[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 68 (Wednesday, April 9, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17187-17190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8978]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5807-7]


Sole Source Aquifer Designation for the Columbia and Yorktown-
Eastover Multiaquifer System

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In response to a petition from the Bi-County Ad Hoc Citizens 
Committee on Oversight, notice is hereby given that the Regional 
Administrator of Region III of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) has determined that the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover 
Multiaquifer System satisfies all determination criteria for 
designation as a sole source aquifer, pursuant to Section 1424(e) of 
the Safe Drinking Water Act. The following findings were made in 
accordance with the designation criteria: the Columbia and Yorktown-
Eastover Multiaquifer System supplies more than 50% of the water needs 
for the communities within the service area boundaries; there are no 
viable alternative sources of sufficient supply; the boundaries of the 
designated area and the project review area have been reviewed and 
approved by the EPA; and, if contamination were to occur, it would pose 
a significant public hazard and a serious financial burden to the 
communities within the aquifer service area. As a result of this 
action, the EPA may review, suggest modifications to, or withhold 
funding for, any federally financially assisted projects proposed for 
construction within the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover Multiaquifer 
System that may pose an adverse risk of ground water contamination.

DATES: This determination shall become effective May 9, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The data upon which these findings are based are available 
to the public and may be inspected during normal business hours at the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--Region III, Water Protection 
Division, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara M. Smith, Drinking Water 
Branch, (215) 566-5786.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 1424(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C., section 
300h-3(e), states:

    If the Administrator determines, on his own initiative or 
petition, that an area has an

[[Page 17188]]

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 law, be entered into 
to plan or design the project to assure that it will not so 
contaminate the aquifer.

    The Sole Source Aquifer designation process consists of four 
phases, as outlined in the ``Sole Source Aquifer Designation Petitioner 
Guidance'': Phase I--Petition Preparation, Phase II--Initial Petition 
Review/Determination of Completeness, Phase III--Detailed Review/
Technical Verification, and Phase IV--Designation Determination.
    In August 1992, EPA Region III received a petition from the Bi-
County Ad Hoc Citizens Committee on Oversight, requesting the 
designation of the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover Multiaquifer System 
as a sole source aquifer under Section 1424(e) of the SDWA. EPA 
returned the petition following an initial review with a ``Notice of 
Deficiencies'' to be corrected prior to further consideration by EPA. 
On July 28, 1993 a revised petition was submitted to EPA which was 
determined to be complete. EPA determined that the Bi-County Ad Hoc 
Citizens Committee on Oversight's petition fully satisfied the first 
three phases of the designation process and announced a public hearing 
on the petition on December 15, 1993. EPA conducted a public hearing in 
Onley, Virginia on January 25, 1994. The public comment period on the 
petition closed on February 22, 1994.

II. Basis for Determination

    Among the factors considered by the Regional Administrator as part 
of the detailed review and technical verification process for 
designating an area under Section 1424(e) were:
    1. The Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover aquifers are high-yielding 
aquifers which the service area population relies on for more than 50% 
of its drinking water needs.
    2. There exists no viable economical alternative drinking water 
source or combination of sources to supply the designated service area.
    3. The EPA has found that the Bi-County Ad Hoc Citizens Committee 
on Oversight has appropriately delineated the boundaries of the aquifer 
project review area.
    4. While the quality of the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover 
aquifer's ground water is considered to be good, it is highly 
vulnerable to contamination due to its geological characteristics and 
possible land-use activities. The designated area is a multiaquifer 
system with a surficial aquifer (Columbia aquifer) consisting of 
shallow sand and gravel deposits and a deeper confined aquifer 
(Yorktown-Eastover aquifer) which is recharged by water from the 
surficial aquifer. The shallow nature of the surficial aquifer allows 
contaminants to be rapidly introduced into the ground water with 
minimal assimilation. It is this high vulnerability to contamination, 
especially on the central ``spine'' of the peninsula, coupled with the 
aquifer's value as the principal source of drinking water for the 
residents served, that could pose a significant public health hazard.
    5. Definable Aquifer Boundaries: EPA guidance allows designations 
to be made for entire aquifers, hydrologically connected aquifers 
(aquifer systems), or part of an aquifer if that portion is 
hydrologically separated from the rest of the aquifer. The Yorktown-
Eastover Multiaquifer System boundary is based on hydrological 
principles and EPA's interpretation of available data.

III. Description of the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover Multiaquifer 
System Designated Area and Project Area

    The Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover Multiaquifer System is part of 
the Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province. The designated and 
project area of the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover Multiaquifer System 
underlies the political boundaries of Accomack and Northampton Counties 
(known as the Eastern Shore of Virginia), located on the southern tip 
of the Delmarva Peninsula. The designated/project area (Accomack and 
Northampton Counties) is approximately 695 square miles in surface 
area. The topography of the two counties is generally low-lying and 
near sea level with elevations ranging from sea level to 50 feet above 
mean sea level.
    The Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic province in Virginia 
consists of an eastward-thickening wedge of unconsolidated sediments. 
The sediments were deposited on a crystalline bedrock platform which 
has subsided since early Cretaceous time. The sediments consist of 
gravels, sands, clays and varying amounts of shell material. The 
sediments were deposited from early Cretaceous time to the Holocene 
period from the ancient Appalachian mountain chain to the west and can 
be classified as continental, coastal or marine deposits. Due to the 
presence of salt water at depth only the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover 
aquifers constitute the freshwater system on the Eastern Shore. The 
Yorktown-Eastover aquifer is further subdivided into an upper, middle 
and lower aquifers, bounded by confining units. The aquifer materials 
of the Yorktown-Eastover aquifer generally consist of shelly sands 
while the confining units are silts and clays. The Columbia aquifer on 
the Eastern Shore of Virginia is an unconfined aquifer above the upper 
Yorktown confining unit and consists of sandy unconsolidated deposits.
    The climate for the region is temperate with an average rainfall of 
43 inches. The total recharge to the Columbia aquifer is estimated to 
be 257 Mgal/day. Although most of this recharge is eventually 
discharged to either the Atlantic Ocean or the Chesapeake Bay, an 
estimated 11 Mgal/day leaks through the first confining unit into the 
upper portion of the Yorktown-Eastover aquifer. Most of the recharge to 
the confined Yorktown-Eastover aquifer takes place in a narrow zone 
along the center of the peninsula called the spine. Generally, patterns 
of vertical flow are downward in the spine area and upward in the 
coastal areas. Natural ground water flow patterns have been 
subsequently altered by ground water development. Under pumping 
conditions ground water flow directions are similar to prepumping 
directions, however downward leakage from the Columbia aquifer 
increases and the area of recharge becomes larger.
    Nearly all drinking water on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is 
derived from groundwater as there are no surface water bodies capable 
of supplying a large quantity of water. Most residents obtain their 
drinking water from private wells since the percentage of housing units 
in Accomack county having water supplied by a public water system is 
listed at 31% (out of 15,840 units) in the most recent U.S. Census 
data; for Northampton county the figure is 12% (out of 6,183 units). 
Municipal wells are usually completed in the Yorktown-Eastover aquifer 
system, typically with multi-screened wells. Total ground water use was 
estimated to be 5 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) by the U.S. 
Geological Survey and using records contained within the EPA Federal 
Data Reporting System. A population of approximately 52,000 is served 
by public water supply systems (which rely on ground water). 
Withdrawals by

[[Page 17189]]

private wells from the Columbia were estimated to be at least 1.7 Mgal/
day. Other large ground water withdrawals include those for industry 
and irrigation.
    The quality of ground water in Accomack and Northampton counties is 
generally good, but both the highly permeable nature of the aquifer 
material and the shallow depths to the water table reduce the capacity 
for contaminant attenuation, making the aquifer vulnerable to 
contamination from point and nonpoint sources. The Columbia aquifer is 
especially vulnerable to potential sources of contamination. Ground 
water data collected for the surficial aquifer on Delmarva peninsula 
indicates ground water quality has been affected by human activities. 
These impacts include statistically significant increases in dissolved 
minerals, elevated nitrate levels and pesticide residue detections.
    Use of alternative supplies of water outside the aquifer is 
economically and technically infeasible due to the difficulties and 
costs of transporting water from either mainland Virginia or northerly 
portions of the Delmarva peninsula. In addition, excess alternative 
ground water supplies in nearby portions of mainland Virginia are 
unlikely to be available, as shown by current difficulties in obtaining 
additional water for Virginia Beach, VA.
    Local government has acted to protect the water quality of ground 
water in Accomack and Northampton counties through formation of the 
Eastern Shore of Virginia Ground Water Steering Committee in 1990. 
State government has also acted to protect ground water on the Eastern 
Shore through designation of the Eastern Shore groundwater management 
area in 1976, among other actions. The petitioner believes that a Sole 
Source Aquifer Designation would augment ground water protection 
efforts by providing a forum for public education and by increasing 
awareness about the importance and vulnerability of the aquifer which 
underlies the two counties.
    The designated project review area will consist of both Accomack 
and Northampton Counties, VA but does not include Tangier Island, VA 
(located in the Chesapeake Bay, off shore from the peninsula), and 
Chincoteague Island, VA (located in the Atlantic Ocean, just off shore 
from the peninsula). There are no streamflow source zones for this 
designation. Maps of the designated area are available from EPA Region 
III at the above address.

