Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2001 / Notices 34191

coastal guidance to include inland as

well as coastal context and to provide

updated technical information based on

current understanding and

implementation of best management

practices (BMP) controls. It does not set

new or additional standards for either

CZARA section 6217 or Clean Water Act

section 319 programs.

EPA will consider comments on this

draft guidance and will then issue final

guidance.

DATES: Written comments should be

addressed to the person listed directly

below by September 25, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Chris Solloway, Assessment and

Watershed Protection Division (4503–F),

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20460. Non-US Postal

Service comments should be sent to

Chris Solloway, Assessment and

Watershed Protection Division, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Room 200, 499 S. Capitol Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20003. Faxes should be

sent to (202) 260–7024.

The complete text of the draft

guidance is available on EPA’s Internet

site on the Nonpoint Source Control

Branch’s homepage at <http://

www.epa.gov/owow/nps>. Copies of the

complete draft can also be obtained by

request from Chris Solloway at the

above address, by E-mail at

<Solloway.Chris@epa.gov>, or by

calling (202) 260–3008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact Chris

Solloway at (202) 260–3008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

In 1993, under the authority of section

6217(g) of the Coastal Zone Act

Reauthorization Amendments, EPA

issued Guidance Specifying

Management Measures for Sources of

Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal Waters.

That guidance document details

management measures appropriate for

the control of five categories of nonpoint

sources of pollution in the coastal zone:

Agriculture, forestry, urban areas,

marinas and recreational boating, and

hydromodification. The document also

includes management measures for

wetlands, riparian areas, and vegetated

treatment systems because they are

important to the abatement of nonpoint

source pollution in coastal waters.

States and territories were required to

adopt measures ‘‘in conformity’’ with

the coastal management measures

guidance for their Coastal Nonpoint

Pollution Control Programs.

State, territory, and tribal water

quality assessments continue to identify

nonpoint source pollution as a major

cause of degradation in surveyed waters

nationwide. In 1987 Congress enacted

section 319 of the Clean Water Act to

establish a national program to control

nonpoint sources of water pollution.

Under section 319, States, territories,

and tribes address nonpoint source

pollution by assessing the nonpoint

source pollution problems within the

State, territory, or tribal lands;

identifying the sources of pollution; and

implementing management programs to

control the pollution. Section 319 also

authorizes EPA to award grants to

States, territories, and tribes to assist

them in implementing management

programs that EPA has approved.

Program implementation includes

nonregulatory and regulatory programs,

technical assistance, financial

assistance, education, training,

technology transfer, and demonstration

projects. In fiscal year 2000, Congress

appropriated and EPA awarded $200

million for nonpoint source

management program grants. EPA has

awarded a total of $1 billion to States,

territories, and Indian tribes since 1990.

The 1993 management measures

guidance focused on conditions and

examples of management measure

implementation from the coastal zone.

To date, technical guidance on the best

available, economically achievable

measures for controlling nonpoint

sources with a national focus has not

been released. The draft national

management measures guidance for

forestry is intended to partially address

this gap. Although the practices detailed

in the 1993 coastal guidance apply

generally to inland areas, EPA has

recognized the utility of developing and

publishing technical guidance that

explicitly addresses nonpoint source

pollution on a nationwide basis.

Moreover, additional information and

examples from research and experience

to date with implementation of the

management measures are available to

enrich the national guidance. These

changes have helped to prompt the

revision and expansion of the forestry

chapter of the 1993 guidance.

II. Scope of the Draft Forestry

Guidance—Sources of Nonpoint Source

Pollution Addressed

The draft technical guidance

continues to focus on the major sources

of pollution from forestry identified for

the 1993 coastal guidance by EPA in

consultation with a number of other

Federal agencies and other leading

national experts, including several

experts from the U.S. Forest Service.

Specifically, the guidance identifies

management measures for the following:

i. Preharvest planning;

ii. Streamside management areas;

iii. Road construction and

reconstruction;

iv. Road management;

v. Timber harvesting;

vi. Site preparation and forest

regeneration;

vii. Fire management;

viii. Revegetation of disturbed areas;

ix. Forest chemical management; and

x. Wetlands forest management.

III. Approach Used To Develop

Guidance

The draft national management

measures guidance is based in large part

on the 1993 coastal guidance. The

coastal guidance was developed using a

workgroup approach to draw upon

technical expertise within other Federal

agencies as well as State water quality

and coastal zone management agencies.

The 1993 text has been expanded to

include information on the application

and effectiveness of forestry BMPs from

recent research, the cost of installing

BMPs, watershed-scale and ecological

impacts of forestry activities,

technological advances that affect BMP

use and installation, State BMP

monitoring programs, logger education

and certification programs, and BMP

installation and use considerations for

nonindustrial private forest landowners.

IV. Request for Comments

EPA is soliciting comments on the

draft guidance on management

measures to control nonpoint source

pollution from forestry. The Agency is

soliciting additional information and

supporting data on the measures

specified in this guidance and on

additional measures that may be as

effective or more effective in controlling

nonpoint source pollution from forestry.

EPA requests that commenters focus

their comments on the technical

soundness of the draft management

measures guidance.

Diane C. Regas,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.

[FR Doc. 01–16121 Filed 6–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[AD–FRL–7004–6]

New Source Review (NSR) 90-day

Review and Report to the President

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability and

opportunity to comment.

