[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 230 (Monday, December 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63545-63548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31273]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5928-3]


Sole Source Aquifer Designation of the Guemes Island Aquifer 
System; Skagit County, Washington

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of final determination.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that pursuant to section 1424(e) of the 
Safe Drinking Water Act, and in response to a petition from the Guemes 
Island Property Owners Association, the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) Region 10 Administrator has determined that the Guemes 
Island aquifer system, in Skagit County, Washington, is a sole or 
principal source of drinking water, and that if contaminated, would 
create a significant hazard to public health. As result of this action, 
all Federal financially-assisted projects proposed over the designated 
aquifer system will be subject to EPA review to ensure that they do not 
create a significant hazard to public health.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This determination shall be effective for purposes of 
judicial review at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on December 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The information upon which this determination is based is 
available to the public and may be inspected during normal business 
hours at the EPA Region 10 Library, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, 
Washington, 98101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott E. Downey, Environmental 
Protection Specialist, Ground Water Protection Unit, OW-137, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, 
Washington, 98101, 206-553-0682.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 1424(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300h-
3(e), Public Law 93-523, states:

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

[[Page 63546]]

commitment for Federal 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.

    On August 1, 1994, EPA Region 10 received a petition from the 
President of the Guemes Island Properties Association requesting that 
EPA designate the Guemes Island aquifer system as a sole source aquifer 
(SSA). The petition expressed several reasons for interest in a 
designation, including concern that an increasing island population 
could adversely affect both ground water quality and quantity due to 
impacts from logging, road building, and onsite septic systems on 
aquifer recharge areas, and from the impact of ground water withdrawals 
from new wells; a desire to raise public awareness about the 
vulnerability of the aquifer system; a desire to raise awareness about 
existing and future problems of the water supply to Skagit County 
government; and the value of SSA status in future grant applications 
for further study of the island's ground water.
    A detailed review of the petition by EPA was delayed for about 
three years due to work on an earlier designation request. In July of 
1997, the Guemes Island review was completed and the area appeared to 
meet all criteria for SSA designation. The legal and technical basis 
for the proposal was outlined in an EPA publication titled: ``Support 
Document for Sole Source Aquifer Designation of the Guemes Island 
Aquifer System,'' EPA 910/R-97-006.

II. Basis for Determination

    Among the factors to be considered by EPA in connection with the 
designation of an area under section 1424(e) are: (1) Whether the 
aquifer is the area's sole or principal source of drinking water; and 
(2) whether contamination of the aquifer would create a significant 
hazard to public health.
    EPA Region 10 has further interpreted the statutory language so 
that ``sole or principal'' means that the aquifer must supply at least 
50 percent of the drinking water for the area. Furthermore, there 
should be no alternate drinking water source(s) which can physically, 
legally, and economically supply all those who depend upon the aquifer 
for drinking water, should it become contaminated. In addition, aquifer 
boundaries should be delineated based on sound hydrogeologic principles 
and the best available scientific information.
    Although designation determinations are largely based on science-
based criteria, the Regional Administrator may also consider the 
overall public interest and net environmental and public health 
benefits in making a sole source aquifer determination.
    On the basis of information available to this Agency, the Region 10 
Administrator has made the following findings:

    (1) The aquifer system is the principal source of drinking water 
(close to 100%) for people on the island and there are no alternate 
sources which can physically, legally, and economically supply all 
those who depend upon the aquifer for drinking water, should it become 
contaminated. Potential alternate sources considered include surface 
water, water piped in from the mainland, bottled water, rainwater 
catchment, and reverse osmosis of seawater. None of these drinking 
water sources are considered by EPA to be feasible replacements for the 
entire aquifer system due to economic barriers or because these sources 
are not consumed or utilized for domestic purposes in significant 
quantities.
    (2) Contamination of the aquifer system would create a significant 
hazard to public health. The aquifer system is vulnerable to 
contamination through its recharge zones from various sources and 
activities including onsite septic systems, stormwater runoff, animal 
wastes, and pumping wells which can cause intrusion of seawater into 
freshwater aquifers. Scientific information indicates there is a 
hydrogeologic interconnection between the aquifers underlying the 
island, and collectively, they may be considered as a single aquifer 
system. Because they are interconnected, there is the potential for 
cross- contamination from one aquifer to another.

