70042 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2013 / Notices 

Plan Amendment, Review Period 

Ends: 12/23/2013, Contact: Robert 

Hawkins 916–849–8037. 

EIS No. 20130348, Draft EIS, BLM, 

WAPA, UT, TransWest Express 

Transmission Project, Comment 

Period Ends: 02/19/2014, Contact: 

Sharon Knowlton 307–775–6124. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s 

Bureau of Land Management and the 

U.S. Department of Energy’s Western 

Area Power Administration are joint 

lead agencies for the above project. 

Amended Notices 

EIS No. 20130334, Draft EIS, BIA, MA, 

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Fee-toTrust Acquisition and Casino Project, 

Comment Period Ends: 01/17/2014, 

Contact: Chester McGhee 615–564– 

6500. Revision to the FR Notice 

Published 11/20/2013; Extending the 

Comment Period from 12/30/2013 to 

01/17/2014. 

Dated: November 19, 2013. 

Cliff Rader, 

Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office 

of Federal Activities. 

[FR Doc. 2013–28149 Filed 11–21–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9903–36-Region 10] 

Proposed Issuance of the NPDES 

General Permit for Oil and Gas 

Geotechnical Surveying and Related 

Activities in Federal Waters of the 

Beaufort and Chukchi Seas 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed issuance of 

general permit. 

SUMMARY: EPA Region 10 proposes to 

issue a National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) General 

Permit for Oil and Gas Geotechnical 

Surveying and Related Activities in 

Federal Waters of the Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas (Permit No. AKG–28– 

4300). As proposed, the Geotechnical 

General Permit authorizes twelve types 

of discharges from facilities engaged in 

oil and gas geotechnical surveys to 

evaluate the subsurface characteristics 

of the seafloor and related activities in 

federal waters of the Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas. Geotechnical borings are 

collected to assess the structural 

properties of subsurface soil conditions 

for potential placement of oil and gas 

installations, which may include 

production and drilling platforms, ice 

islands, anchor structures for floating 

exploration drilling vessels, and 

potential buried pipeline corridors. 

Geotechnical surveys result in a 

disturbance of the seafloor and produce 

discharges consisting of soil, rock and 

cuttings materials, in addition to 

facility-specific waste streams 

authorized under this general permit. 

Geotechnical related activities also 

result in a disturbance of the seafloor 

and produce similar discharges. These 

activities may include feasibility testing 

of equipment that disturbs the seafloor, 

and testing and evaluation of trenching 

technologies. 

DATES: Comments. The public comment 

period for the draft Geotechnical 

General Permit will be from the date of 

publication of this Notice until January 

27, 2014. Comments must be received or 

post-marked by no later than midnight 

Pacific Standard Time on January 27, 

2014. 

Public Hearings. EPA will hold public 

hearings on January 8, 2014, in Barrow, 

Alaska, at the Inupiat Heritage Center 

and via teleconference on January 10, 

2014. The hearing in Barrow, AK will 

begin at 6:00 p.m. (Alaska Standard 

Time) and will continue until all 

testimony is heard or 10:00 p.m., 

whichever is earlier. The teleconference 

hearing will begin at 4:00 p.m. (Alaska 

Standard Time) and will continue until 

all testimony is heard or 7:00 p.m., 

whichever is earlier. 

See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 

additional information. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods. EPA 

will consider all comments received 

during the public comment period prior 

to making its final decision. 

Mail: Send paper comments to Erin 

Seyfried, Office of Water and 

Watersheds, Mail Stop OWW–130, 1200 

6th Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 

98101–3140. 

Email: Send electronic comments to 

R10geotechpermit@epa.gov. 

Fax: Fax comments to the attention of 

Erin Seyfried at (206) 553–0165. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: Deliver 

comments to Erin Seyfried, Office of 

Water and Watersheds, Mail Stop 

OWW–130, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 

Seattle, WA 98101–3140. Call (206) 

553–0523 before delivery to verify 

business hours. 

Viewing and/or Obtaining Copies of 

Documents. A copy of the draft 

Geotechnical General Permit and the 

Fact Sheet, which explains the proposal 

in detail, may be obtained by contacting 

EPA at 1 (800) 424–4372. Copies of the 

documents are also available for 

viewing and downloading at: http://

yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/

npdes+permits/DraftPermitsAK http://

yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/

npdes+permits/arctic-gp See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for other 

document viewing locations. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Seyfried, Office of Water and 

Watersheds, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 10, Mail Stop 

OWW–130, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 

Seattle, WA 98101–3140, (206) 553– 

1448, seyfried.erin@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fact 

Sheet describes the types of facilities 

and the discharges proposed to be 

authorized by the Geotechnical General 

Permit; the proposed effluent limits and 

other conditions; maps and descriptions 

of the proposed Area of Coverage; and 

a summary of the supporting technical 

materials. 

Public Hearing Locations and 

Information. The locations, 

teleconference information, and general 

agenda for the hearings are: 

(1) January 8, 2014, Inupiat Heritage 

Center, 5421 North Star Street, Barrow, 

AK 99723, Teleconference number 1 

(866) 299–3188, code 9072711272#; 4:00 

p.m.–5:00 p.m. Open House; 6:00 p.m.– 

7:00 p.m. Presentation; 7:00 p.m.–10:00 

p.m. Testimony. 

(2) January 10, 2014; Teleconference 

Only. Teleconference number 1 (866) 

299–3188, code 9072711272#; 4:00 

p.m.–4:30 p.m. Presentation; 4:30 p.m.– 

7:00 p.m. Testimony. 

Public Hearing Procedures. Public 

hearings will be conducted in 

accordance with 40 CFR 124.12 and will 

provide interested persons with the 

opportunity to give written and/or 

verbal comments for the official record. 

