Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2003-0071-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Availability of Decision on Petition for Rulemaking to Repeal Regulation Related to Ballast Water
Posted Date: 2003-09-09T04:00Z

53165
Federal
Register
/
Vol.
68,
No.
174
/
Tuesday,
September
9,
2003
/
Notices
Delores
Darden,
EPA
Science
Advisory
Board
Staff
at
telephone/
voice
mail:
(
202)
564
 
2282;
or
via
e­
mail
at
darden.
delores@
epa.
gov.
Any
member
of
the
public
wishing
further
information
regarding
the
Council
Special
Panel
may
contact
Dr.
Angela
Nugent,
Designated
Federal
Officer
(
DFO),
U.
S.
EPA
Science
Advisory
Board
(
1400A),
1200
Pennsylvania
Avenue,
NW.,
Washington,
DC
20460;
by
telephone/
voice
mail
at
(
202)
564
 
4562;
or
via
e­
mail
at
nugent.
angela@
epa.
gov.
General
information
about
the
SAB
can
be
found
in
the
SAB
Web
site
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION:

Background
Pursuant
to
the
Federal
Advisory
Committee
Act,
Public
Law
92
 
463,
Notice
is
given
that
the
Council
Special
Panel
will
hold
two
public
teleconference
meetings,
as
described
above,
to
advise
the
Agency
on
its
plan
to
develop
the
third
in
a
series
of
statutorily
mandated
comprehensive
analyses
of
the
total
costs
and
benefits
of
programs
implemented
pursuant
to
the
Clean
Air
Act.
Background
on
the
Council
Special
Panel
and
this
advisory
project
was
provided
in
a
Federal
Register
notice
published
on
February
14,
2003
(
68
FR
7531
 
7534).
The
Council
Special
Panel
will
be
providing
advice
on
the
review
document,
``
Benefits
and
Costs
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
1990
 
2020;
Revised
Analytical
Plan
for
EPA's
Second
Prospective
Analysis'
currently
found
at
the
following
website,
maintained
by
EPA's
Office
of
Air
and
Radiation
at:
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
oar/
sect812/
under
the
link
``
Study
Blueprint
and
Charge
Questions
Electronic
Copy.''
This
link
provides
electronic
access
to
the
Revised
Analytical
Plan,
the
``
change
pages''
given
to
the
Council
in
July
2003,
and
the
detailed
review
charge
questions.
Procedures
for
Providing
Public
Comment.
It
is
the
policy
of
the
EPA
Science
Advisory
Board
(
SAB)
Staff
Office
to
accept
written
public
comments
of
any
length,
and
to
accommodate
oral
public
comments
whenever
possible.
The
EPA
SAB
Staff
Office
expects
that
public
statements
presented
at
its
meetings
will
not
be
repetitive
of
previously
submitted
oral
or
written
statements.
Oral
Comments:
In
general,
each
individual
or
group
requesting
an
oral
presentation
at
a
face­
to­
face
meeting
will
be
limited
to
a
total
time
of
ten
minutes
(
unless
otherwise
indicated).
For
conference
call
meetings,
opportunities
for
oral
comment
will
usually
be
limited
to
no
more
than
three
minutes
per
speaker
and
no
more
than
fifteen
minutes
total.
Interested
parties
should
contact
the
Designated
Federal
Official
(
DFO)
at
least
one
week
prior
to
the
meeting
in
order
to
be
placed
on
the
public
speaker
list
for
the
meeting.
Speakers
should
bring
at
least
35
copies
of
their
comments
and
presentation
slides
for
distribution
to
the
participants
and
public
at
the
meeting.
Written
Comments:
Although
written
comments
are
accepted
until
the
date
of
the
meeting
(
unless
otherwise
stated),
written
comments
should
be
received
in
the
SAB
Staff
Office
at
least
one
week
prior
to
the
meeting
date
so
that
the
comments
may
be
made
available
to
the
committee
for
their
consideration.
Comments
should
be
supplied
to
the
DFO
at
the
address/
contact
information
noted
above
in
the
following
formats:
one
hard
copy
with
original
signature,
and
one
electronic
copy
via
e­
mail
(
acceptable
file
format:
Adobe
Acrobat,
WordPerfect,
Word,
or
Rich
Text
files
(
in
IBM­
PC/
Windows
95/
98
format).
Those
providing
written
comments
and
who
attend
the
meeting
are
also
asked
to
bring
35
copies
of
their
comments
for
public
distribution.
Meeting
Accommodations:
Individuals
requiring
special
accommodation
to
access
these
meetings,
should
contact
Dr.
Nugent
at
least
five
business
days
prior
to
the
meeting
so
that
appropriate
arrangements
can
be
made.

