54398 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 183 / Friday, September 19, 2008 / Notices 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–R04–OW–2008–0179; FRL–8717–6] 

Final Determination of the Assistant 

Administrator for Water Pursuant to 

Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act 

Concerning the Proposed Yazoo 

Backwater Area Pumps Project in 

Issaquena County, MS 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This is a notice of EPA’s Final 

Determination pursuant to section 

404(c) of the Clean Water Act to prohibit 

the specification of subject wetlands 

and other waters of the United States in 

Issaquena County, MS, as a disposal site 

for the discharge of dredged or fill 

material for the purpose of construction 

of the proposed Yazoo Backwater Area 

Pumps Project, i.e., Plan 5 in the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers’ (the Corps) 

Final Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement (FSEIS) for the Yazoo 

Backwater Area Project, as well as 

FSEIS Plans 3, 4, 6, and 7, and Modified 

Plan 6 (proposed by the Corps after 

publication of the FSEIS). EPA’s 

determination is based upon a finding 

that the discharge of dredged or fill 

material associated with the 

construction and operation of these 

projects would result in unacceptable 

adverse effects on fishery areas and 

wildlife. 

DATES: Effective Date: The effective date 

of the Final Determination is August 31, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Office of Water, 

Wetlands Division, Mail code 4502T, 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20460. EPA has 

established a docket for this action 

under Docket ID No. EPA–R04–OW– 

2008–0179. All documents in the docket 

are listed on the http:// 

www.regulations.gov Web site. Although 

listed in the index, some information is 

not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

is not placed on the Internet and will be 

publicly available only in hard copy 

form. Publicly available docket 

materials are available either 

electronically through http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the Water Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, 

Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC. The Public 

Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

excluding legal holidays. The telephone 

number for the Public Reading Room is 

(202) 566–1744, and the telephone 

number for the Water Docket is (202) 

566–2426. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Tanya A. Code at (202) 566–1063 or by 

e-mail at code.tanya@epa.gov or Mr. 

Palmer F. Hough at (202) 566–1374 or 

by e-mail at hough.palmer@epa.gov. 

Additional information and copies of 

EPA’s Final Determination are available 

at the following Web site: http:// 

www.epa.gov/404c/. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

404(c) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 

U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) authorizes EPA to 

prohibit, restrict, or deny the 

specification of any defined area in 

waters of the United States (including 

wetlands) as a disposal site for the 

discharge of dredged or fill material 

whenever it determines, after notice and 

opportunity for public hearing, that 

such discharge into waters of the United 

States will have an unacceptable 

adverse effect on municipal water 

supplies, shellfish beds and fishery 

areas (including spawning and breeding 

areas), wildlife, or recreational areas. 

EPA’s regulations for implementing 

section 404(c) are set forth in 40 CFR 

part 231. Four major steps in the process 

are: (1) The Regional Administrator’s 

notice to the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (the Corps), the property 

owner, and the applicant (and/or project 

proponent) of the intention to initiate 

the section 404(c) process; (2) the 

Regional Administrator’s publication of 

a Proposed Determination to withdraw, 

deny, restrict, or prohibit the use of the 

site, soliciting public comment and 

offering an opportunity for a public 

hearing; (3) the Regional 

Administrator’s recommendation to the 

Assistant Administrator for Water at 

EPA Headquarters to withdraw, deny, 

restrict, or prohibit the use of the site 

(Recommended Determination); and, (4) 

the Assistant Administrator for Water’s 

Final Determination to affirm, modify, 

or rescind the Regional 

recommendation. 

