Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 55 / Friday, March 21, 1997 / Proposed Rules 13567

(2) A description of such documents,

including the CUSIP numbers; and

* * * * *

Issued in Washington D.C. on March 17,

1997, by the Commission.

Jean A. Webb,

Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 97–7179 Filed 3–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 131

[FRL–5711–9]

Water Quality Standards for Idaho

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Advance notice of rulemaking.

SUMMARY: EPA is preparing to

promulgate water quality standards

applicable to surface waters in the State

of Idaho. These federally promulgated

standards will supersede those aspects

of Idaho’s water quality standards that

EPA disapproved on June 25, 1996. EPA

is taking this action to comply with a

court order directing EPA to promulgate

standards by April 21, 1997. Due to the

brevity of the court-ordered deadline for

promulgation, EPA plans to promulgate

an ‘‘interim-final’’ rule without a prior

proposal or comment period. EPA will

request comment on the interim-final

standards after their promulgation. EPA

will revise the interim-final standards

through a subsequent rulemaking if

justified by analysis of the comments.

The rulemaking that EPA is preparing

will establish revised use designations

on currently unclassified waters in the

state and on 53 specified water body

segments whose use designations do not

meet the goals of the Clean Water Act

and for which the state has not provided

information to justify its lower use

designations. The interim-final rule will

also establish revised temperature

criteria necessary to protect certain

threatened, endangered, and candidate

species. Finally, EPA’s interim-final rule

will amend Idaho’s mixing zone and

antidegradation policies as well as its

‘‘private waters exclusion.’’

Today’s notice is intended to alert the

public to the process EPA is following

and the reasons for doing so, to reassure

the public that EPA intends to seek

public comment, and to give the public

advance notice of the need to identify

information that may be relevant to the

attainability of fishable/swimmable uses

in the waters identified in EPA’s June

1996 letter.

DATES: EPA plans to promulgate

replacement water quality standards for

Idaho in a separate action by April 21,

1997. At that time, EPA will solicit

public comment. Comments are not

being considered at this time, due to the

brevity of the court schedule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa

Macchio at U.S. EPA Region 10, Office

of Water, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle,

Washington, 98101, (telephone: 260–

553–1834) or William Morrow in U.S.

EPA Headquarters at 202–260–3657.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Potentially Affected Entities

Citizens concerned with water quality

in Idaho may be interested in this

rulemaking. Entities discharging

pollutants to waters of the United States

in Idaho could be affected by this

rulemaking since water quality

standards are used in determining

NPDES permit limits.

B. Background

1. Statutory/Regulatory History.

Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act

(CWA) directs States, with oversight by

EPA, to adopt water quality standards to

protect public health and welfare,

enhance the quality of water and serve

the purposes of the CWA. Under Section

303, States have the primary

responsibility to establish water quality

standards, which consists of designated

uses, the water quality criteria necessary

to support those uses, and

antidegradation.

Section 303 requires States and Tribes

to review their standards at least once

every three years and to submit any new

or revised standards to EPA for its

review. Under Section 303(c), EPA is

required to either approve or disapprove

such new or revised State/Tribal

standards, depending on whether they

meet the requirements of the Act. Where

EPA disapproves a new or revised State/

Tribal standard, and the State or Tribe

does not revise the standard to meet

EPA’s objection, sections 303(c)(3) and

303(c)(4)(A) of the Act require the

Agency to promptly propose substitute

Federal standards and promulgate final

Federal standards within 90 days

thereafter. In addition, section

303(c)(4)(B) authorizes the

Administrator to promulgate a Federal

standard whenever she determines that

a new or revised standard is necessary

to meet the requirements of the CWA.

The implementing regulations for the

water quality standards program are

found at 40 CFR part 131.

2. History of Idaho/EPA Actions

In 1994, Idaho submitted water

quality standards to EPA for review and

approval under § 303 of the Act. On

October 25, 1995, EPA gave Idaho

advance notice of deficiencies in the

state’s 1994 standards submission. On

June 25, 1996, EPA approved some

portions and disapproved other portions

of those standards. Both before and after

the October 25, 1995, letter and the June

25, 1996, approval/disapproval letter,

EPA worked to encourage the state of

Idaho to revise its standards to address

the deficiencies identified by EPA.

While the state has taken some

preliminary steps to address some of

EPA’s concerns, it has not yet submitted

revised standards to EPA for approval.

On February 20, 1997, as a result of a

lawsuit filed by three environmental

groups (Idaho Conservation League v.

Browner; No. C96–807WD), Judge

Dwyer of the United States District

Court for the Western District of

Washington ruled that EPA had failed to

carry out a mandatory duty to promptly

prepare and publish Federal standards

to address the items disapproved in the

June 25, 1996, letter. Judge Dwyer

ordered EPA to promulgate such

standards within 60 days, that is, by

April 21, 1997.

Because of the court order, EPA has

found it necessary to condense its

normal rulemaking process, and will be

issuing an interim-final rule with

subsequent opportunity for public

comment. The national goal for water

quality as articulated in section

101(a)(2) of the Act ‘‘provides for the

protection and propagation of fish,

shellfish, and wildlife and provides for

recreation in and on the water.’’ These

goal uses of the Act are commonly

referred to as ‘‘fishable/swimmable’’.

Since Idaho has not provided

information concerning the attainability

or non-attainability of ‘‘fishable/

swimmable’’ uses for the waters

addressed in the June 1996 letter, EPA

will likely be promulgating designated

uses based on the goal uses of the Act

for those waters. During the comment

period which will follow the April 21st

promulgation, EPA will seek

information from the public on the

appropriateness of those designated

uses and will revise them as needed.

The State of Idaho is currently

working to resolve many of the

deficiencies identified in EPA’s June 25,

1996, letter. EPA is coordinating this

rulemaking effort with that of the state.

Dated: March 14, 1997.

Tudor Davies,

Director, Office of Science and Technology.

[FR Doc. 97–7216 Filed 3–20–97; 8:45 am]

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