[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 151 (Monday, August 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41027-41029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19566]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7024-2]


Sole Source Aquifer Determination for the Castle Valley Aquifer 
System, Castle Valley, UT

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final determination.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 1424(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 
the Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) in Region VIII has determined that the Castle Valley Aquifer 
System, at Castle Valley, Utah and the immediately adjacent recharge 
area is the sole or principal source of drinking water for the region. 
The Castle Valley Aquifer System consists of undifferentiated 
Quaternary valley-fill deposits and the underlying Cutler Formation. 
The aquifer is located in southeastern Utah extending from the Town of 
Castle Valley, Utah southeast to the La Sal Mountains and northwest to 
the Colorado River encompassing approximately 24,000 acres in parts of 
Township 24 South, Ranges 22, 23, and 24 East and parts of Township 25 
South, Ranges 22, 23, and 24 East SLB&M. The area is irregularly shaped 
with maximum dimensions of about 16 miles from southeast to northwest 
and approximately 3 miles from northeast to southwest. The entire area 
is within Grand County, Utah. No reasonable alternative sources of 
drinking water with sufficient supply exist to meet the needs of this 
area because of the complexity and limitations of water rights in 
southeastern Utah. A significant hazard to public health would occur if 
this aquifer becomes contaminated.
    The boundaries of the designated area have been reviewed and 
approved by EPA. As a result of this action, federal financially 
assisted projects constructed in the approximately 50 square mile area 
mentioned above will be subject to EPA review to ensure that these 
projects are designed and constructed in a manner which does not create 
a significant hazard to public health. For the purposes of this 
designation the Aquifer Service Area and the Project Review Area are 
the same as the Designated Area.

DATES: This determination shall be promulgated for purposes of judicial 
review at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on August 6, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The data upon which these findings are based, and a map of 
the designated area are available to the public and may be inspected 
during normal business hours at the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region VIII, 999 18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202-2466.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William J. Monheiser, Regional Sole 
Source Aquifer Coordinator, Ground Water Program, 8P-W-GW, USEPA Region 
VIII, 999 18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80202-2466, Phone:

[[Page 41028]]

303.312.6271, Fax: 303.312.7084, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to 
section 1424(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f, 300h-
3(e), Public Law 93-523 as amended, the Regional Administrator of the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region VIII has determined 
that the Castle Valley Aquifer System is the sole or principal source 
of drinking water for the Castle Valley area of southeast Utah 
described above. Pursuant to section 1424(e), federal financially 
assisted projects constructed anywhere in the designated area described 
above will be subject to EPA review.

I. Background

    Section 1424(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act states:

    If the Administrator determines, on his own initiative or upon 
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 the law, be entered into to plan or design the project 
to assure that it will not so contaminate the aquifer.

Effective March 9, 1987, authority to make a Sole Source Aquifer 
Designation Determination was delegated to the U.S. EPA Regional 
Administrators.
    On August 7, 2000, EPA received a petition from the Town of Castle 
Valley, HC 64 Box 2812, Castle Valley, Utah 84532-9608, requesting that 
EPA designate the ground water resources of the Castle Valley Aquifer 
System near the Town of Castle Valley as a Sole Source Aquifer. In 
response to this petition, EPA published a Public Notice of Intent to 
Designate and invited any citizen to request a public meeting or to 
comment in writing or by telephone. This notice was published in the 
Moab Times-Independent, a newspaper of general circulation in the 
Castle Valley area on November 30, 2000. EPA also sent copies of the 
notice with descriptive information to all postal patrons in the Castle 
Valley area. This notice announced receipt of the petition and 
requested public comment for a 30 day comment period. Comments received 
in writing, by telephone, fax and e-mail were accepted. The public 
comment period extended from November 7, 2000 to December 15, 2000.
    Subsequently, EPA determined that the petition was both 
administratively and technically complete and adequate for the purposes 
of Sole Source Aquifer determination.

II. Basis for Determination

    Among the factors considered by the Regional Administrator for 
designation of a Sole Source Aquifer under section 1424(e) are: (1) 
Whether the aquifer is the area's sole or principal source of drinking 
water, (2) if the designated area has been adequately delineated and, 
(3) whether contamination of the aquifer would create a significant 
hazard to public health.
    On the basis of information available to EPA, the Regional 
Administrator has made the following findings of fact, which are the 
basis for this determination:
    1. The Castle Valley Aquifer System serves as the ``sole source'' 
of drinking water for approximately 300 permanent residents within the 
review area. There is no existing alternative drinking water source or 
combination of sources which could provide fifty percent or more of the 
drinking water to the designated area, nor is there any projected 
alternative source capable of supplying the area's drinking water needs 
at an economical cost.
    2. The boundaries of the aquifer were determined by hydrogeologic 
mapping. The boundaries were delineated by a geological consultant with 
special expertise in drinking water source protection and confirmed by 
EPA professional staff.
    3. The Castle Valley Aquifer System supplies water of varying 
quality depending on the impacts of the underlying Cutler Formation and 
is used as a drinking water source with softening. This constitutes a 
resource isolated in this immediate area that if contaminated would 
create a significant hazard to public health. Potential sources of 
contamination include: (a) Petroleum, mineral exploration, and 
geophysical drilling, (b) accidental spills along roadways, (c) 
abandoned but unplugged petroleum, mineral and geophysical wells, and 
tunnels (d) non-sustainable agricultural and forestry practices and (e) 
upward migration of lower quality water from bedrock aquifers through 
man-made conduits.