IV. Information Utilized in Determination

    The information utilized in this determination includes: the 
petition submitted to the EPA Region III by the Bi-County Ad Hoc 
Citizens Committee on Oversight, letters received during the public 
comment period, and public comments received during the public hearing. 
In addition, much of the information has been derived from published 
literature on the hydrogeology and water resources of the region. This 
information is available to the public and may be inspected at the 
address listed above. A Support Document for this designation contains 
more detailed information on ground water usage, potential sources of 
drinking water and vulnerability of the aquifer to contamination and 
will be placed in the libraries of Accomack and Northampton counties. 
The Support Document is also available from EPA Region III.

V. Project Review

    The EPA Region III Ground Water Protection Section is working with 
the federal agencies most likely to provide financial assistance to 
projects in the project review area. Interagency procedures and 
Memoranda of Understanding will be developed through which the EPA will 
be notified of proposed commitments by federal agencies to projects 
which could potentially impact the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover 
Multiaquifer System. The EPA will evaluate such projects, and where 
necessary, conduct an in-depth review, including soliciting State and 
local government and public comments when appropriate. Should the 
Regional Administrator determine that a project may contaminate the 
aquifer through its recharge zone so as to create a significant hazard 
to public health, no commitment for federal financial assistance may be 
entered into for that project. However, a commitment for federal 
financial assistance may, if authorized under another provision of law, 
be entered into to plan or design the project to ensure that it will 
not contaminate the aquifer. Included in the review of any federal 
financially assisted projects will be the coordination with state and 
local agencies and the project's developers. Their comments will be 
given full consideration and the EPA's review will attempt to 
complement and support state and local ground water protection 
measures. Although the project review process cannot be delegated, the 
EPA will rely to the maximum extent possible on any existing or future 
state and/or local control measures to protect the quality of ground 
water in the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover Multiaquifer System Project 
Review Area.

VI. Discussion of Public Comments

    EPA issued a public notice (December 15, 1993) to request comments 
and announced the proposed designation and a comment period. A public 
hearing was held (January 25,1994) at Nandua High School in Onley, 
Virginia. The public comment period closed on February 22, 1994.
    EPA received 29 written comments during the public comment period. 
Of these, 25 were in support of the designation and 4 were opposed. 
Fifteen people spoke at the public hearing held at Nandua High School 
in Onley, Virginia on January 25, 1994. Of the speakers, 11 supported 
the designation, two opposed it and two neither supported nor opposed 
the designation. The public's written and oral comments are fully 
addressed in EPA's Responsiveness Document and Support Document. Both 
of these documents will be placed on file at the main library and are 
also available upon request at the above address.

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 the attached rule will not have 
a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. For 
purposes of this Certification, the ``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 Columbia and 
Yorktown-Eastover Multiaquifer 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 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 impact on the aquifer is 
anticipated; accordingly, the number of affected small entities will be 
minimal.
    For those small entities which are subject to review, the impact to 
today's action will not be significant. Most 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.

[[Page 17190]]

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 effect 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 affect of $100 million of 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 Columbia 
and Yorktown-Eastover Multiaquifer System in the area of Northampton 
and Accomack County. 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.

VIII. Summary

    This determination affects only the Columbia and Yorktown-Eastover 
Multiaquifer System located in Accomack and Northampton Counties, 
Virginia. As a result of this determination, all federal financially-
assisted projects proposed in the designated area will be subject to 
EPA review to ensure that they do not create a significant hazard to 
public health.

    Dated: March 26, 1997.
W. Michael McCabe,
Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--Region 
III.
[FR Doc. 97-8978 Filed 4-8-97; 3:03 pm]
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