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[Federal Register: March 24, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 56)]
[Notices]               
[Page 14152-14153]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24mr10-50]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTON AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0164; FRL-9129-4]

 
Executive Order 13508; Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration 
Section 502; Guidance for Federal Land Management in the Chesapeake Bay 
Watershed

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice and request for public review and comment.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a draft Guidance for 
Federal land management in the Chesapeake Bay watershed describing 
proven, cost-effective tools and practices that reduce water pollution 
and requests public comment. The document was prepared pursuant to 
Executive Order (E.O.) 13508 of May 12, 2009, Chesapeake Bay Protection 
and Restoration. This E.O. requires that the draft guidance be 
published for public review and comments.

DATES: Comments on the draft guidance must be submitted on or before 
April 23, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2010-0164, by one of the following methods:
    http://www.regulations.gov: After entering the docket for 
this action, click on the draft strategy document to make comment. Once 
you arrive at the page for the specific document on which you wish to 
comment, click the ``Submit a Comment'' button at the top right of the 
Web page, then follow the online instructions.
     Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room, EPA 
Headquarters West, Room 3340, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's 
normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information by 
contacting the Docket Center at 202-566-1744.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2010-
0164. This Notice is not open for public comment, but, the Section 502 
draft guidance document is available for comment on http://www.regulations.gov. Additional information about the docket is 
contained below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Flahive, USEPA, Office of Water, 
Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds; 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., 
NW., MC 4503T, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-1206; 
fax number (202) 566-1437; e-mail: flahive.katie@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Why Were These Documents Prepared?

    Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration, 
dated May 12, 2009 (74 FR 23099, May 15, 2009), requires the 
Administrator of EPA within 1 year and after consulting with the 
Committee and providing for public review and comment to publish this 
guidance document by May 12, 2010. The purpose of this document is to 
provide information and data on land management practices that, if 
implemented widely across the Chesapeake Bay watershed by both Federal 
land managers and non-Federal entities (and assuming that all necessary 
point source reductions are achieved and other needed restoration 
actions are taken), will enable the Chesapeake Bay to be restored. In 
significant part, this guidance is being developed to offer solutions 
for implementation to meet specific Chesapeake Bay goals. EPA, in 
conjunction with other agencies, is currently developing Bay-wide 
pollutant reduction goals that will ultimately be used to establish 
total maximum daily loads (TMDL) under Section 303(d) of the Clean 
Water Act for the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The TMDL will be followed 
by the development of watershed implementation plans in 92 Bay sub-
watersheds that will have had load and wasteload allocations assigned 
based on the TMDL and the Chesapeake Bay model. While the Section 502 
guidance document is required to be published by May 12, 2010, before 
the TMDL is finalized, we expect that the TMDL and sub-watershed 
allocations will clarify that the great majority of nonpoint sources in 
the Chesapeake Bay watershed will need to be controlled, and be 
controlled well, in order to restore the Bay. This guidance will have 
chapters addressing the following categories of activity: Agriculture; 
Urban areas, including Turf (excluding sources regulated as point 
sources); Onsite/Decentralized Treatment Systems; Forestry; Riparian 
Areas; and Hydromodification. Each chapter will contain one or more 
``implementation goals'' that provide the framework for the chapter. 
These are intended to convey the essential actions that will need to be 
implemented in order to assure that the broad goals of the Chesapeake 
Bay Executive Order can be achieved. Each chapter also includes 
information on practices that can be used to achieve the goals; 
information on the effectiveness and costs of the practices; where 
relevant, cost savings or other economic/societal benefits (in addition 
to the pollutant reduction benefits) that derive from the 
implementation goals and/or practices; and copious references to other 
documents that provide additional information. Due to the expedited 
timeframe set by the Executive Order, the document is undergoing 
concurrent Federal Leadership Committee and public review, both as 
required by the Executive Order. Note that this public review is also 
concurrent with a technical peer review. EPA anticipates reviewing 
comments by these three entities in advance of the development of the 
final document.

How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?

    Docket: EPA has established a public docket for this Notice under 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0164. The E.O. Section 502 draft guidance 
document is available in the docket at http://www.regulations.gov, as 
well as at http://www.epa.gov/nps and
    http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net. Assistance and tips for 
accessing the docket can be found at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net. Comments via e-mail are not being 
accepted. Instead, comments will be accepted through http://www.regulations.gov and by mail. If you are commenting on the Section 
502 draft guidance, submit comments to this specific document within 
the docket and identify the page number(s) at which each comment is 
directed. All comments received, including any

[[Page 14153]]

personal information provided, will be included in the public docket 
without change and will be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov, unless the comment includes information claimed to 
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information, the 
disclosure of which is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov. It is recommended that you include your name and 
other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk 
or CD-ROM you submit. If your comment cannot be read due to technical 
difficulties and we are unable to contact you for clarification, we 
will not consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use 
of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any 
defects or viruses. For additional information about the public docket 
visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. Publicly available docket materials are available 
electronically either at http://www.regulations.gov as well as at the 
EPA Docket Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number for this docket is 202-566-
2426. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number 
for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744. Certain material, such 
as copyrighted materials, will be publicly available only in hard copy 
at the Docket Center.

Why Is EPA Posting This Guidance for Public Comment?

    Executive Order 13508 requires the Administrator of the EPA to 
prepare and publish after providing for public review and comment, 
guidance for Federal land management in the Chesapeake Bay watershed 
describing proven, cost-effective tools and practices that reduce water 
pollution, including practices that are available for use by Federal 
agencies.

What Are the Next Steps in the Process for Collecting Public Comment?

    EPA will review public comments on the draft guidance. The comments 
will be taken into consideration as the EPA develops the final Section 
502 guidance document. A response to comments document will be released 
at the same time as the final E.O. 13508 Section 502 guidance document 
with anticipated release by May 12, 2010.

    Dated: March 18, 2010.
Peter S. Silva,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2010-6488 Filed 3-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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