     Because the aquifer system is vulnerable to contamination and 
restoring ground water quality can be difficult or even impossible; and 
because the aquifer system is the principal source of drinking water 
for the area and there are no other sources which can economically 
supply all those who depend upon it for drinking water; EPA believes 
that contamination of the aquifer system would pose a significant 
hazard to public health.
    These findings are based on information from various sources 
including the petition, EPA guidances, a U.S. Geological Survey report, 
public comments, the Skagit County Health Department, and the 
Washington State Department of Health.

III. Description of the Guemes Island Aquifer System

    The following is a summary of information from the Support Document 
available upon request from EPA Region 10. Much of the hydrogeological 
information in the Support Document is taken from the petition and from 
``Hydrogeology and Quality of Ground Water on Guemes Island, Skagit 
County, Washington,'' U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water-Resources 
Investigations Report 94-4236, by Kahle and Olsen, 1995.
    Guemes Island is a small island in Puget Sound, located north of 
the City of Anacortes in the western part of Skagit County, Washington. 
The total area of the island is approximately 8.2 square miles. The 
year-round population of the island is approximately 540, with a summer 
population which nears 2,200. The southeastern part of the island is 
hilly and composed of bedrock and fractured rock; the remainder is 
gently rolling and overlain by glacial drift.
    There are eight distinct geologic units present on Guemes Island: 
consolidated bedrock, glacial deposits comprised of the Double Bluff 
Drift, Whidbey Formation, Vashon advance outwash, Vashon till, and 
Everson drift, and more recent units composed of peat and beach 
deposits. There is considerable variation in the thickness of 
individual units, and not all units are necessarily present at any one 
location. Glacial and recent deposits are at the land surface over most 
of the island, with bedrock exposed only on the southeastern end of the 
island. Highly permeable units within the glacial deposits also 
function as the main aquifers under the island. These units are 
hydraulically connected and thus perform as an aquifer system.
    Ground water quality on Guemes Island is considered to be generally 
of good quality. The aquifer system underlying the island is considered 
to be vulnerable to contamination due to the highly heterogeneous 
nature of the sand and gravels making up the aquifers, and the 
inconsistent confining nature of the surficial confining unit and the 
Whidbey confining unit. Chlorides and nitrates are the contaminants of 
the most concern. High chloride concentrations in well water on the 
island are due to either the presence of relict seawater in aquifer 
materials, or seawater moving inward from Puget Sound (seawater 
intrusion). Excessive ground water withdrawal in a near-shore area can 
cause large local movement of the freshwater-seawater interface 
especially if the aquifer is thin. Nitrates in ground water can 
originate from septic tanks, animal wastes, and fertilizer.
    The Guemes Island SSA boundaries are representative of an aquifer 
system that encompasses the entire Guemes

[[Page 63547]]

Island area. The aquifer system is bounded on all sides by Puget Sound. 
The vertical extent of the aquifer system at depth includes all potable 
water-bearing geologic units underlying the island, including both the 
unconsolidated glacial deposits and the bedrock unit. Please see the 
Support Document for a more detailed hydrogeologic description.

IV. Project Reviews

    The Safe Drinking Water Act authorizes EPA to review proposed 
Federal financially-assisted projects which have the potential to 
contaminate a designated SSA. Federal assistance may be denied if EPA 
determines that a project may contaminate the SSA through its recharge 
zone so as to create a significant hazard to public health. Outright 
denial of Federal funding is rare as most projects pose limited risk to 
ground water quality or can be feasibly modified to prevent ground 
water contamination. Proposed projects that are funded entirely by 
state, local, or private concerns are not subject to SSA review by EPA.
    EPA does not review all possible Federal financially-assisted 
projects, but tries to focus on those projects which pose the greatest 
risk to public health. Memorandums of Understanding have been developed 
between EPA and various Federal funding agencies to help identify, 
coordinate, and evaluate projects. EPA relies to the maximum extent 
possible on existing local and state mechanisms to protect SSAs from 
contamination. Whenever feasible, EPA coordinates project reviews with 
local and state agencies that have a responsibility for ground water 
protection. Their comments are given full consideration in the Federal 
review process.

