice may be found on the EPA Region 6 Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/npdes/genpermit/index.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The permit prohibits the discharge of 
drilling fluid, drill cuttings, produced sand and well treatment, 
completion and workover fluids. Discharges of dewatering effluents from 
reserve pits are also proposed to be prohibited. Produced water 
discharges are prohibited, except from wells in the Stripper 
Subcategory located east of the 98th meridian whose produced water 
comes from the Carrizo/Wilcox, Reklaw or Bartosh formations in Texas as 
authorized by the expiring permit. The discharge of deck drainage, 
formation test fluids, sanitary waste, domestic waste and miscellaneous 
discharges is authorized. More stringent requirements are proposed to 
regulate discharges to water quality-impaired waterbodies. Pursuant to 
the section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), requirements for new 
facilities are also proposed in this permit. Major changes also include 
definition of ``operator'', acute toxicity test for produced water, 
spill prevention best management practices, and electronic reporting 
requirements. Proposed changes and rationales for those changes are 
described in the fact sheet. To obtain discharge authorization, 
operators of such facilities must submit a new Notice of Intent (NOI). 
To determine whether your facility, company, business, organization, 
etc. is regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the 
applicability criteria in Part I, Section A.1 of this permit. If you 
have questions regarding the applicability of this action to a 
particular entity, consult the person listed in the preceding FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Other Legal Requirements

A. State Certification

    Under section 401(a)(1) of the CWA, EPA may not issue an NPDES 
permit until the State in which the discharge will occur grants or 
waives certification to ensure compliance with appropriate requirements 
of the CWA and State law. EPA will seek certification from the Railroad 
Commission of Texas prior to issuing a final permit.

B. Coastal Zone Management Act

    The Coastal Zone Management Act and its implementing regulations 
(15 CFR 930) require that any Federally licensed or permitted activity 
affecting the coastal zone of a state with an approved Coastal Zone 
Management Program be consistent with that Program. EPA has concluded, 
based on the conditions, limitations and prohibitions of this permit 
that the discharges associated with this permit are consistent with the 
Texas Coastal Management Program goals and policies. EPA previously 
received a consistency determination from the Texas Coastal 
Coordination Council on February 7, 2007. EPA is seeking a consistency 
determination prior to issuing this permit reissuance.

C. National Environmental Policy Act

    EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 6, subpart F, which implement the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C., 4331, et 
seq., provide the procedures for carrying out the NEPA environmental 
review process for the issuance of new source NPDES permits. The 
purpose of this review process is to determine if any significant 
environmental impacts are anticipated by issuance of NPDES permits 
authorizing discharges from new sources. EPA prepared an environmental 
assessment (EA) in accordance with 40 CFR 6.604 when the previous 
permit was drafted. EPA is working on a supplemental information report 
(SIR) and tentatively determines, based on information available, that 
there will be no significant impact as the result of reissuing this 
permit. EPA will make the final SIR on EPA's Web site http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/npdes/genpermit/index.htm when it becomes 
available prior to the reissuance of the final permit.

D. Endangered Species Act

    When EPA issued the previous Permit TXG330000, effective October 
21, 1993, covering existing sources, but not New Sources, the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) concurred with EPA's finding 
that the permit was unlikely to adversely affect any threatened or 
endangered species or their critical habitat. When EPA issued Permit 
TXG290000, effective February 8, 1995, the Service also concurred with 
EPA's finding that the permit was unlikely to adversely affect any 
threatened or endangered species or their critical habitat. The Region 
found that adding New Source coverage to the permit is also unlikely to 
adversely affect any threatened or endangered species or its critical 
habitat. EPA received written concurrence from the FWS on May 2, 2001, 
and from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on May 1, 2001, 
on that determination. EPA proposes to add more requirements, such as 
characterization study for produced water, intake velocity limit for 
cooling water intake structures from new facilities, and etc., to the 
current permit. EPA has been working on a biological evaluation (BE) 
update to evaluate the effects of this permitting action on federally 
listed endangered and threatened species.

E. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

    The 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act set forth a new mandate to identify and protect 
important marine and anadromous fisheries habitats. The purpose of 
addressing habitat in this act is to further the goal of maintaining 
sustainable fisheries. Guidance and procedures for implementing these 
amendments are contained in National Marine Fisheries Service 
regulations (50 CFR 600.805-600.930). These regulations specify that 
any Federal agency that authorizes or proposes to authorize an activity 
which would adversely affect an Essential Fish Habitat is subject to 
the consultation provisions of the Manguson-Stevens Act. The Texas 
Coastal Subcategory areas covered by this general permit include 
Essential Fish Habitat designated under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    The Region previously found that issuance of the general permit 
would be unlikely to adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat. EPA 
received written

[[Page 19284]]

concurrence from NMFS on that determination by a letter dated January 
10, 2007, when EPA reissued the expiring permit in 2007. Because there 
are no changes which make the permit less stringent through this 
action, EPA again finds that its issuance is unlikely to adversely 
affect Essential Fish Habitat. EPA is seeking concurrence with that 
decision from NMFS.

F. Historic Preservation Act

    Facilities which adversely affect properties listed or eligible for 
listing in the National Register of Historical Places are not 
authorized to discharge under this permit.

G. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection required by this permit has been 
approved by OMB under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq., in submission made for the NPDES permit program 
and assigned OMB control numbers 2040-0086 (NPDES permit application) 
and 2040-0004 (discharge monitoring reports). Because this permit 
authorizes limited discharges, the reporting time for discharges is 
less than that for permittees discharging under the Territorial Seas of 
Texas (TXG260000) or to Outer Continental Shelf (GMG290000) permits. 
Also, this proposed permit requires electronic reporting for discharge 
monitoring reports, so it will save some reporting time and paper 
mailing costs.

H. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 USC 601 et seq, requires that EPA 
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for regulations that have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. This 
permit is not a ``rule'' subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act. EPA 
prepared a regulatory flexibility analysis, however, on the 
promulgation of the Coastal Subcategory guidelines on which many of the 
permit's effluent limitations are based. That analysis shows that 
compliance with the permit requirements will not result in a 
significant impact on dischargers, including small businesses, covered 
by this permit. EPA Region 6, therefore, concludes that the permit 
being proposed today will not have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

    Dated: March 19, 2012.
William K. Honker,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2012-7686 Filed 3-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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