[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 31, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53299-53301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21675]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9195-3]
Issuance of NPDES General Permits for Wastewater Lagoon Systems
Located in Indian Country in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Utah and Wyoming
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of issuance of NPDES general permits.
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SUMMARY: EPA Region 8 is hereby giving notice of its reissuance of five
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permits
for wastewater lagoon systems that are located in Indian country in the
States of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming and the
issuance of the NPDES general permit for wastewater lagoon systems that
are located in Indian country in the State of Colorado and that are
treating primarily domestic wastewater. The general permits are grouped
geographically by State, with the permit coverage being for specified
Indian reservations in the State; any land held in trust by the United
States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas which are Indian
country within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151. The permits for the
States of MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY are being reissued and replace permits
that were issued in 2004. Those permits expired August 16, 2009, and
have been administratively extended. The permit for the State of
Colorado is being issued for the first time. The effective date of
these general permits is September 14, 2010.
The NPDES permit number and the area covered by that general permit
are listed below by State:
Colorado: COG589 This permit covers the
Southern Ute Reservation and the Ute Mountain Reservation, including
those portions of the Ute Mountain Reservation located in New Mexico
and Utah; any land within the State of Colorado held in trust by the
United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas within the State
of Colorado which are Indian country within the meaning of 18 U.S.C.
1151.
Montana: MTG589 This permit covers the
Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana; the Crow Indian Reservation;
the Flathead Reservation; the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana; the
Fort Peck Indian Reservation; the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation;
the Rocky Boy's Reservation; any land within the State of Montana held
in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas
within the State of Montana which are Indian country within the meaning
of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
North Dakota: NDG589 This permit covers
the Fort Berthold Reservation; the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation; the
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation; the Turtle Mountain Reservation; any
land within the State of North Dakota held in trust by the United
States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas within the State of
North Dakota which are Indian country within the meaning of 18 U.S.C.
1151.
This permit includes that portion of the Standing Rock Sioux
Reservation and associated Indian country located within the State of
South Dakota. It does not include any land held in trust by the United
States for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation
or any other Indian country associated with that Tribe, which is
covered under general permit SDG589.
South Dakota: SDG589 This permit covers
the Cheyenne River Reservation; Crow Creek Reservation; the Flandreau
Santee Sioux Indian Reservation; the Lower Brule Reservation; the Pine
Ridge Reservation (including the entire Reservation, which is located
in both South Dakota and Nebraska); the Rosebud Indian Reservation; the
Yankton Sioux Reservation; any land within the State of South Dakota
held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other
areas within the State of South Dakota which are Indian country within
the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
This permit includes any land in the State of North Dakota that is
held in trust by the United States for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of
the Lake Traverse Reservation or any other Indian country associated
with that Tribe. It does not include the Standing Rock Sioux
Reservation or any associated Indian country, which is covered under
general permit NDG589.
Utah: UTG589 This permit covers the
Northwestern Band of Shoshoni Nation of Utah Reservation (Washakie);
the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Reservation; the Skull Valley Indian
Reservation; Indian country lands within the Uintah and Ouray Indian
Reservation; any land within the State of Utah held in trust by the
United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other
[[Page 53300]]
areas within the State of Utah which are Indian country within the
meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151, except as provided in the following
paragraph.
It does not include any portions of the Navajo Nation, the Goshute
Reservation, the Ute Mountain reservation in Utah, or any land held in
trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe that is associated with
those Reservations, or any other areas which are Indian country within
the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151 that are associated with those
Reservations.
Wyoming: WYG589 This permit covers the
Wind River Reservation; any land within the State of Wyoming held in
trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas
within the State of Wyoming which are Indian country within the meaning
of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
DATES: The general permits become effective on September 14, 2010 and
will expire five years from that date. For appeal purposes, the 120 day
time period for appeal to the U.S. Federal Courts will begin September
14, 2010.
ADDRESSES: The administrative record is available by appointment for
review and copying at the EPA Region 8 offices during the hours of 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Federal holidays excluded. To
make an appointment to look at or copy the documents call Donna Roberts
at 303-312-6371 or Colleen Gillespie at 303-312-6133. The Region 8
offices are located at 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202-1129. A
reasonable fee may be charged for copying.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information concerning the
final permits may be obtained from Colleen Gillespie, EPA Region 8,
Wastewater Unit (8P-W-WW), 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202-1129,
telephone 303-312-6133 or e-mail at [email protected]. The
final general permits, the fact sheet, Response to Comments, and
additional information may be downloaded from the EPA Region 8 Web page
at http://www.epa.gov/region8/water/wastewater/download. Please allow
one week after date of this publication for items to be uploaded to the
Web page. Copies of a specific general permit, the fact sheet, and/or
Response to Comments may also be obtained by writing Donna Roberts at
the above address or telephone 303-312-6371.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposed reissuance of the general permits
was published in the Federal Register on July 24, 2009, 74 FR 36705.