III. Description of the Petitioned Aquifer

    The designated area of the Castle Valley Aquifer System encompasses 
about 24,000 acres in an irregularly shaped area approximately 16 miles 
long by approximately 3 miles wide. Drinking water production is from 
individual domestic wells, most tapping Quaternary alluvium while some 
of the wells derive at least part of their drinking water from the 
underlying Cutler Formation. Most wells are between 40 and 300 feet 
deep. The boundaries of the aquifer were determined by hydrogeologic 
mapping of the surface area, which is interpreted to contribute water 
to the alluvium. The boundaries were delineated by a geological 
consultant with special expertise in drinking water source protection 
and confirmed by EPA professional staff.

IV. Information Utilized in Determination

    The information utilized in this determination includes the 
petition from the Town of Castle Valley, review of available 
literature, and a published ground water investigation conducted by the 
Utah Geological Survey. These data are available to the public and may 
be inspected during normal business hours at EPA Region VIII, 999 18th 
Street, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80202-2466.

V. Project Review

    EPA, Region VIII, will work with any federal agencies that may, in 
the future, provide financial assistance to projects in the designated 
area. Interagency procedures will be negotiated by which EPA will be 
notified of proposed commitments by federal agencies for projects which 
could contaminate the aquifer. EPA will evaluate such projects and, 
where necessary, conduct an in-depth review, soliciting public comments 
where appropriate. Should EPA determine that a project may contaminate 
the aquifer, so as to create a significant hazard to public health, no 
commitment for federal assistance may be entered into. However, a 
commitment for federal assistance may, if authorized under another 
provision of law, be entered into to plan or design the project to 
assure that it will not contaminate the aquifer.
    Although the project review process of section 1424 (e) cannot be 
delegated to state or local agencies, the EPA will rely upon any 
existing or future state and local control mechanisms to the maximum 
extent possible in protecting the ground water quality of the aquifer. 
Included in the review of any federal financially assisted project will 
be coordination with local agencies. Their comments will be given full 
consideration, and the federal review process will attempt to 
complement and

[[Page 41029]]

support state and local ground water quality protection mechanisms.

VI. Summary and Discussion of Public Comments

    In response to the Public Notice, EPA received 6 comments endorsing 
Sole Source Aquifer designation. No additional questions were raised 
during the comment period. No comments objecting to designation were 
received during any portion of public participation process.
    During the public comment period no data were presented to EPA 
regarding aquifer characteristics, boundary delineation or potential 
errors of fact presented in the petition.

VII. Economic and Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 
5 U.S.C. 605(b), I hereby certify that this designation will not have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. For 
purposes of this Certification, ``small entity'' shall have the same 
meaning as given in section 601 of the RFA. This action is only 
applicable to projects with the potential to impact the Castle Valley 
Aquifer System Sole Source Aquifer as designated.
    The only affected entities will be those businesses, organizations 
or governmental jurisdictions that request federal financial assistance 
for projects which have the potential for contaminating the Sole Source 
Aquifer so as to create a significant hazard to public health. EPA does 
not expect to be reviewing small isolated commitments of financial 
assistance on an individual basis, unless a cumulative adverse impact 
on the aquifer is anticipated or brought to the Agencies attention; 
accordingly, the number of affected small entities will be minimal.
    For those small entities that are subject to review, the impact of 
today's action will not be significant. Many projects subject to this 
review will be preceded by a ground water impact assessment required 
pursuant to other federal laws, such as the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) as amended 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq. Integration of 
those related review procedures with sole source aquifer review will 
allow EPA and other federal agencies to avoid delay or duplication of 
effort in approving financial assistance, thus minimizing any adverse 
effects on those small entities which are affected. Finally, today's 
action does not prevent grants of federal financial assistance which 
may be available to any affected small entity in order to pay for the 
redesign of the project to assure protection of the aquifer.
    Under Executive Order 12866, EPA must judge whether a regulation is 
``major'' and therefore subject to the requirement of a Regulatory 
Impact Analysis. This regulation is not major because it will not have 
an annual effect of $100 million or more on the economy, will not cause 
any major increase in costs or prices and will not have significant 
adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, 
innovation, or the ability of United States enterprises to compete in 
domestic or export markets. Today's action only affects the Castle 
Valley Aquifer System in Grand County, Utah. It provides an additional 
review of ground water protection measures, incorporating state and 
local measures whenever possible, for only those projects which request 
federal financial assistance.

    Dated: July 26, 2001.
Jack W. McGraw,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. 01-19566 Filed 8-3-01; 8:45 am]
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