Pursuant to section 404(c), EPA 

initiated a CWA section 404(c) review of 

the proposed Yazoo Backwater Area 

Pumps Project on February 1, 2008. The 

Yazoo Backwater Area Pumps Project is 

a Corps Civil Works project designed to 

address flooding concerns in a 630,000 

acre area situated between the 

Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers in westcentral Mississippi (Yazoo Backwater 

Area). The project is represented as Plan 

5 in the Corps’ FSEIS (published in 

November 2007). The primary 

component of this project is a 14,000 

cubic feet per second (cfs) pumping 

station that would pump surface water 

out of the Yazoo Backwater Area during 

high water events on the Mississippi 

River. The project also includes 10,662 

acres of reforestation of agricultural land 

to compensate for the adverse 

environmental impacts associated with 

the project, and up to 40,571 acres of 

reforestation of agricultural land to 

provide potential environmental 

benefits. 

According to the Corps, the Yazoo 

Backwater Area contains between 

150,000 to 229,000 acres of wetlands, as 

well as an extensive network of streams, 

creeks, and other aquatic resources. 

Extensive information collected on the 

Yazoo Backwater Area demonstrates 

that it includes some of the richest 

wetland and aquatic resources in the 

Nation. These include a highly 

productive floodplain fishery, 

substantial tracts of highly productive 

bottomland hardwood forests that once 

dominated the Lower Mississippi River 

Alluvial Valley (LMRAV), and 

important migratory bird foraging 

grounds. These wetlands provide 

important habitat for an extensive 

variety of wetland dependent animal 

and plant species, including the 

federally protected Louisiana black bear 

and pondberry plant. In addition to 

serving as critical fish and wildlife 

habitat, project area wetlands also 

provide a suite of other important 

ecological functions. These wetlands 

protect and improve water quality by 

removing and retaining pollutants, 

temporarily store surface water, 

maintain stream flows, and support 

aquatic food webs by processing and 

exporting significant amounts of organic 

carbon. As stated in the FSEIS, ‘‘The 

lands in the lower Mississippi Delta are 

noted for high value fish and wildlife 

resources. The area serves as an integral 

part of the economic and social life of 

local residents and sportsmen from 

around the Nation’’ (FSEIS, Appendix 

1—Mitigation, page 1–29). 

The construction and operation of the 

proposed pumps would dramatically 

alter the timing, and reduce the spatial 

extent, depth, frequency, and duration 

of time that wetlands within the project 

area are inundated. After extensive 

evaluation of the record for this project, 

EPA has determined that these largescale hydrologic alterations would 

significantly degrade the critical 

ecological functions provided by 

approximately 67,000 acres of wetlands 

in the Yazoo Backwater Area, including 

those functions that support wildlife 

and fisheries resources. 

During the initial consultation period 

with the Corps and the Mississippi 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 183 / Friday, September 19, 2008 / Notices 54399 

Board of Levee Commissioners (the 

project sponsor), the Corps offered two 

alternatives to the proposed project to 

reduce wetland impacts. One of these 

alternatives is Plan 6 from the FSEIS, 

and the other is a modified version of 

Plan 6. Both of these alternatives retain 

the 14,000 cfs pump station, but include 

modifications to the pump-on elevation 

and the amount of compensatory 

mitigation and reforestation as 

compared to Plan 5. After discussions 

with the Corps and following careful 

consideration of the two alternatives, 

EPA is concerned that neither proposal 

would reduce impacts to an acceptable 

level. 

In March 2008, EPA Region IV 

published a proposal (i.e., Proposed 

Determination) to prohibit or restrict the 

use of certain waters of the United 

States as disposal sites for the discharge 

of dredged or fill material in connection 

with the construction of the proposed 

Yazoo Backwater Area Pumps Project 

(73 FR 14806, March 19, 2008). EPA 

Region IV solicited public comments on 

the Proposed Determination until May 

5, 2008. EPA received approximately 

47,600 written comment letters, 

including approximately 1,500 

individual comment letters and 46,100 

mass mailers. Nearly all of the comment 

letters (99.9 percent) urged EPA to 

prohibit discharges to waters of the 

United States associated with the 

proposed pumps project. A public 

hearing was held in Vicksburg, 

Mississippi, on April 17, 2008, in which 

approximately 500 people participated. 

