[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56577-56578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24049]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6871-9]


Application From the States of Utah and Arizona for the 
Prohibition of the Discharge of Vessel Sewage Into Lake Powell; Notice 
of Determination

    This notice is to announce that discharging sewage, whether treated 
or not, from vessels into Lake Powell is now prohibited.
    Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River and is impounded 
by the Glen Canyon Dam at Page, Arizona. Approximately 95 percent of 
Lake Powell is located in Utah and 5 percent is in Arizona. The States 
of Utah and Arizona have jointly petitioned the Regional Administrators 
from Regions 8 and 9 of the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) to prohibit the discharge of sewage from all vessels into 
Lake Powell. Under section 312(f)(3) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 
1322(f)(3), any state may make a prohibition of this type. However, no 
such prohibition is to apply until the EPA has determined that adequate 
facilities are reasonably available for the safe and sanitary removal 
and treatment of sewage from all vessels on the water to be covered by 
the prohibition.
    On May 22, 2000, the EPA published a notice in the Federal Register 
describing the States' application. (See 65 FR 32093.) In the notice, 
the EPA announced that it proposed to make an affirmative determination 
that adequate facilities exist. The EPA also asked for comments on the 
States' application. The 45-day public comment period ended on July 6, 
2000, and the EPA received no comments.
    Today the EPA is finalizing its determination that adequate 
facilities are reasonably available for the safe and

[[Page 56578]]

sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels on Lake 
Powell. With this determination, the States' prohibition against 
discharging any sewage, whether treated or not, from any vessel into 
Lake Powell is now in effect.
    According to the States' application, jurisdictional and 
enforcement authority for this prohibition will reside with the 
respective States and the National Park Service. The Utah Department of 
Environmental Quality, the Utah Department of Natural Resources, the 
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the Arizona Department of 
Fish and Game, the United States Coast Guard and the National Park 
Service, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, will all be the 
enforcing agents supporting the prohibition. The Navajo Nation bounds 
on the southeast portion of Lake Powell, but the jurisdiction of the 
Navajo Nation is not affected by the application of Utah and Arizona.
    The States' application certifies that there are six authorized 
vessel entry/take-out points on the Lake: Wahweap, Stateline, Hite, 
Bullfrog, Hall's Crossing, and Antelope Point. The first five locations 
have major pumpout facilities. Due to the geomorphology of the Lake, it 
is nearly impossible to remove or launch a vessel from any other point 
on the Lake. A major water accessible vessel pumpout facility is also 
located at Dangling Rope. Each major facility has multiple pumps. In 
addition, eight supplemental mechanically operated floating pump out 
facilities are located at various areas on the Lake. These pumps are: 
Warm Creek Bay, located in Warm Creek Bay; Dominiquez Butte, near Lake 
Powell Channel Mile Marker 22; Rock Creek, near Lake Powell Channel 
Mile Marker 35; Oak Bay, located near Lake Powell Channel Mile Marker 
51; Escalante, located near Lake Powell Channel Mile Marker 68A; 
Rincon, near Lake Powell Channel Mile Marker 77A; Hall's Creek Bay, 
located in Hall's Creek Bay on the Eastside; and Forgotten Canyon, near 
Lake Powell Channel Mile Marker 106. There is a total of sixty-nine 
pumpouts on the Lake. All the facilities identified above are 
operational 24 hours per day. None of the facilities identified will 
exclude any vessel because of insufficient water depth adjacent to the 
facility. There are no fees to pump out at any facility. Treatment of 
all wastes from the pumpout facilities is to be in conformance with 
Federal law. This prohibition action is, therefore, intended to prevent 
discharge of human wastes to the waters of the Lake to protect public 
health and the water quality of this important national resource.
    For information, contact Douglas Johnson (8EPR-EP), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, 999 18th Street (Suite 300), 
Denver, Colorado, 80202-2466. He can also be reached at (303) 312-6834.

    Dated: September 1, 2000.
Rebecca W. Hanmer,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 8.

    Dated: August 30, 2000.
Laura Yoshii,
Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 9.
[FR Doc. 00-24049 Filed 9-18-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P