[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 232 (Friday, December 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63752-63753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28974]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTON AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0761; FRL-9088-1]
Executive Order 13508 Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration
Section 202 Federal Agency Reports
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice and Request for Public Comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of seven final reports
by federal agencies for restoration and protection of the Chesapeake
Bay and requests public comment. The reports were prepared pursuant to
Executive Order (E.O.) 13508 of May 12, 2009, Chesapeake Bay Protection
and Restoration. This E.O. requires that a draft strategy be published
for public review and comments together with the final reports prepared
by the federal agencies. The draft strategy was made available on
November 9, 2008 for comment.
DATES: Comments on the seven Section 202 reports must be submitted on
or before January 8, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2009-0761, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: After entering the docket for
this action, click on one of the seven agency reports, for which you
want to make comment. Once you arrive at the page for the specific
report on which you wish to comment, click the ``Submit a Comment''
button at the top right of the web page, then follow the on-line
instructions.
Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency,
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room, EPA
Headquarters West, Room 3340, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's
normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), and special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information by
contacting the Docket Center at 202-566-1744.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-
0761. This Notice is not open for public comment, but, the Section 202
reports are available for comment on http://www.regulations.gov. The
Section 203 draft strategy was made available in the Federal Register
on November 9, 2009 and is also available in the docket for comment.
Additional information about the docket is contained below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marguerite Duffy, USEPA, Region 3,
Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Annapolis City Marina, 410 Severn
Avenue, Suite 109 (3CB10), Annapolis, MD 21403; telephone number: (410)
267-5764; fax number (410) 267-5777; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Why Were These Documents Prepared?
Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration,
dated May 12, 2009 (74 FR 23099, May 15, 2009), requires a Federal
Leadership Committee composed of seven federal agencies to prepare and
publish a set of reports and a draft strategy for public review and
comment within 180 days of the date of the order. The deadline for
publication of the draft strategy was November 9, 2009 and accordingly
is published in the Federal Register for a 60 day comment period. The
federal agency draft reports required by E.O. 13508 Sections 202(a)
through (g) were submitted to the Federal Leadership Committee for the
Chesapeake Bay on September 9, 2009 and released to the public on
September 10, 2009. The September 9, 2009, draft reports were reviewed
by the Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay, in
consultation with relevant state agencies. The revised Section 202
reports reflect consideration of the comments received during state
consultation and preliminary public input. During the next six months,
review and incorporation of comments will continue as appropriate.
How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?
Docket: EPA has established a public docket for this Notice under
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0761. The E.O. 13508 Section 202 reports
are available in the docket at http://www.regulations.gov, as well as
at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net. Assistance and tips for
accessing the docket can be found at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net. The seven Section 202 reports are
included as separate documents within docket number EPA-HQ-OW-2009-
0761. Comments via email are not being accepted. Instead, comments will
be accepted through http://www.regulations.gov and by mail. If you are
commenting on the Section 202 reports, note that there are seven
Section 202 reports within the docket
[[Page 63753]]
and you must submit comments to the specific Section 202 report, on
which you are commenting. If you are mailing comments to the docket on
one or more reports, clearly identify the specific 202 report(s) and
page number at which each comment is directed. All comments received,
including any personal information provided, will be included in the
public docket without change and will be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, unless the comment includes information claimed to
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information, the
disclosure of which is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information to http://www.regulations.gov that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. It is recommended that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If your comment cannot
be read due to technical difficulties and we are unable to contact you
for clarification, we will not consider your comment. Electronic files
should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and
be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about the
public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. Publicly available docket materials
are available electronically either at http://www.regulations.gov as
well as at the EPA Docket Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number for this
docket is 202-566-2426. 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. Certain
material, such as copyrighted materials, will be publicly available
only in hard copy at the Docket Center.
Why Is EPA Posting These Reports and Draft Strategy for Public Comment?
Executive Order 13508 requires the Federal Leadership Committee for
the Chesapeake Bay to prepare and publish a set of reports and a
coordinated strategy for protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay.
As required by E.O. 13508 Section 202, lead agencies prepared reports
focusing on:
(a) Defining the next generation of tools and actions to restore
water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and describing the changes to be
made to regulations, programs, and policies to implement these actions;
(b) targeting resources to better protect the Chesapeake Bay and
its tributary waters;
(c) strengthening storm water management practices at Federal
facilities and on Federal lands within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and
developing storm water best practices guidance;
(d) assessing the impacts of a changing climate on the Chesapeake
Bay and developing a strategy for adapting natural resources programs
and public infrastructure to the impacts of a changing climate on water
quality and living resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
(e) expanding public access to waters and open spaces of the
Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries from Federal lands and conserving
landscapes and ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
(f) strengthening scientific support for decision making to restore
the Chesapeake Bay and watershed, including expanded environmental
research; and
(g) developing focused and coordinated habitat and research
activities that protect and restore living resources and water quality
of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. E.O. 13508 Section 203
requires the Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay to
prepare and publish a strategy for coordinated implementation of
existing programs and projects to guide efforts to protect and restore
the Chesapeake Bay. The strategy should to the extent permitted by law:
(a) Define environmental goals for the Chesapeake Bay and describe
milestones for making progress toward attainment of these goals;
(b) Identify key measureable indicators of environmental condition
and changes that are critical to effective Federal leadership;
(c) Describe the specific programs and strategies to be
implemented, including the programs and strategies described in draft
reports developed under Section 202 of the order;
(d) Identify the mechanisms that will assure that governmental and
other activities, including data collection and distribution, are
coordinated and effective, relying on existing mechanisms where
appropriate; and
(e) Describe a process for the implementation of adaptive
management principles, including a periodic evaluation of protection
and restoration.
Acknowledging the strong public interest in the future of the
Chesapeake Bay and the actions being taken to improve conditions in the
Bay and its watershed, the Federal Leadership Committee for the
Chesapeake Bay looks forward to receiving comments on these documents.
What Are the Next Steps in the Process for Collecting Public Comment?
The agencies will review public comments on the draft strategy and
agency reports. The comments will be taken into consideration as the
Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay develops the final
Section 203 strategy. However, the Committee does not anticipate
revising the Section 202 reports based upon public comments received.
The Committee plans to use comments received on the Section 202 reports
to help inform the development of the Section 203 final strategy. As
such, reviewers should focus their comments on the draft 203 strategy.
A response to comments document will be released at the same time as
the final E.O. 13508 Section 203 strategy with anticipated release by
May 12, 2010. The federal agencies plan to hold a series of stakeholder
meetings throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to discuss the draft
strategy. The details of these meetings will be announced at: http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net.
Dated: November 25, 2009.
Peter S. Silva,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. E9-28974 Filed 12-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P