A total of 67 people provided oral 

statements, including one representative 

from the Corps’ Vicksburg District and 

four individuals representing the project 

sponsor. Of the remaining 62 people 

who provided oral statements, 32 

people spoke in opposition to the 

proposed pumps project, 29 spoke in 

favor of the pumps project and one 

person did not specify a position. In 

total, approximately 463 residents of the 

state of Mississippi submitted written 

comments to EPA or spoke at the public 

hearing. Of these, 417 expressed support 

for EPA’s proposal and 45 favored 

construction of the pumps. Within the 

Yazoo Backwater Area, a total of 31 

residents expressed an opinion on the 

project either at the public hearing, in 

written comments, or both. Of these 31, 

four expressed support for EPA’s 

position, 26 expressed support for 

construction of the pumps, and one did 

not express an opinion. 

On July 2, 2008, EPA Region IV 

submitted to EPA Headquarters its 

Recommended Determination to 

prohibit the specification of certain 

wetlands and other waters of the United 

States within Humphreys, Issaquena, 

Sharkey, Warren, Washington, or Yazoo 

County, in the state of Mississippi as a 

disposal site for the discharge of 

dredged or fill material for the purpose 

of construction of the proposed Yazoo 

Backwater Area Project, or any similar 

pump project in the Yazoo Backwater 

Area that would result in unacceptable 

adverse effects on fishery areas and 

wildlife. 

EPA Region IV based its 

recommendation upon a conclusion that 

the proposed discharge of fill material 

into 43.6 acres of wetlands and other 

waters of the United States in 

connection with the construction of the 

pumping station and the subsequent 

secondary impacts, would result in 

unacceptable adverse effects on at least 

67,000 acres of wetlands and other 

waters of the United States and their 

associated wildlife and fisheries 

resources. Additionally, EPA Region IV 

expressed concern that the proposed 

mitigation would not fully compensate 

for the potential impacts of the project, 

as identified in the FSEIS, and that the 

suggested environmental benefits 

associated with the project’s 

reforestation component have not been 

substantiated. EPA Region IV also stated 

that the Corps did not evaluate the 

proposed project’s adverse impacts on 

up to 24,000 acres of wetlands outside 

the FSEIS’s wetland assessment area. 

EPA Region IV also expressed its belief 

that there are likely to be less 

environmentally damaging practicable 

alternatives available to achieve the 

improved flood protection goals of the 

proposed Yazoo Backwater Area Project. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

(FWS), in its comments on the Proposed 

and Recommended Determinations, 

concurred with EPA Region IV’s 

conclusion that the proposed project 

would result in extensive and 

unacceptable adverse effects on wildlife 

and fishery areas. FWS also highlighted 

its concerns that the proposed project 

would significantly degrade the wildlife 

habitat provided by its four National 

Wildlife Refuges located within the 

Yazoo Backwater Area—reducing the 

capability of these refuges to achieve the 

purpose and intent for which they were 

Congressionally established. 

EPA prepared the Final Determination 

based on an evaluation of EPA Region 

IV’s Recommended Determination, and 

review and consideration of the 

administrative record, including 

information in the Corps’ 2007 FSEIS, 

public comments received in writing 

and at the public hearing, and 

submissions by other federal and state 

agencies. In addition, the Final 

Determination reflects the careful 

review and full consideration of written 

information that was subsequently 

submitted and made part of the record, 

as well as information conveyed to EPA 

by the Department of the Army and the 

project sponsor during the EPA 

Headquarters section 404(c) 

consultation process. 

EPA’s Final Determination concludes 

that the discharge of dredged or fill 

material in connection with the 

construction of the proposed Yazoo 

Backwater Area Pumps Project (i.e., 

Plan 5 from the FSEIS), as well as the 

two alternative proposals offered by the 

Corps in February 2008 (i.e., Plan 6 from 

the FSEIS and Modified Plan 6) and 

subsequent operation of the 14,000 cfs 

pumping station would result in 

unacceptable adverse effects on fishery 

areas and wildlife. The administrative 

record developed in this case fully 

supports the conclusion that, as a result 

of alterations to the spatial extent, 

depth, frequency, and duration of 

inundation of wetlands within the 

project area, the proposed projects 

would significantly degrade the critical 

ecological functions provided by 

approximately 28,400 to 67,000 acres of 

wetlands (i.e., the range of wetland 

impacts as a result of Plan 5, Plan 6, and 

Modified Plan 6) in the Yazoo 

Backwater Area, including those 

functions that support wildlife and 

fisheries resources. Although not 

proposed to go forward, FSEIS Plans 3, 

4, and 7, which also include a 14,000 cfs 

pumping station are expected to result 

in wetland impacts between 

approximately 28,400 and 118,400 acres 

(see FSEIS Main Report, Table 17, page 

1–20). EPA has determined that each of 

these alternatives would also result in 

unacceptable adverse effects on fishery 

areas and wildlife. EPA does not believe 

that these adverse impacts can be 

adequately compensated for by the 

proposed mitigation, and are 

inconsistent with the requirements of 

the CWA. Further, these impacts should 

be viewed in the context of the 

significant cumulative losses across the 

Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley 

(LMRAV), which has already lost over 

80 percent of its bottomland forested 

wetlands, and specifically in the 

Mississippi Delta where the proposed 

project would significantly degrade 

important bottomland forested 

wetlands. 

Based on these findings, the Final 

Determination prohibits, pursuant to 

section 404(c) of the CWA, the 

specification of the subject wetlands 

and other waters of the United States as 

described in the FSEIS as a disposal site 

for the discharge of dredged or fill 

material for the purpose of construction 


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54400 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 183 / Friday, September 19, 2008 / Notices 

of FSEIS Plans 3 through 7, and 

Modified Plan 6. The adverse effects 

associated with the prohibited projects 

are the result of a combination of 

operational factors including the 

capacity of the pumping station and its 

associated pump-on elevations. While 

the Final Determination prohibits the 

construction of FSEIS Plans 3 through 7, 

and Modified Plan 6, the data 

supporting the Final Determination 

indicates that derivatives of the 

prohibited projects that involve only 

small modifications to the operational 

features or location of these proposals 

would also likely result in unacceptable 

adverse effects and would generate a 

similar level of concern and review by 

EPA. 

EPA continues to support the goal of 

providing improved flood protection for 

the residents of the Mississippi Delta; 

however, it believes that this vital 

objective can be accomplished 

consistent with ensuring effective 

protection for the area’s valuable natural 

resources. EPA is committed to 

participating in discussions with other 

federal and state agencies, and the 

public, concerning the best way to 

provide flood protection while 

protecting wetlands and other natural 

resources. 

Dated: September 11, 2008. 

Benjamin H. Grumbles, 

Assistant Administrator for Water. 

[FR Doc. E8–22002 Filed 9–18–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–8717–4; Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–ORD– 

2008–0547] 

Draft Problem Formulation for Human 

Health Risk Assessments of 

Pathogens in Land-Applied Biosolids 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (U.S. EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment 

Period and External Peer-Review 

Workshop. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. EPA is announcing 

the release of a pre-dissemination, 

external review draft titled, ‘‘Problem 

Formulation for Human Health Risk 

Assessments of Pathogens in Landapplied Biosolids’’ (EPA/600/R–08/ 

035A), for both public comment and 

external peer review. The public 

comment period will span 45 days. 

Eastern Research Group (ERG), under 

contract with EPA, will convene an 

independent panel of experts and 

organize and conduct an external peerreview workshop to review the draft 

document. Both the U.S. EPA and ERG 

invite the public to register to attend 

this workshop. Additional information 

regarding both submissions and 

registration is provided in the remainder 

of the document. 