Dated:
September
5,
2003.
A.
Robert
Flaak,
Acting
Deputy
Director
for
Management,
EPA
Science
Advisory
Board
Staff
Office.
[
FR
Doc.
03
 
23052
Filed
9
 
8
 
03;
8:
45
am]

BILLING
CODE
6560
 
50
 
P
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
[
Docket
No.
OW
 
2003
 
0071;
FRL
 
7555
 
6]

Availability
of
Decision
on
Petition
for
Rulemaking
To
Repeal
Regulation
Related
to
Ballast
Water
AGENCY:
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA).
ACTION:
Notice
of
availability
of
EPA
decision
document.

SUMMARY:
This
notice
announces
the
availability
of
EPA's
Decision
Documenton
on
a
petition
for
rulemaking
seeking
repeal
of
a
regulation
that
excludes
vessel
ballast
water
discharges
from
Clean
Water
Act
permit
requirements.
Today's
notice
makes
that
Decision
Document
publicly
available
and
announces
EPA's
denial
of
the
petition.
DATES:
EPA's
Acting
Administrator
signed
the
Decision
Document
on
September
2,
2003.
For
judicial
review
purposes,
this
action
is
final
as
of
1
p.
m.
(
eastern
time)
on
Tuesday,
September
9,
2003,
as
provided
at
40
CFR
23.2.
ADDRESSES:
The
administrative
record
is
available
for
inspection
and
copying
at
the
Water
Docket,
located
at
the
EPA
Docket
Center
in
the
basement
of
the
EPA
West
Building,
Room
B
 
102,
at
1301
Constitution
Avenue.,
NW.,
Washington,
DC.
FOR
FURTHER
INFORMATION
CONTACT:
Ruby
Cooper,
U.
S.
EPA,
Office
Of
Water,
by
phone
at
202
 
564
 
0757
or
by
e­
mail
at
cooper.
ruby@
epa.
gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION:

A.
How
Can
I
Get
Copies
of
the
Document
and
other
Related
Information?

1.
Electronic
Copies
:
EPA's
decision
on
the
petition
for
rulemaking
can
be
downloaded
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
npdes;
once
at
this
location,
click
on
``
Recent
Additions'.
2.
Docket:
EPA
has
established
an
official
public
docket
for
this
action
under
Docket
ID
No.
OW
 
00
 
16.
The
official
public
docket
consists
of
the
documents
specifically
referenced
in
this
action,
any
public
comments
received
and
other
information
related
to
this
action.
The
official
public
docket
is
the
collection
of
materials
that
is
available
for
public
viewing
at
the
Water
Docket
in
the
EPA
Docket
Center,
(
EPA/
DC)
EPA
West,
Room
B102,
1301
Constitution
Ave.,
NW.,
Washington,
DC.
The
EPA
Docket
Center
Public
Reading
Room
is
open
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.
3.
Electronic
Access:
You
may
access
this
Federal
Register
document
electronically
through
the
EPA
Internet
under
the
Federal
Register
listings
at
http:///
www.
epa.
gov/
fedrgstr/.
An
electronic
version
of
the
public
docket
is
available
through
EPA's
electronic
public
docket
and
comment
system
EPA
Dockets.
You
may
use
EPA
Dockets
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov.
edocket/
to
view
public
comments,
access
the
index
listing
of
the
contents
of
the
official
public
docket,
and
to
access
those
documents
in
the
public
docket
that
are
available
electronically.
Once
in
the
system,
select
``
search'',
then
key
in
the
appropriate
docket
identification
number,
which
for
this
record
is
OW
 
2003
 
0071.