V. Public Participation and Response to Comments

    The following is a summary of information from the ``Response to 
Public Comments for the Guemes Island Sole Source Aquifer Proposal'' 
available upon request from EPA Region 10.
    EPA used various methods to notify and involve the public and 
others in the Guemes Island SSA designation process. The outreach 
effort included briefings to local and State government, distribution 
of EPA facts sheets, placing information in local libraries, a public 
advertisement in the local newspaper, and providing information for 
several newspaper and newsletter articles.
    A public comment period was in effect from August 27 to October 11, 
1997, and a public meeting was conducted on the island by EPA staff on 
September 19, 1997. The purpose of the meeting was to present 
information about the proposal, answer any questions, and take public 
comments directly from the island community or other interested 
parties. About 40 people attended the meeting. Written comments were 
accepted on the proposal until the end of the public comment period. 
All comments were reviewed and considered by EPA, but did not lead to 
any changes to EPA's determination that Guemes Island qualifies for SSA 
status.
    During the comment period, EPA received fourteen written comments 
in the mail and ten oral comments at the public meeting. Of the written 
comments, ten persons expressed support for the designation, while four 
opposed it. Formal comments at the public meeting were evenly split 
with five persons supporting the designation and five opposed. 
Individuals submitted most of the comments, but a community 
organization and a State agency also commented.
    The primary reason given for supporting the proposed action was a 
belief that the designation would increase protection of the islands 
ground water. Many cited the educational benefit that SSA status would 
have on island residents and on Skagit County government on the source 
of the island's drinking water, its value and vulnerability, and the 
need for protection and conservation. Some people commented that 
protection of the island's ground water was important because there are 
no feasible alternate sources of drinking water. Some people felt that 
ground water would be better protected because of additional 
environmental review of proposed projects, or because it could hinder 
the siting of future landfills on the island. Some supported the 
designation because they felt that added protection of the island's 
drinking water could help to protect property values.
    Several people opposed the designation because they did not want an 
increase of Federal involvement in local affairs. In response, the SSA 
program can increase Federal involvement, but only in a very limited 
way--if Federal assistance is proposed for a project, EPA can review 
the proposal and ask for changes if drinking water supplies are 
endangered. This review process is meant to support and enhance, rather 
than duplicate or supplant, local ground water protection measures. 
Many communities welcome the technical assistance and coordinating 
services they receive from EPA to protect their drinking water.
    Some people commented that the designation would not contribute to 
further ground water protection. In response, the SSA program is not 
intended to be a comprehensive ground water protection program. EPA 
authority is limited to the review of Federal projects, which are 
likely to be minimal in number and scope for the island. However, there 
are many other benefits from an SSA designation, that can be locally-
driven, such as greater awareness and stewardship of a community's 
drinking water supply. This can lead to an increase of both individual 
and local governmental actions to protect the resource.
    Two persons commented that SSA designation was unnecessary because 
the island's ground water was not already contaminated. In response, 
the SSA program is a pollution prevention program. Experience has shown 
that it is much smarter, and considerably less expensive, to prevent 
ground water pollution in the first place, rather than trying to clean 
up a degraded water supply after a problem is discovered.
    Two persons objected to the designation because they believed that 
the petitioner had requested a part of the island be excluded from the 
designated area. In response, the original petition correctly 
identified that at least one portion of the island (a bedrock tip area 
that discharges ground water to Puget Sound) could be viewed as a 
hydrogeologically separate part of the island. However, the petition 
specifically requested that the entire island be designated as a sole 
source aquifer. EPA concurred that it made better technical and 
programmatic sense to designate the entire island.
    One person raised questions on the technical basis for the 
designation, claiming that the extent and accuracy of the data used in 
the petition and in EPA's Support Document was lacking and flawed. In 
response, EPA used the best available scientific information and best 
professional judgement and believes that the technical basis for the 
designation is based on sound hydrogeologic principles.

VI. Economic and Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 
5 U.S.C. 605(b), I hereby certify that this final determination 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 Guemes Island.
    The only affected entities will be those businesses, organizations, 
or

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government jurisdictions that request Federal financial assistance for 
projects which have the potential for contaminating the aquifer system 
so as to create a significant hazard to public health. EPA does not 
expect to review small isolated commitments of Federal 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 of 
today's action will not be significant. Major projects subject to this 
review will be proceeded 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. Integration of 
those related review procedures with SSA 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 a project to assure protection of the aquifer system.
    Under Executive Order 12866, EPA must judge whether a regulation is 
``major'' and therefore subject to the requirement of a Regulatory 
Impact Analysis. This action is not major because it will not have an 
annual effect of $100 million or more on the economy, will not cause 
any major increases 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.

VII. Summary

    This determination affects only the Guemes Island aquifer system 
located in Skagit County, Washington. 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: November 18, 1997.
Chuck Clarke,
Regional Administrator,U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 97-31273 Filed 11-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F