The public comment period and the 

external peer-review workshop are 

separate processes that provide 

opportunities for all interested parties to 

comment on the document. In addition 

to consideration by EPA, all public 

comments submitted in accordance with 

this notice will also be forwarded to the 

external peer-review panel for review 

prior to the workshop. 

EPA is releasing this draft document 

solely for the purpose of predissemination peer review under 

applicable information quality 

guidelines. This document has not been 

formally disseminated by EPA. It does 

not represent and should not be 

construed to represent any Agency 

policy or determination. 

DATES: The 45-day public comment 

period will begin September 19, 2008 

and end November 3, 2008. Technical 

comments should be provided in 

writing and must be received by the 

U.S. EPA by November 3, 2008. 

Comments received after this date will 

only be considered if time permits and 

might not be included for discussion at 

the external peer-review workshop. The 

external peer-review workshop will be 

held on November 19, 2008, starting at 

8:30 a.m. and adjourning by 5 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The external peer-review 

workshop will be held at U.S. EPA’s 

Andrew W. Briedenbach Environmental 

Research Center (AWBERC), Rooms 

120–126, 26 W. Martin Luther King 

Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268. ERG is 

organizing, convening, and conducting 

the peer-review workshop. Registration 

to attend the external review workshop 

must be completed prior to November 

12, 2008, via one of the following 

methods: 

• Online via the Internet—https:// 

www2.ergweb.com/projects/ 

conferences/peerreview/registerbiosolids.htm 

• Telephone—781–674–7374 

(registration line). 

• Sending an e-mail to 

meetings@erg.com, subject line 

‘‘Biosolid Peer Review.’’ When making 

reservations to attend the external peerreview workshop, individuals must 

indicate whether they plan to provide 

brief oral comments to the external 

review panel. Space is limited, and 

reservations will be accepted on a firstcome, first-served basis. 

Electronic copies of the external 

review draft document and the U.S. EPA 

Peer-Review Charge can be accessed at 

that National Center for Environmental 

Assessment (NCEA)’s homepage under 

the ‘‘Recent Additions’’ and the ‘‘Data 

and Publications’’ menus at http:// 

www.epa.gov/ncea. Copies are not 

available from ERG. 

Comments may be submitted 

electronically via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, by mail, by 

facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. 

Please follow the detailed instructions 

as provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Questions about the public comment 

period can be directed to the OEI Docket 

Center (telephone—202–566–1752; Fax: 

202–566–1753; or e-mail— 

ORD.Docket@epa.gov). 

Questions about the external peerreview workshop can be directed to 

ERG, through Kate Schalk (telephone— 

781–674–7374, or e-mail— 

Kate.Schalk@erg.com). 

Questions about the draft document 

can be directed to Michael Troyer, 

NCEA, U.S. EPA, 26 W. Martin Luther 

King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, 

Telephone—513–569–7399; or e-mail— 

troyer.michael@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About the Document 

In January 2004, the U.S. EPA 

released a final Action Plan for setting 

new priorities for the biosolids program, 

which included the Agency’s response 

to the National Research Council’s 2002 

report entitled, Biosolids Applied to 

Land: Advancing Standards and 

Practice. This current, external review 

draft document is an important step in 

the Agency’s response because it aims to 

improve problem formulation and 

strengthen the analysis plans associated 

with the conduct of quantitative 

microbial risk assessments on landapplied biosolids. 

II. How To Submit Technical Comments 

to the Docket at www.regulations.gov 

Submit your comments, identified by 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–ORD 2008– 

0547, by one of the following methods: 

• E-mail—ORD.Docket@epa.gov; 

• Fax—202–566–1753; 

• Mail—Office of Environmental 

Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 

2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20460; or 

• Hand Delivery—The OEI Docket is 

located in the EPA Headquarters Docket 

Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 

1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC. The OEI Docket Center 

Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 


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