The following procedures will be used 

at the public hearings: 

(1) The presiding officer shall conduct 

the hearing in a manner which will 

allow all interested persons wishing to 

make verbal comments an opportunity 

to do so (however, the presiding officer 

may inform attendees of any time limits 

during the opening statement of the 

hearing); 

(2) Any person may submit written 

statements or documents for the hearing 

record; 

(3) The presiding officer may, in his 

or her discretion, exclude verbal 

comments if such testimony is overly 

repetitious of previous testimony or is 

not relevant to the draft Geotechnical 

General Permit; 

(4) The transcripts of the hearings, 

together with copies of all submitted 

statements and documents, shall 

become a part of the record submitted 

to the Director of the Office of Water 

and Watersheds; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2013 / Notices 70043 

(5) The hearing record shall be left 

open until the deadline for receipt of 

comments, specified at the beginning of 

this Notice, to allow any person enough 

time to submit additional written 

statements or to present views or 

evidence tending to rebut or support 

testimony presented at the public 

hearing; 

(6) Hearing testimony may be 

provided orally or in written format. 

Commenters providing verbal comments 

are encouraged to provide written 

comments to ensure accuracy of the 

record and for use of EPA and other 

interested persons. Persons wishing to 

make verbal comments supporting their 

written statements are encouraged to 

give a summary of their points rather 

than reading lengthy written comments 

verbatim into the record. 

All comments related to the draft 

Geotechnical General Permit and Fact 

Sheet received by EPA Region 10 by the 

deadline for receipt of comments, or 

presented at the public hearing, will be 

considered by EPA before taking final 

action on the General Permit. 

Document Viewing Locations. The 

draft Geotechnical General Permit and 

Fact Sheet may also be viewed at the 

following locations: 

(1) EPA Region 10 Library, Park Place 

Building, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 

Seattle, WA 98101; (206) 553–1289. 

(2) EPA Region 10, Alaska Operations 

Office, 222 W 7th Avenue, #19, Room 

537, Anchorage, AK 99513; (907) 271– 

5083. 

(3) DEC Anchorage office, 555 

Cordova Street, Anchorage, AK 99501; 

(907) 269–7235. 

(4) Z. J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 

Denali Street, Anchorage, AK 99503; 

(907) 343–2975. 

(5) North Slope Borough School 

District Library/Media Center, Pouch 

169, 829 Aivak Street, Barrow, AK 

99723; (907) 852–5311. 

EPA’s current administrative record 

for the draft Geotechnical General 

Permit is available for review at the EPA 

Region 10 Office, Park Place Building, 

1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, 

WA 98101, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 

p.m., Monday through Friday. Contact 

Erin Seyfried at seyfried.erin@epa.gov or 

(206) 553–1448. 

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 Geotechnical 

General Permit are excluded from the 

provisions of CWA Section 311, 33 

U.S.C. 1321. However, the Geotechnical 

General Permit 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. In accordance with 

ESA requirements, EPA has initiated 

consultation with NMFS and USFWS, 

and has prepared a Biological 

Evaluation (BE) for the Geotechnical 

General Permit, which concludes that 

the General Permit is not likely to 

adversely affect any threatened or 

endangered species or their designated 

critical habitat areas. The BE has been 

submitted to NMFS and USFWS for 

review and concurrence during the 

public comment period. EPA will obtain 

a determination from NMFS and 

USFWS prior to issuing the 

Geotechnical General Permit. 

Essential Fish Habitat. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

requires EPA to consult with NMFS 

when a proposed permit action has the 

potential to adversely affect Essential 

Fish Habitat (EFH). An EFH Assessment 

has been prepared for the Geotechnical 

General Permit. 

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. 

Executive Order 12866. The Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

exempts this action from the review 

requirements of Executive Order 12866 

pursuant to Section 6 of that order. 

Paperwork Reduction Act. EPA has 

reviewed the requirements imposed on 

regulated facilities in the Geotechnical 

General Permit and finds them 

consistent with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. Under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq., a federal agency must 

prepare an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis ‘‘for any proposed rule’’ for 

which the agency ‘‘is required by 

section 553 of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA), or any other law, 

to publish general notice of proposed 

rulemaking.’’ The RFA exempts from 

this requirement any rule that the 

issuing agency certifies ‘‘will not, if 

promulgated, have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities.’’ EPA has 

concluded that NPDES general permits 

are permits, not rulemakings, under the 

APA and thus not subject to APA 

rulemaking requirements or the FRA. 

Notwithstanding that general permits 

are not subject to the RFA, EPA has 

determined that the Geotechnical 

General Permit will not have a 

significant impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. This 

determination is based on the fact that 

the regulated companies are not 

classified as small businesses under the 

Small Business Administration 

regulations established at 49 FR 5023 et 

seq. (February 9, 1984). These facilities 

are classified as Major Group 13—Oil as 

Gas Extraction SIC 1311 Crude 

Petroleum and Natural Gas. 

Authority: This action is taken under the 

authority of Section 402 of the Clean Water 

Act as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1342. I hereby 

provide public notice of the draft 

Geotechnical General Permit in accordance 

with 40 CFR 124.10. 

Dated: November 14, 2013. 

Daniel D. Opalski 

Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, 

Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2013–28139 Filed 11–21–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2013–0703; FRL–9902–97] 

Pesticide Product Registration; 

Receipt of an Application for a New 

Active Ingredient 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA has received an 

application to register a pesticide 

product containing an active ingredient 

not included in any previously 

registered pesticide product. Pursuant to 

the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby 

providing notice of receipt and 

opportunity to comment on the 

application. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 23, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2013–0703, by 

one of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Do not submit electronically any 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES