Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 158 / Thursday, August 14, 2008 / Notices 47599 

Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) 

for the following: Lead and Copper 

Rule; Minor Revisions; promulgated by 

EPA January 12, 2000 (65 FR 1950), 

Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection 

Byproducts (Stage 2 DBPR); Final Rule; 

promulgated by EPA January 4, 2006 (71 

FR 388), Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface 

Water Treatment (LT2); Final Rule; 

promulgated by EPA January 5, 2006 (71 

FR 654), Correction to the Stage 2 

Disinfectants and Disinfection 

Byproducts Rule; promulgated by EPA 

January 27, 2006 (71 FR 4644) and 

Correction to Stage 2; promulgated by 

EPA June 29, 2006 (71 FR 37168), and 

Correction to the LT2; promulgated by 

EPA January 30, 2006 (71 FR 4968) and 

Correction to the LT2; promulgated by 

EPA February 6, 2006 (71 FR 6136). 

The application demonstrates that 

Puerto Rico has adopted drinking water 

regulations which satisfy the NPDWRs 

for the above. The USEPA has 

determined that Puerto Rico’s 

regulations are no less stringent than the 

corresponding Federal Regulations and 

that Puerto Rico continues to meet all 

requirements for primary enforcement 

responsibility as specified in 40 CFR 

142.10. 

Authority: Section 1413 of the Safe 

Drinking Water Act, as amended, 40 U.S.C. 

300g–2, and 40 CFR 142.10, 142.12(d) and 

142.13. 

Dated: July 25, 2008. 

Alan J. Steinberg, 

Regional Administrator, Region 2. 

[FR Doc. E8–18837 Filed 8–13–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–8704–7] 

Sole Source Aquifer Designation of 

Conanicut Island, Narragansett Bay, RI 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Notice of determination. 

SUMMARY: The Regional Administrator 

of Region I of the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) has 

determined, pursuant to section 1424(e) 

of the Safe Drinking Water Act, that the 

aquifer system that underlies Conanicut 

Island, Rhode Island is the sole or 

principal source of drinking water for 

this area and if the aquifer system were 

contaminated would create a significant 

hazard to public health. As a result of 

Sole Source Aquifer (SSA) designation, 

federal financially-assisted projects over 

the designated aquifer area will be 

subject to EPA review to ensure that 

these projects are designed and 

constructed so that they do not 

contaminate this aquifer so as to create 

a significant hazard to public health. 

DATES: Effective Date: This 

determination shall become effective on 

August 14, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The data and record upon 

which these findings are based are 

available to the public and may be 

inspected during normal business hours 

at the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency—Region I, Office of Ecosystem 

Protection, One Congress Street, Suite 

1100, Boston, MA 02114–2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Heath, U.S. EPA—Region I at 

the address above or at (617) 918–1585, 

e-mail: heath.doug@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 1424(e) of the Safe Drinking 

Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300h–3(e), states: 

‘‘If the Administrator determines, on his 

own initiative or petition, that an area 

has an aquifer which is the sole or 

principal drinking water source for the 

area and which, if contaminated, would 

create a significant hazard to public 

health, he shall publish notice of that 

determination in the Federal Register. 

After the publication of any such notice, 

no commitment for federal financial 

assistance (through a grant, contract, 

loan guarantee, or otherwise) may be 

entered into for any project which the 

Administrator determines may 

contaminate such aquifer through a 

recharge zone so as to create a 

significant hazard to public health, but 

a commitment for federal financial 

assistance may, if authorized under 

another provision of law, be entered 

into to plan or design the project to 

assure that it will not so contaminate 

the aquifer.’’

On February 1, 2006, EPA Region I 

received a petition from the North End 

Concerned Citizens (NECC) requesting 

the designation of the aquifer system 

underlying Conanicut Island as a SSA. 

NECC subsequently submitted a revised 

petition. Among other things, the 

revised petition removed references to 

an original request that EPA review 

closure plans for a landfill and the 

location of a proposed Town Garage. On 

August 17, 2007, EPA completed its 

technical review of the completeness 

and adequacy of the petition. On 

February 13, 2008, EPA held a public 

meeting in Jamestown and invited 

public comment on the petition. The 

public comment period closed on March 

19, 2008. 

II. Basis for Determination 

Among the factors considered by the 

Regional Administrator as part of the 

review and technical verification 

process for designating an area under 

section 1424(e) were: 

1. The aquifer system underlying 

Conanicut Island supplies the service 

area population with 50% or more of its 

drinking water needs. Approximately 

57% of the island’s residents rely solely 

on residential supply wells. The 

remaining 43% of residents rely on 

municipal water provided by the 

Jamestown Water District (a portion of 

which is also ground water extracted by 

bedrock wells) with a peak flow of 

400,000 gallons per day. 

2. There is no physical, legal and/or 

economical alternative drinking water 

source or combination of sources to 

meet all of the needs of the designated 

service area. 

3. The EPA finds that the petition 

appropriately delineates the boundaries 

of the aquifer project review and service 

area. For purposes of this designation, 

EPA finds the Conanicut Island Aquifer 

System boundary is based on the mean 

high tide line since this marks the 

freshwater-saltwater boundary. 

4. While the quality of the area’s 

ground water is considered to be good, 

it is vulnerable to contamination due to 

the relatively thin soil cover and rapid 

movement of ground water in fractured 

rock, coupled with increasing 

development and other land uses. 

Recharge of the water supply is by 

infiltration of precipitation over the 

entire island. The designated area is 

underlain primarily by a fractured 

bedrock aquifer system. The aquifer 

system is overlain by areas of glacial till 

and soil deposits. Freshwater in bedrock 

fractures under the island forms a lensshaped body that floats on saltwater as 

its density is less than that of saltwater. 

According to a 1997 study by the 

University of Rhode Island, the 

thickness of the freshwater lens is 

estimated to range from a few tens of 

feet near the shoreline to more than 

500 feet in the central part of the island 

under non-pumping conditions. 

III. Description of the Conanicut Island 

Aquifer System That Underlies 

Conanicut Island 

The Conanicut Island Aquifer System 

is a nine-square-mile island located in 

Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The 

island is divided into three land masses: 

North Island, Central Island, and 

Beavertail Peninsula. North Island rises 

to an elevation of about 140 feet above 

sea level and is characterized by parallel 

ridges running north-south which create 


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47600 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 158 / Thursday, August 14, 2008 / Notices 

the Jamestown Brook Watershed. To the 

south, separated by Great Creek and 

extensive wetlands, is the Central Town 

area. The Central Island area is 

comprised of gently rolling hills up to 

100 feet elevation with bedrock 

outcrops in the Dumplings and Fort 

Wetherill area. To the southwest is the 

Beavertail Peninsula rising to an 

elevation of 125 feet. The peninsula is 

connected to the rest of the island by a 

sandy isthmus called Mackerel Cove 

Beach. 

The average annual precipitation is 

approximately 43 inches. The island’s 

climate is moderated by the waters of 

Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic 

Ocean. 

Conanicut Island’s bedrock is 

terrestrial metasedimentary rock of 

Pennsylvanian age (approximately 

300 million years old) in the north and 

the Cambrian-age Conanicut group in 

the center of the island and on 

Beavertail. Originally deposited as 

sediments ranging from coarse-grained 

gravel to fine-grained silt, these 

materials hardened over time into 

metamorphic rocks. Fort Wetherill on 

the southeastern portion of the island is 

underlain by Proterozoic Newport 

Formation granites. These are overlain 

by poorly-sorted glacial till ranging from 

0 to about 45 feet in thickness. Because 

the rock and till transmit water very 

slowly, seasonally-high water table 

conditions occur throughout much of 

the island. 

IV. Information Utilized in 

Determination 

The information utilized in this 

determination includes: The petition 

and supporting documents submitted by 

the NECC, letters received before and 

during the public comment period, and 

public comments received during the 

public hearing. In addition, much of the 

information has been derived from 

published literature on the 

hydrogeology and water resources of the 

region. This information is available to 

the public and may be inspected at the 

EPA Region I office in Boston, 

Massachusetts (address listed above). 

The petition and support document and 

EPA’s response summary to public 

comment are also available at the 

Jamestown Public Library in Jamestown, 

Rhode Island. 

V. Summary and Discussion of Public 

Comments 

Most comments received were in 

favor of the designation. Written 

comments in support were received 

from the Honorable Lincoln Chaffee, 

U.S. Senate; Senate Majority Leader M. 

Teresa Paiva Weed and House Deputy 

Minority Whip Bruce J. Long of the 

Rhode Island General Assembly; the 

Rhode Island Department of Health; the 

Rhode Island Department of 

Environmental Management; and 36 

residents/households of Jamestown. On 

March 11, 2008, a majority of the 

Jamestown Conservation Commission 

voted to support the petition. On March 

17, 2008, a majority of the Town 

Council approved a motion to support 

SSA designation. EPA received five 

written comments expressing 

opposition to the designation. Among 

these were letters from two members of 

the Town Council. 

EPA has addressed the written 

comments received in a Responsiveness 

Summary, which is part of the record of 

this decision. The Responsiveness 

Summary is available at the EPA Region 

I offices and at the Jamestown Public 

Library. 

VI. Project Review 

After the effective date of this 

designation, EPA will evaluate projects 

within the designation area that include 

federal financial assistance to determine 

whether the project may contaminate 

the aquifer so as to create a significant 

hazard to public health. Where 

practicable, EPA will offer comments as 

to how the project may be designed to 

protect the aquifer. EPA anticipates that 

few future projects will trigger SSA 

review. Where review is required, EPA 

will coordinate with state and local 

agencies and the project’s developers. 

EPA will give their comments full 

consideration. Through its review, EPA 

will attempt to complement and support 

state and local ground water protection 

measures. Although the project review 

process cannot be delegated, EPA will 

rely to the maximum extent possible on 

any existing or future state and/or local 

control measures to protect the quality 

of ground water in the review area. EPA 

also will work to integrate any review 

with related reviews required pursuant 

to other federal laws, such as the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) as amended 42 U.S.C. 4321, et 

seq., to avoid delay or duplication of 

effort. 

Authority: This action is issued under the 

authority of section 1427 of the Safe Drinking 

Water Act as amended 42 U.S.C. 300h–3(e). 

Dated: July 30, 2008. 

Ira Leighton, 

Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA 

Region I. 

[FR Doc. E8–18836 Filed 8–13–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

Notice of Public Information 

Collection(s) Being Submitted for 

Review to the Office of Management 

and Budget, Comments Requested 

August 6, 2008. 

SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork burden and as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–

3520), the Federal Communications 

Commission invites the general public 

and other Federal agencies to comment 

on the following information 

collection(s). Comments are requested 

concerning (a) Whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the Commission, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

Commission’s burden estimate; (c) ways 

to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information collected; and 

(d) ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on the 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

An agency may not conduct or sponsor 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. No person shall be subject to 

any penalty for failing to comply with 

a collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act that does not 

display a valid OMB control number. 

DATES: Written PRA comments should 

be submitted on or before September 15, 

2008. If you anticipate that you will be 

submitting PRA comments, but find it 

difficult to do so within the period of 

time allowed by this notice, you should 

advise the FCC contact listed below as 

soon as possible. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to 

Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 

Management and Budget (e-mail 

address: nfraser@omb.eop.gov), and to 

the Federal Communications 

Commission’s PRA mailbox (e-mail 

address: PRA@fcc.gov). Include in the 

e-mails the OMB control number of the 

collection as shown in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below or, if there is no OMB control 

number, the Title as shown in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. If 

you are unable to submit your 

comments by email contact the person 

listed below to make alternate 

arrangements. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information contact Leslie F. 

Smith via email at PRA@fcc.gov or at 


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