[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21189-21190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10621]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5199-9]
Notification of Establishment of an Advisory Committee To Address
Urban Municipal Wet Weather Issues; Announcement of the Sanitary Sewer
Overflow Subcommittee May 18-19, 1995, Meeting
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: EPA has established the Urban Wet Weather Flows Advisory
Committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to develop
recommendations to coordinate the implementation of urban, municipal
wet weather water pollution control programs. The charter for the
Advisory Committee was approved by the Office of Management and Budget
on March 10, 1995. As required by section 9(a)(2) of FACA, 5 U.S.C.
App. 2, EPA is giving notice of the establishment of such committee to
assist the Agency in the development of cost-effective solutions for
controlling the environmental and human health impacts of urban wet
weather flows with a minimum of regulatory burden. EPA believes that
the Committee is necessary and in the public interest. The Committee
will provide a forum for identifying and addressing issues associated
with water quality impacts from these sources. Copies of the
Committee's charter will be filed with the appropriate committees of
Congress and the Library of Congress in accordance with section 9(c) of
FACA.
To be most efficient we are planning two subcommittees under the
Urban Wet Weather Flows Advisory Committee. A subcommittee addressing
Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) has been formed and will hold its first
formal meeting in Washington, D.C. on May 18 and 19, 1995. The purpose
of this meeting is to discuss several issues related to SSOs. On May
18, the meeting will begin at approximately 8:30 AM and run until about
5:00 PM. On May 19, the meeting will begin at 8:30 AM and continue
until completion.
The Advisory Committee and another subcommittee dealing with Storm
Water Phase II issues will be formed in the near future. EPA is
currently in the process of convening these groups.
Consistent with the requirements of FACA, the membership of both
the Advisory Committee and its subcommittees is being balanced among
the Agency's various outside stakeholder interests, including
representatives from municipalities, industrial and commercial sectors,
environmental and public interest groups, States, and Indian Tribes,
and EPA. Members will be selected and appointed for the duration of the
process. A Federal Official or EPA employee will serve as the
Designated Federal Officer and will be present at all meetings.
DATE: The SSO Subcommittee will meet on May 18-19, 1995.
ADDRESS: The SSO Subcommittee meeting will be held at the Best Western
Old Colony Inn, 625 First Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. The hotel
telephone number is (703) 548-6300.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about substantive or
technical matters that will be considered by the Advisory Committee, or
information about the procedural aspects of Committee operation and the
FACA process, contact: William Hall, Office of Wastewater Management,
US EPA (4203), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone: (202)
260-1458. [[Page 21190]]
For information about the SSO Subcommittee, please contact: Kevin
Weiss, SSO Matrix Manager, Office of Wastewater Management, US EPA
(4203), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone: (202) 260-
9524.
For information about the Phase II Subcommittee, please contact:
Pam Mazakas, Phase II Matrix Manager, Office of Wastewater Management,
US EPA (4203), 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, telephone:
(202) 260-6599.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In 1972, under the authority of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (later called the Clean Water Act (CWA)), the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) developed the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program to control pollutant
discharges to the Nation's waters from industrial, commercial, and
municipal point sources. These discharges created a threat not just to
water quality, but to the health of millions of people. Initial efforts
to control pollution from these entities were focused on
``traditional'' pollutant sources, such as discharges from industrial
manufacturing processes and municipal wastewater treatment plants.
Since the NPDES program's inception, the Agency has undertaken
efforts to address other, ``non-traditional,'' sources of pollution,
including those resulting from precipitation events, such as rainfall
and snowmelt. These precipitation-related sources of pollution are
referred to as ``wet weather discharges.'' Wet weather discharges
include both point sources, which are required to have an NPDES permit
under the CWA, and nonpoint sources, such as those resulting from most
agricultural activity. Nonpoint sources are not regulated by the NPDES
permitting program.
Wet weather discharges of pollutants often occur in urban areas and
include municipal and industrial storm water discharges; sanitary sewer
overflows (SSOs), which occur when the volume of flows in a separate
municipal sanitary sewer system exceeds its capacity due to, among
other things, unintentional inflow and infiltration of storm water; and
combined sewer overflows (CSOs), which occur during wet weather events
in some cities which have combined sanitary and storm sewers (these are
known as combined sewer systems or CSSs). EPA's National Water Quality
Inventory, 1992 Report to Congress, notes that pollution from wet
weather discharges is cited by States as the leading cause of water
quality impairment. Based on this Report and other assessments, EPA has
concluded that wet weather discharges, whether they be from point or
nonpoint sources, are one of the largest remaining threats to water
quality, aquatic life, and human health that exist today.
EPA believes that urban wet weather discharges, such as storm water
discharges, SSOs, and CSOs, should be addressed in a coordinated and
comprehensive fashion in order to reduce the threat to water quality,
reduce pollution control costs, and provide State and local governments
with greater flexibility to solve wet weather problems. EPA intends to
build on the stakeholder involvement process that led to the
development of the CSO Control Policy, published on April 19, 1994 (59
FR 18688). To this end, the Agency is establishing the Urban Wet
Weather Flows Federal Advisory Committee, an SSO subcommittee, and a
Storm Water Phase II subcommittee.
Announcement of SSO Subcommittee Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is convening a public meeting of the SSO subcommittee on May 18
and 19, 1995. The meeting has several purposes: (1) To discuss goals,
objectives and desired outcomes for the SSO policy dialogue, such as
ensuring national consistency and adequate municipal investment in
collection system operation and maintenance; (2) to evaluate
information needs to support consideration of the costs and benefits of
selected policy options as well as identify other information needs
associated with developing other products; (3) to identify and discuss
the appropriateness of nonregulatory and regulatory options for
addressing reporting of SSOs, collection system evaluations, sewer
design, collection system operation and maintenance, and system
rehabilitation; (4) to discuss incentives for proper operation and
maintenance of collection systems and the development of outreach
materials to clarify the benefits associated with proper operation and
maintenance of collection systems; (5) to discuss issues associated
with reporting of SSOs, including how data is used by EPA and
authorized NPDES States, and public access to reporting information;
(6) to discuss the relationship of enforcement to information
voluntarily submitted to support the policy dialogue; (7) to summarize
approaches to permits for discharges from sanitary sewer collection
systems which are currently being used; and (8) to discuss how
watershed concepts could be incorporated into SSO efforts.
The meeting, which will be held on May 18 and 19, 1995, is open to
the public without need for advance registration. On May 18, the
meeting will begin at approximately 8:30 AM and run until about 5:00
PM. On May 19, the meeting will begin at 8:30 AM and continue until
completion. The meeting will be held at the Best Western Old Colony
Inn, 625 First Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. The hotel telephone number
is (703) 548-6300.
Dated: April 24, 1995.
Michael B. Cook,
Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 95-10621 Filed 4-28-95; 8:45 am]
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