The public comment period closed on August 24, 2009. A summary of each
comment received and Region 8's response to the comments are given in a
separate document, ``Response to Comments Received During the 2009
Public Notice of Draft NPDES General Permits for Wastewater Lagoon
Systems Located in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah
and Wyoming.
The use of wastewater lagoon systems is the most common method of
treating municipal wastewater in Indian country in Region 8. Wastewater
lagoon systems are also used to treat domestic wastewater from isolated
housing developments, schools, camps, missions, and similar sources of
domestic wastewater that are not connected to a municipal sanitary
sewer system and do not use septic tank systems. Region 8 wants to
continue using general permits instead of individual permits for
permitting the discharges from such facilities in order to reduce the
Region's administrative burden of issuing separate individual permits.
The administrative burden for the regulated sources is expected to be
about the same under the general permits as with individual permits,
but it will be much quicker to obtain permit coverage with general
permits than with individual permits. The discharge requirements would
essentially be the same with an individual permit or under the general
permit.
Coverage under the general permits will be limited to those
wastewater lagoon systems that meet the following criteria:
1. The wastewater lagoon system is located in Indian country in EPA
Region 8;
2. The wastewater lagoon system treats primarily domestic
wastewater; and
3. The wastewater lagoon system is:
a. A facility listed in Appendix A of the fact sheet; or
b. A facility not listed in Appendix A that meets the requirements
specified in Part 5 of the general permit for complete retention
wastewater lagoon systems.
If facilities that do not meet the criteria above seek coverage under
this general permit, EPA will notify the facility that it must apply
for an individual permit. The eligibility criteria above are more
restrictive than those in the draft general permit that was publicly
noticed on July 24, 2009.
Lagoon systems covered under the general permit will include the
following three categories: (1) Lagoons where no prior notification is
required before starting to discharge; (2) lagoons where prior
notification is required before starting to discharge; and (3) lagoons
that are required to have no discharge. The effluent limitations for
lagoons coming under categories 1 and 2 are based on the Federal
Secondary Treatment Regulation (40 CFR Part 133) and best professional
judgement (BPJ). There are provisions in the general permits for
adjusting the effluent limitations on total suspended solids (TSS) and
pH in accordance with the provisions of the Secondary Treatment
Regulation. If more stringent and/or additional effluent limitations
are necessary to comply with applicable water quality standards, those
limitations may be imposed by written notification to the permittee.
Lagoon systems under category 3 are required to have no discharge
except in accordance with the bypass provisions of the permit. Self-
monitoring requirements and routine inspection requirements are
included in the permits. The permits do not authorize the discharge of
wastewater from land application sites, but they do require that the
land application of wastewater from the lagoon systems be done in
accordance with a written operational plan for the land application of
the wastewater. The objectives of the operational plan are to minimize
the potential for the discharge of wastewater from the land application
site and to avoid applying excessive amounts of nitrogen to the land
application site.
With the exception of the Flathead Reservation, the Fort Peck
Indian Reservation, the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, and the
Ute Mountain Reservation, where the Tribes have Clean Water Act section
401(a)(1) certification authority, EPA will certify that the permits
comply with the applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act as long as
the permittees comply with all permit conditions. Certifications were
received for the Flathead Reservation and the Northern Cheyenne Indian
Reservation. No responses were received for the requests for
certification for the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and the Ute Mountain
Reservation and the 60-day response period has expired. Therefore EPA
considers certification as being waived for those reservations in
accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR 124.53(c)(3).
Other Legal Requirements
Economic Impact (Executive Order 12866): EPA has determined that
the issuance of this general permit is not a ``significant regulatory
action'' under the terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735 (October
4, 1993)) and is therefore not subject to formal OMB review prior to
proposal.
[[Page 53301]]
Paperwork Reduction Act: EPA has reviewed the requirements imposed
on regulated facilities in these proposed general permits under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 501, et seq. The information
collection requirements of these permits have already been approved by
the Office of Management and Budget in submissions made for the NPDES
permit program under the provisions of the Clean Water Act.
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C 601, et seq., as amended
by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA): The
RFA requires that EPA prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for
rules subject to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) that have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The
permit proposed today, however, is not a ``rule'' subject to the
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and is therefore not subject to the
RFA.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law 104-4, generally requires Federal
agencies to assess the effects of their ``regulatory actions'' defined
to be the same as ``rules'' subject to the RFA) on Tribal, State, local
governments and the private sector. The permit proposed today, however,
is not a ``rule'' subject to the RFA and is therefore not subject to
the requirements of the UMRA.
Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.
Dated: August 24, 2010.
Stephen S. Tuber,
Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Partnerships and Regulatory
Assistance.
[FR Doc. 2010-21675 Filed 8-30-10; 8:45 am]
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