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53166
Federal
Register
/
Vol.
68,
No.
174
/
Tuesday,
September
9,
2003
/
Notices
Dated:
September
2,
2003.
James
A.
Hanlon,
Director,
Office
of
Wastewater
Management.
[
FR
Doc.
03
 
22935
Filed
9
 
8
 
03;
8:
45
am]

BILLING
CODE
6560
 
50
 
P
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
[
FRL
 
7555
 
7]

Proposed
National
Pollutant
Discharge
Elimination
System
(
NPDES)
Storm
Water
General
Permits
for
Small
Municipal
Separate
Storm
Sewer
Systems
(
MS4s)
in
New
Mexico,
Indian
Country
Lands
in
New
Mexico
and
Indian
Country
Lands
in
Oklahoma
and
Preliminary
Designation
Decisions
for
Small
MS4s
Outside
Urbanized
Areas
in
New
Mexico;
Notice
AGENCY:
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(
EPA),
Region
6.
ACTION:
Notice
of
availability
for
comment.

SUMMARY:
The
Director
of
the
EPA
Region
6
Water
Quality
Protection
Division
is
proposing
to
issue
National
Pollutant
Discharge
Elimination
System
(
NPDES)
general
permits
for
storm
water
discharges
from
small
municipal
separate
storm
sewer
systems
(
MS4s)
located
in
the
State
of
New
Mexico,
Indian
Country
Lands
in
New
Mexico,
and
Indian
Country
Lands
in
Oklahoma.
The
proposed
general
permits
would
authorize
the
discharge
of
storm
water
and
certain
non­
storm
water
discharges
from
municipal
separate
storm
sewers.
NPDES
permit
coverage
for
these
discharges
is
required
in
accordance
with
section
402(
p)
of
the
1987
Amendments
to
the
Clean
Water
Act
(
CWA)
(
33
U.
S.
C.
1342(
p))
and
EPA
regulations.
To
obtain
discharge
authorization,
operators
of
MS4s
would
be
required
to
submit
a
Notice
of
Intent
(
NOI)
to
be
covered
by
the
proposed
general
permit.
The
NOI
would
need
to
include
storm
water
management
program
information
describing
the
best
management
practices
(
BMPs)
which
the
permittee
will
implement
to
control
pollutants
in
the
discharges
in
accordance
with
the
requirements
of
the
CWA
and
measurable
goals
for
their
implementation.
In
accordance
with
40
CFR
122.34(
a),
the
operator
would
have
up
to
five
years
to
develop
and
fully
implement
the
storm
water
management
program.
The
initial
storm
water
management
program
submittal
would
likely
consist
of
a
combination
of
ongoing
activities
and
schedules
for
developing
and
implementing
additional
activities
to
comply
with
the
permit.
Annual
reporting
would
also
be
required
to
provide
information
on
the
status
of
the
implementation
of
the
storm
water
management
program.
This
Notice
announces
the
availability
of
the
proposed
general
permits
and
fact
sheet
for
public
comment.
Note
that
while
the
proposed
general
permits
are
structured
as
a
single
permit,
and
may
be
collectively
referred
to
in
the
singular
as
the
permit,
they
are
actually
three
legally
distinct
permits
each
covering
a
different
geographical
area.
Each
of
the
legally
separate
and
distinctly
numbered
proposed
permits
covers
one
of
the
areas
listed
in
the
table
below.
Parts
1
 
7
of
the
proposed
general
permit
and
the
Appendices
are
common
to
all
of
the
permits,
while
Part
8
of
the
permit
contains
the
State,
Indian
Country
Land
or
other
area­
specific
conditions
that
make
each
of
the
permits
unique.
The
proposed
general
permits
will
cover
areas
within
Region
6
where
a
State
or
Tribal
permitting
program
has
not
been
authorized
under
section
402(
b)
of
the
CWA.
Indian
Country
includes
all
lands
within
Indian
reservations,
all
dependent
Indian
communities,
and
Indian
allotments.
In
Oklahoma
it
also
includes
lands
held
in
trust
for
the
benefit
of
Tribes.
At
this
time,
no
regulated
MS4s
under
EPA
jurisdiction
are
located
in
Arkansas,
Louisiana,
or
Texas,
so
permits
for
these
areas
are
not
being
proposed
by
Region
6.
Most
MS4s
in
Arkansas,
Louisiana,
Oklahoma,
and
Texas
are
regulated
by
NPDESauthorized
State
programs.

