[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21189-21190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10621]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5199-9]


Notification of Establishment of an Advisory Committee To Address 
Urban Municipal Wet Weather Issues; Announcement of the Sanitary Sewer 
Overflow Subcommittee May 18-19, 1995, Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA has established the Urban Wet Weather Flows Advisory 
Committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to develop 
recommendations to coordinate the implementation of urban, municipal 
wet weather water pollution control programs. The charter for the 
Advisory Committee was approved by the Office of Management and Budget 
on March 10, 1995. As required by section 9(a)(2) of FACA, 5 U.S.C. 
App. 2, EPA is giving notice of the establishment of such committee to 
assist the Agency in the development of cost-effective solutions for 
controlling the environmental and human health impacts of urban wet 
weather flows with a minimum of regulatory burden. EPA believes that 
the Committee is necessary and in the public interest. The Committee 
will provide a forum for identifying and addressing issues associated 
with water quality impacts from these sources. Copies of the 
Committee's charter will be filed with the appropriate committees of 
Congress and the Library of Congress in accordance with section 9(c) of 
FACA.
    To be most efficient we are planning two subcommittees under the 
Urban Wet Weather Flows Advisory Committee. A subcommittee addressing 
Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) has been formed and will hold its first 
formal meeting in Washington, D.C. on May 18 and 19, 1995. The purpose 
of this meeting is to discuss several issues related to SSOs. On May 
18, the meeting will begin at approximately 8:30 AM and run until about 
5:00 PM. On May 19, the meeting will begin at 8:30 AM and continue 
until completion.
    The Advisory Committee and another subcommittee dealing with Storm 
Water Phase II issues will be formed in the near future. EPA is 
currently in the process of convening these groups.
    Consistent with the requirements of FACA, the membership of both 
the Advisory Committee and its subcommittees is being balanced among 
the Agency's various outside stakeholder interests, including 
representatives from municipalities, industrial and commercial sectors, 
environmental and public interest groups, States, and Indian Tribes, 
and EPA. Members will be selected and appointed for the duration of the 
process. A Federal Official or EPA employee will serve as the 
Designated Federal Officer and will be present at all meetings.

DATE: The SSO Subcommittee will meet on May 18-19, 1995.

ADDRESS: The SSO Subcommittee meeting will be held at the Best Western 
Old Colony Inn, 625 First Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. The hotel 
telephone number is (703) 548-6300.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about substantive or 
technical matters that will be considered by the Advisory Committee, or 
information about the procedural aspects of Committee operation and the 
FACA process, contact: William Hall, Office of Wastewater Management, 
US EPA (4203), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone: (202) 
260-1458. [[Page 21190]] 
    For information about the SSO Subcommittee, please contact: Kevin 
Weiss, SSO Matrix Manager, Office of Wastewater Management, US EPA 
(4203), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone: (202) 260-
9524.
    For information about the Phase II Subcommittee, please contact: 
Pam Mazakas, Phase II Matrix Manager, Office of Wastewater Management, 
US EPA (4203), 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, telephone: 
(202) 260-6599.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In 1972, under the authority of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (later called the Clean Water Act (CWA)), the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) developed the National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program to control pollutant 
discharges to the Nation's waters from industrial, commercial, and 
municipal point sources. These discharges created a threat not just to 
water quality, but to the health of millions of people. Initial efforts 
to control pollution from these entities were focused on 
``traditional'' pollutant sources, such as discharges from industrial 
manufacturing processes and municipal wastewater treatment plants.
    Since the NPDES program's inception, the Agency has undertaken 
efforts to address other, ``non-traditional,'' sources of pollution, 
including those resulting from precipitation events, such as rainfall 
and snowmelt. These precipitation-related sources of pollution are 
referred to as ``wet weather discharges.'' Wet weather discharges 
include both point sources, which are required to have an NPDES permit 
under the CWA, and nonpoint sources, such as those resulting from most 
agricultural activity. Nonpoint sources are not regulated by the NPDES 
permitting program.
    Wet weather discharges of pollutants often occur in urban areas and 
include municipal and industrial storm water discharges; sanitary sewer 
overflows (SSOs), which occur when the volume of flows in a separate 
municipal sanitary sewer system exceeds its capacity due to, among 
other things, unintentional inflow and infiltration of storm water; and 
combined sewer overflows (CSOs), which occur during wet weather events 
in some cities which have combined sanitary and storm sewers (these are 
known as combined sewer systems or CSSs). EPA's National Water Quality 
Inventory, 1992 Report to Congress, notes that pollution from wet 
weather discharges is cited by States as the leading cause of water 
quality impairment. Based on this Report and other assessments, EPA has 
concluded that wet weather discharges, whether they be from point or 
nonpoint sources, are one of the largest remaining threats to water 
quality, aquatic life, and human health that exist today.
    EPA believes that urban wet weather discharges, such as storm water 
discharges, SSOs, and CSOs, should be addressed in a coordinated and 
comprehensive fashion in order to reduce the threat to water quality, 
reduce pollution control costs, and provide State and local governments 
with greater flexibility to solve wet weather problems. EPA intends to 
build on the stakeholder involvement process that led to the 
development of the CSO Control Policy, published on April 19, 1994 (59 
FR 18688). To this end, the Agency is establishing the Urban Wet 
Weather Flows Federal Advisory Committee, an SSO subcommittee, and a 
Storm Water Phase II subcommittee.

Announcement of SSO Subcommittee Meeting

    Notice is hereby given that the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) is convening a public meeting of the SSO subcommittee on May 18 
and 19, 1995. The meeting has several purposes: (1) To discuss goals, 
objectives and desired outcomes for the SSO policy dialogue, such as 
ensuring national consistency and adequate municipal investment in 
collection system operation and maintenance; (2) to evaluate 
information needs to support consideration of the costs and benefits of 
selected policy options as well as identify other information needs 
associated with developing other products; (3) to identify and discuss 
the appropriateness of nonregulatory and regulatory options for 
addressing reporting of SSOs, collection system evaluations, sewer 
design, collection system operation and maintenance, and system 
rehabilitation; (4) to discuss incentives for proper operation and 
maintenance of collection systems and the development of outreach 
materials to clarify the benefits associated with proper operation and 
maintenance of collection systems; (5) to discuss issues associated 
with reporting of SSOs, including how data is used by EPA and 
authorized NPDES States, and public access to reporting information; 
(6) to discuss the relationship of enforcement to information 
voluntarily submitted to support the policy dialogue; (7) to summarize 
approaches to permits for discharges from sanitary sewer collection 
systems which are currently being used; and (8) to discuss how 
watershed concepts could be incorporated into SSO efforts.
    The meeting, which will be held on May 18 and 19, 1995, is open to 
the public without need for advance registration. On May 18, the 
meeting will begin at approximately 8:30 AM and run until about 5:00 
PM. On May 19, the meeting will begin at 8:30 AM and continue until 
completion. The meeting will be held at the Best Western Old Colony 
Inn, 625 First Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. The hotel telephone number 
is (703) 548-6300.

    Dated: April 24, 1995.
Michael B. Cook,
Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 95-10621 Filed 4-28-95; 8:45 am]
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