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

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 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with 
65548 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 209 / Monday, October 29, 2012 / Notices 

72), including the State’s 

antidegradation policy. 

Oil Spill Requirements. Section 311 of 

the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321, prohibits the 

discharge of oil and hazardous materials 

in harmful quantities. Discharges 

authorized under the Beaufort and 

Chukchi general permits are excluded 

from the provisions of CWA Section 

311, 33 U.S.C. 1321. However, the 

Beaufort and Chukchi general permits 

will not preclude the institution of legal 

action, or relieve the permittees from 

any responsibilities, liabilities, or 

penalties for other unauthorized 

discharges of oil and hazardous 

materials, which are covered by Section 

311. 

Endangered Species Act. Section 7 of 

the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 

U.S.C. 1531–1544, requires federal 

agencies to consult with the National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS) if their actions have the 

potential to either beneficially or 

adversely affect any threatened or 

endangered species, or designated 

critical habitat. On March 30, 2012 and 

April 11, 2012, EPA received 

concurrences from USFWS and NMFS, 

respectively, that exploration discharges 

authorized by the general permits are 

not likely to adversely affect 

endangered, threatened, and candidate 

and proposed species and designated 

critical habitat areas. 

Essential Fish Habitat. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

requires EPA to consult with NMFS 

when a proposed discharge has the 

potential to adversely affect an Essential 

Fish Habitat (EFH). EPA’s EFH 

assessments conclude that the 

discharges authorized by the Beaufort 

and Chukchi general permits will not 

adversely affect EFH or those species 

regulated under a Federal Fisheries 

Management Plan. 

Coastal Zone Management Act. As of 

July 1, 2011, there is no longer a Coastal 

Zone Management Act (CZMA) program 

in Alaska. Consequently, federal 

agencies are no longer required to 

provide the State of Alaska with CZMA 

consistency determinations. 

Paperwork Reduction Act. The 

information collection requirements of 

the Beaufort and Chukchi general 

permits are consistent with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. 5 U.S.C. 

601 et seq., requires that EPA prepare a 

regulatory flexibility analysis on rules 

subject to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 

553(b) that have a significant impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

However, NPDES general permits are 

not ‘‘rules’’ and are therefore not subject 

to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law 104–4, 

generally requires federal agencies to 

assess the effects of their ‘‘regulatory 

actions’’ (defined to be the same as 

‘‘rules’’ subject to the RFA) on tribal, 

state, and local governments and the 

private sector. However, the Beaufort 

and Chukchi general permits are not 

‘‘rules’’ subject to the RFA, and are 

therefore not subject to the UMRA. 

Appeal of Permit. Any interested 

person may appeal the Beaufort and 

Chukchi general permits in the Federal 

Court of Appeals in accordance with 

section 509(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act, 

33 U.S.C. 1369(b)(1). This appeal must 

be filed within 120 days of the permit 

issuance date. Persons affected by the 

permit may not challenge the conditions 

of the permit in further EPA 

proceedings (see 40 CFR 124.19). 

Instead, they may either challenge the 

permits in court or apply for an 

individual NPDES permit. 

Authority: This action is taken under the 

authority of Section 402 of the Clean Water 

Act, 33 U.S.C. 1342. I hereby provide public 

notice of the final permit action in 

accordance with 40 CFR 124.15(b). 

Dated: October 23, 2012. 

Christine Psyk, 

Associate Director, Office of Water and 

Watersheds, Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2012–26518 Filed 10–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

COMMISSION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities 

AGENCY: Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of Information 

Collection—Extension Without Change: 

Elementary-Secondary Staff Information 

Report (EEO–5). 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

Commission (EEOC or Commission) 

announces that it intends to submit to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) a request for a three-year 

extension of the Elementary-Secondary 

Staff Information Report (EEO–5). On 

July 2, 2012, the EEOC published a 

notice stating it was requesting OMB 

approval for a revision to the previously 

approved EEO–5 under the PRA’s 

emergency processing procedures. 77 

FR 39238 (July 2, 2012). At that time, 

EEOC requested approval to revise the 

race and ethnicity categories on the 

EEO–5 report to conform to OMB’s 

Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, 

and Presenting Federal Data on Race 

and Ethnicity. The Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved the revised EEO–5 through 

February 2013. EEOC is now requesting 

a regular extension without change of 

the revised EEO–5. 

DATES: Written comments on this notice 

must be submitted on or before 

December 28, 2012. Pursuant to 42 

U.S.C. 2000e–8(c), a public hearing 

concerning the EEO–5 will be held at a 

place and time to be announced. 

Persons wishing to present their views 

orally should notify the Commission of 

their desire to do so in writing no later 

than November 28, 2012. The request to 

present views orally at a public hearing 

should include a written summary of 

the remarks to be offered. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to 

Bernadette Wilson, Acting Executive 

Officer, Executive Secretariat, Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission, 

131 M Street NE., Washington, DC 

20507. As a convenience to 

commenters, the Executive Secretariat 

will accept comments totaling six or 

fewer pages by facsimile (‘‘FAX’’) 

machine. This limitation is necessary to 

assure access to the equipment. The 

telephone number of the fax receiver is 

(202) 663–4114. (This is not a toll-free 

number). Receipt of FAX transmittals 

will not be acknowledged, except that 

the sender may request confirmation of 

receipt by calling the Executive 

Secretariat staff at (202) 663–4070 

(voice) or (202) 663–4074 (TTD). (These 

are not toll-free telephone numbers.) 

Instead of sending written comments to 

EEOC, you may submit comments and 

attachments electronically at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, which is the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the 

instructions online for submitting 

comments. All comments received 

through this portal will be posted 

without change, including any personal 

information you provide. Copies of 

comments submitted by the public to 

EEOC directly or through the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal will be available for 

review, by advance appointment only, 

at the Commission’s library between the 

hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5 p.m. or can be 

reviewed at http://www.regulations.gov. 

To schedule an appointment to inspect 

the comments at EEOC’s library, contact 

the library staff at (202) 663–4630 

(voice) or (202) 663–4641 (TTY). (These 

are not toll-free numbers.) 


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