PERMIT
AREAS
Permit
No.
Areas
of
coverage
OKS04000I
.......
Indian
Country
Lands
within
the
State
of
Oklahoma
NMS04000I
.......
Indian
Country
lands
within
the
State
of
New
Mexico
except
Navajo
Reservation
lands
and
Ute
Mountain
Ute
Reservation
lands
(
permitted
by
EPA
Regions
9
and
8,
respectively).
NMS040000
......
The
State
of
New
Mexico,
except
Indian
Country
Lands.

This
notice
also
announces
the
availability
for
public
comment
of
the
preliminary
results
of
the
Region's
review
of
those
New
Mexico
small
MS4s
with
a
population
of
between
10,000
and
50,000
and
a
population
density
of
1,000
or
more
per
square
mile
that
are
located
outside
a
Urbanized
Area
for
possible
designation
as
a
regulated
small
MS4
(
see
40
CFR
123.35(
b)).
Although
EPA
is
not
required
to
do
so,
EPA
is
inviting
and
will
consider
comments
it
receives
regarding
the
small
MS4
designation
review.
DATES:
The
public
comment
period
for
the
proposed
general
permits
is
45
days
starting
from
the
date
of
today's
notice.
Interested
parties
may
submit
comments
on
the
proposed
general
permits
to
EPA
Region
6
at
the
address
below,
no
later
than
October
24,
2003.
Any
comments
received
by
EPA
Region
6
and
EPA's
response
to
these
comments
will
become
part
of
the
administrative
record
for
these
general
permits.
The
general
permits
will
be
effective
on
the
date
specified
in
the
final
general
permit
notice
that
will
be
published
in
the
Federal
Register
and
will
expire
five
years
from
the
effective
date
of
the
final
permit.
Comments
on
the
small
MS4
designation
review
process
or
preliminary
decisions
must
be
submitted
by
October
24,
2003,
to
the
same
address.
ADDRESSES:
Comments
on
the
proposed
general
permits
should
be
sent
to
Docket
No.
6WQ
 
03
 
SW01,
Attn:
Ms.
Diane
Smith,
EPA
Region
6,
Water
Quality
Protection
Division
(
6WQ
 
CA),
1445
Ross
Avenue,
Suite
1200,
Dallas,
Texas
75202
 
2733.
Comments
may
also
be
submitted
in
electronic
format
(
Wordperfect
9,
MS
Word
2000,
or
ASCII
Text
formats
only,
avoiding
use
of
special
characters)
to
the
above
address
or
via
e­
mail
to
smith.
diane@
epa.
gov.
No
facsimiles
(
faxes)
will
be
accepted.
Comments
on
the
designation
review
process
or
preliminary
decisions
must
reference
``
MS4
Designation
Review.''

Public
Meeting
Information
EPA
Region
6
will
be
holding
two
informal
public
meetings
which
will
include
a
presentation
on
the
proposed
general
permits
and
a
question
and
answer
session.
Advance
notice
of
the
times
and
dates
for
these
meetings
was
provided
in
the
Albuquerque
Journal
and
the
Daily
Oklahoman
newspapers
on
August
9,
2003,
and
via
EPA's
Web
site
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
region6/
6wq/
npdes/
sw/
hot/
index.
htm.
Because
informal
public
meetings
accommodate
group
discussion
and
question
and
answer
sessions,
public
meetings
have
been
used
for
many
storm
water
general
permits
and
appear
to
be
more
valuable
than
formalized
public
hearings
in
helping
the
public
understand
a
proposed
storm
water
general
permit
and
in
identifying
the
issues
of
concern.
Written,
but
not
oral,
comments
for
the
administrative
record
will
be
accepted
at
the
public
meetings.
Written
comments
generated
from
what
was
learned
at
a
public
meeting
(
or
from
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