[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 55 (Friday, March 21, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 13567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-7216]


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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.

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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 Sec. 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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