[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52677-52679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-25047]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5313-2]


Draft General NPDES Permit for Seafood Processors Within Three 
Nautical Miles of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska General NPDES Permit No. 
AK-G52-P000

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10.


[[Page 52678]]

ACTION: Notice of Draft General NPDES Permit, and Notice of Finding of 
No Significant Impact.

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SUMMARY: The Director, Water Division, EPA Region 10, is proposing to 
issue a general National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 
permit no. AK-G52-P000 for seafood processors within three nautical 
miles of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, pursuant to the provisions of 
the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. The proposed general NPDES 
permit will authorize discharges from facilities discharging through 
stationary outfalls on St. Paul and St. George Islands, and from mobile 
vessels discharging within the three nautical mile coastal zone of the 
Pribilof Islands. These facilities are engaged in the processing of 
fresh, frozen, canned, smoked, salted and pickled seafoods. Discharges 
authorized by the proposed permit include processing wastes, process 
disinfectants, sanitary wastewater and other wastewaters, including 
domestic wastewater, cooling water, boiler water, gray water, 
freshwater pressure relief water, refrigeration condensate, water used 
to transfer seafood to a facility, and live tank water. The proposed 
permit will authorize discharges to waters of the United States in and 
contiguous to the State of Alaska, except for receiving waters excluded 
from coverage as protected or adjacent to a designated ``seafood 
processing center.''
    The proposed general NPDES permit for seafood processors within the 
Pribilof Island coastal zone will not authorize discharges from the 
processing of fish mince, paste or meal. The proposed permit will not 
authorize discharges of petroleum hydrocarbons, toxic pollutants, or 
other pollutants not specified in the permit.
    A draft NPDES permit, fact sheet and other documents of the 
administrative record are available upon request.

PUBLIC NOTICE ISSUANCE DATE: October 10, 1995.

PUBLIC NOTICE EXPIRATION DATE: November 13, 1995.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Interested persons may submit written comments on the 
draft general NPDES permit to the attention of Florence Carroll at the 
address below. All comments should include the name, address, and 
telephone number of the commenter and a concise statement of comment 
and the relevant facts upon which it is based. Comments of either 
support or concern which are directed at specific, cited permit 
requirements are appreciated. Comments must be submitted to EPA on or 
before the expiration date of the public notice.
    After the expiration date of the public notice, the Director, Water 
Division, EPA Region 10, will make a final determination with respect 
to issuance of the general permit. The tentative requirements contained 
in the draft general permit will become final conditions if no 
substantive comments are received during the public comment period. The 
permit is expected to become effective on January 15, 1996.
    Persons wishing to comment on State Certification of the proposed 
general NPDES permit should submit written comments within this 30-day 
comment period to the State of Alaska, Alaska Department of 
Environmental Conservation (ADEC), 410 Willoughby Avenue, Suite 105, 
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1795. Comments should be addressed to the 
attention of Alaska Water Quality Standards Consistency Review.
    Persons wishing to comment on the State Determination of 
Consistency with the Alaska Coastal Management Program should submit 
written comments within this 30-day comment period, to the State of 
Alaska, Office of Management and Budget, Division of Governmental 
Coordination, P.O. Box 110030, Juneau, Alaska 99811-0030. Comments 
should be addressed to the attention of Alaska Coastal Management 
Program Consistency Review.
    Persons wishing to comment on the EPA Finding of No Significant 
Impact (FNSI), based on the environmental assessment, should submit 
written comments within this 30 day period. All comments should include 
the name, address and telephone number of the commenter and a concise 
statement of the basis of any comment and the relevant facts upon which 
it is based. Comments should be submitted to Florence Carroll at the 
address below.

PUBLIC HEARING: No public hearings have been scheduled. Persons 
requesting a public hearing should submit their request to Florence 
Carroll at the address below. Notice of a public hearing will be 
published in the Federal Register. Notices will also be mailed to all 
interested persons receiving copies of the proposed permit.

APPEAL OF PERMIT: Within 120 days following the service of notice of 
EPA's final permit decision under 40 CFR 124.15, any interested person 
may appeal the Permit in the Federal Court of Appeal in accordance with 
Section 509(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act. Persons affected by a general 
permit may not challenge the conditions of the Permit as a right of 
further EPA proceedings. Instead, they may either challenge the Permit 
in court or apply for an individual NPDES permit and then request a 
formal hearing on the issuance or denial of an individual permit.

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD: The complete administrative record for the draft 
permit is available for public review at the EPA Region 10 Library, 
10th Floor, at the address listed below. Copies of the draft general 
NPDES permit, fact sheet, the environmental assessment, the biological 
assessment, and the Pribilof Seafood Ocean Discharge Criteria 
Evaluation are available upon request from the Region 10 Public 
Information Center at 1-800-424-4EPA (4372).

ADDRESSES: Public comments should be sent to: Environmental Protection 
Agency Region 10, NPDES Compliance Unit (WD-135), 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Seattle, Washington, 98101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Florence Carroll, of EPA Region 10, at 
the address listed above or telephone (206) 553-1760.

REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT: After review of the facts presented in the 
notice printed above, I hereby certify pursuant to the provision of 5 
U.S.C. 605(b) that this general NPDES permit will not have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Moreover, 
the permit reduces a significant administrative burden on regulated 
sources.

    Dated: September 21, 1995.
David Teeter,
Acting Director, Office of Water.

Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI)

To All Interested Government Agencies, Public Groups, and Individuals:

    In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
procedures for complying with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), 40 CFR Part 6, Subpart F, EPA has conducted an environmental 
review of the following proposed action:

Issuance of general National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(NPDES) Permit, no. AK-G52-P000, to owners and operators of facilities, 
both mobile and shore-based, engaged in the processing of seafood 
within three nautical miles of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska

    The general NPDES permit requirements, including effluent 
limitations, monitoring provisions, and other conditions applicable to 
the operations covered are specified in the proposed permit. The permit 
Fact Sheet 

[[Page 52679]]
describes the basis for the permit provisions.
    An environmental assessment (EA) for this proposed action has been 
prepared. Based on the EA and the proposed permit conditions, and in 
accordance with the guidelines for determining the significance of 
federal actions (40 CFR 1508.27) and EPA criteria for initiating an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) (40 CFR 6.605), EPA has concluded 
that issuance of this general NPDES permit will not result in a 
significant effect on the human environment. This action will not 
significantly affect land use patterns or population, wetlands or 
floodplains, threatened or endangered species, farmlands, ecologically 
critical areas, historic resources, air quality, water quality, noise 
levels, fish and wildlife resources, nor will it conflict with approved 
local, regional, or state land use plans or policies. For the above 
reasons EPA has determined that an EIS will not be prepared.
    The term of the proposed NPDES permit is two years only, during 
which time additional field data will be collected. Another EA will be 
prepared for the subsequent five-year permit based on analyses 
utilizing that additional field data.
    A copy of the EA evaluating the potential impacts of the proposed 
action is available upon request by calling (206) 553-1214, or at the 
above address, and is incorporated into this FNSI by reference.
    Comments supporting or disagreeing with this FNSI may be submitted 
to the following address for consideration: Rick Seaborne, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, WD-126, 
Seattle, Washington 98101.
    After evaluating the comments received, EPA will make a final 
decision. No administrative action will be taken on the proposed permit 
for at least 30 days after the release date (indicated above) of this 
FNSI. EPA will fully consider all comments received during this public 
notice period before taking final action.

        Sincerely,
David Teeter,
Acting Director, Water Division.
[FR Doc. 95-25047 Filed 10-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P