34192 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 27, 2001 / Notices

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

availability of, and opportunity to

comment on, a background paper that

will be used in the development of

EPA’s Report to the President on the

impact of the Environmental Protection

Agency’s New Source Review (NSR)

program on investment in new utility

and refinery generation capacity, energy

efficiency, and environmental

protection. The National Energy Policy

Development Group, under the

direction of Vice President Richard

Cheney, has directed EPA, in

consultation with the Secretary of

Energy and other relevant agencies, to

review NSR regulations, including

administrative interpretation and

implementation, and prepare this

Report to the President within 90 days.

The Report to the President is scheduled

to be released in August. The

background paper summarizes the data

that EPA has found thus far addressing

the topics that are covered by the NEPD

Group’s recommendation. The

background paper is not a draft of the

Report to the President, but is intended

to facilitate public comment on issues

that may be addressed in that report.

The EPA is now accepting comments

on this background paper and other

information relevant to the NSR Review

and Report to the President. Because the

Report to the President is scheduled to

be completed in August, commenters

are encouraged to submit information as

early as possible.

DATES: Comments will be accepted until

July 27, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Docket No. A–2001–19

contains the background paper and

additional supporting information that

EPA relied upon in developing the

background paper. Material in the

docket is available for public inspection

and copying between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30

p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Air

and Radiation Docket and Information

Center, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington,

DC 20460, telephone (202) 260–7548,

fax (202) 260–4000. The docket is

available at the above address in Room

M–1500, Waterside Mall (ground floor,

central mall). A reasonable fee may be

charged for copying. The background

paper is also available on the Internet at

the following address: http://

www.epa.gov/air/NSR-review.

Comments and additional information

may be provided in writing to the

address provided above for the Air and

Radiation Docket and Information

Center, or may be faxed to the Docket

at (202) 260–4000. Information may also

be submitted by electronic mail (e-mail)

to: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. Electronic

comments must be submitted as an

ASCII file to avoid the use of special

characters and encryption problems or

on disks in WordPerfect version 5.1, 6.1

or Corel 9 file format. All comments and

data submitted in any form must note

the docket number: A–2001–19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Michael Ling, Information Transfer and

Program Integration Division (MD–12),

U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, North

Carolina 27711, (919) 541–4729, e-mail:

ling.michael@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In its May

2001 report, the energy task force

headed by Vice President Cheney

recommended that ‘‘the Administrator

of the EPA, in consultation with the

Secretary of Energy and other relevant

agencies, review the New Source

Review regulations, including

administrative interpretation and

implementation, and report to the

President within 90 days on the impact

of the regulations on investment in new

utility and refinery generation capacity,

energy efficiency, and environmental

protection.’’

New Source Review is a program that

was first incorporated into the Clean Air

Act in 1977. It requires that a source of

air pollution install the best pollution

control equipment when it is built or

when it makes a major modification that

increases emissions. NSR has been an

important part of EPA’s efforts to protect

air quality. At the same time, it is

widely recognized that the NSR program

is overly complex and burdensome both

for affected companies and for the state

and local agencies that are responsible

for implementing it. For several years,

EPA has been exploring options

designed to simplify the program,

reduce the length of the review process,

and remove any barriers it may pose to

innovation and improved energy

efficiency.

Consistent with the Report, EPA has

undertaken a 90-day review of NSR to

determine if changes should be made to

help the program work more efficiently

while still maintaining environmental

safeguards. In particular, the Agency

will study the impact of NSR

regulations on investment in new utility

and refinery capacity, energy efficiency,

and pollution emissions.

The final report, which is scheduled

to be submitted to the President on

August 17, will summarize NSR data

related to the electricity generating and

petroleum refining industries, and

examine whether NSR, including

enforcement cases filed against those

industries, have had a negative impact

on investments in new capacity. The

report will also include

recommendations on how to improve

NSR and minimize any adverse impacts

on the energy industry.

EPA is conducting this review in

close cooperation and consultation with

the Department of Energy, the

Department of the Interior, the Office of

Management and Budget, the White

House Council on Environmental

Quality, and the National Economic

Council.

In addition to today’s notice of

availability and opportunity to submit

comments on the background paper, the

Agency is taking additional steps to seek

input from the public and from affected

stakeholders. We will hold several

public meetings across the U.S. to

collect information and public views on

NSR. Information about these meetings

will be published separately in the

Federal Register, and will be available

on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/

air/NSR-review. We will also hold

separate meetings with outside

stakeholders, including affected

industries, environmental groups, and

state and local governments.

Dated: June 22, 2001.

Linda Fisher,

Deputy Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–16267 Filed 6–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–7002–6]

Motorola 52nd Street Superfund Site

Phoenix, AZ; Proposed Notice of

Administrative Settlement

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency

ACTION: Notice; Request for public

comment

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation and Liability

Act of 1980, as amended by the

Superfund Amendments and

Reauthorization Act of 1986 (CERCLA),

42 U.S.C sections 9600 et seq.,notice is

hereby given that a proposed Agreement

and Covenant Not to Sue (Prospective

Purchaser Agreement) associated with

the Motorola 52nd Street Superfund Site

(the Site) was executed by the United

States Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) on June 13,2001. The Prospective

Purchaser Agreement would resolve

certain potential claims of the United

States under sections 106 and 107(a) of

CERCLA, 42 U.S.C sections 9606 and

9607(a), and section 7003 of the

Resource Conservation and Recovery