Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Hearing: Water Quality Certification
Posted Date: 2019-08-16T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41948-41949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17556]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 121

[EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405; FRL-9998-38-OW]
RIN 2040-AF86

Updating Regulations on Water Quality Certification

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; public meeting or (hearing).

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SUMMARY: On August 8, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or 
agency) Administrator signed a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 
providing updates and clarifications to the substantive and procedural 
requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act. The 
agency is announcing that a public hearing will be held in Salt Lake 
City, Utah on September 5 and 6, 2019, to provide interested parties 
the opportunity to present data, views, or information concerning the 
NPRM. The pre-publication version of this proposal can be found at 
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401.

DATES: The agency will hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 5 
and Friday, September 6, 2019, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Please refer to 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional information on the 
public hearing.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held in the Nancy Tessman Auditorium at 
the Salt Lake City Public Library, Main Library, 210 East 400 South, 
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111. The September 5 session will convene at 
2:00 p.m. (local time) and will conclude no later than 8:00 p.m. and 
the September 6 session will convene at 9:00 a.m. and will conclude no 
later than 12:00 p.m.
    Documents related to the proposal will be available for public 
inspection through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405 once the NPRM 
publishes in the Federal Register. Documents can also be viewed at the 
Environmental Protection Agency Docket Center, located at 1301 
Constitution Avenue NW, Room 3334, Washington, DC between 8:30 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. In 
addition, the pre-publication version of the NPRM and the economic 
analysis for the proposed rulemaking are available at https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401.
    If you are unable to attend the public hearing on September 5 or 6 
you will be able to submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method). Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. All submissions received must 
include the Docket ID No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any 
personal information provided. For additional information on the public 
hearing, see the ``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Kasparek, Office of Water 
(4504-T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-3351; email address: 
cwa401@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On August 8, 2019, the agency Administrator signed a proposed 
rulemaking providing updates and clarifications to the substantive and 
procedural requirements for water quality certification under Clean 
Water Act section 401 and consistent with Executive Order 13868, signed 
on April 10, 2019, entitled ``Promoting Energy Infrastructure and 
Economic Growth.'' The agency is holding a public hearing in Salt Lake 
City, Utah on September 5 and 6, 2019, to provide interested parties 
the opportunity to present data, views, or information concerning the 
NPRM. The agency has submitted the proposed rulemaking to the Office of 
the Federal Register, and it will be published separately in the 
Federal Register. The comment period on the proposed action will end 60 
days after the NPRM publishes in the Federal Register. The pre-
publication version of the NPRM can be found at https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401 and will be replaced with the official version of the NPRM 
after it publishes.

II. Public Participation

A. Participation in Public Hearing

    The public is invited to speak during the public hearing on 
September 5 and 6, 2019. The agency will begin pre-registering speakers 
for the hearing upon signature of this document. Those interested in 
speaking at the hearing can sign up for a three-minute speaking slot 
within an identified 45-minute timeframe. To register to speak at the 
hearing, please use the online registration form available at https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401/outreach-and-engagement-cwa-section-401-certification. The last day to pre-register to speak at the hearing 
will be August 30, 2019. On September 4, 2019, the agency will post a 
general agenda for the hearing that will list pre-registered speakers 
in approximate order at: https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401/outreach-and-engagement-cwa-section-401-certification.
    The agency will make every effort to follow the schedule as closely 
as possible on the day of the hearing; however, please plan for the 
hearings to run either ahead of schedule or behind schedule. 
Additionally, requests to speak will be taken the day of the hearing at 
the hearing registration desk. The agency will make every effort to 
accommodate all speakers who arrive

[[Page 41949]]

and register, although preferences on speaking times may not be 
available.
    Each commenter will have three minutes to provide oral testimony. 
The agency encourages commenters to provide the agency with a copy of 
their oral testimony electronically (via email) or in hard copy form.
    The agency may ask clarifying questions during the oral 
presentations but will not respond to the presentations at that time. 
Written statements and supporting information submitted during the 
comment period will be considered with the same weight as oral comments 
and supporting information presented at the public hearing. Written 
comments must be received by the last day of the comment period, as 
specified in the notice of proposed rulemaking. Verbatim transcripts of 
the hearing and written statements will be included in the docket for 
the rulemaking.
    Please note that any updates made to any aspect of the hearing will 
be posted online at https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401/outreach-and-engagement-cwa-section-401-certification. While the agency expects the 
hearing to go forward as set forth above, please monitor our website 
for any updates. The agency does not intend to publish a document in 
the Federal Register announcing updates.
    The agency will not provide audiovisual equipment for 
presentations. Any media presentations should be submitted to the 
public docket at https://www.regulations.gov/, identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405. If you require the service of a sign language 
interpreter, translator, or other special accommodations such as audio 
description, please pre-register for the hearing and describe your 
needs by August 22, 2019. We may not be able to arrange accommodations 
without advanced notice.

    Dated: August 7, 2019.
John T. Goodin,
Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, Office of Water, 
Environmental Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 2019-17556 Filed 8-15-19; 8:45 am]
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