[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 6 (Friday, January 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1443-1444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-542]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Environmental Protection Agency


Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program: Proposed Findings 
Document, Environmental Assessment, and Finding of No Significant 
Impact

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability of Proposed Findings Document, 
Environmental Assessment, and Finding of No Significant Impact on 
Approval of Coastal Nonprofit Pollution Control Programs for 
California.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the availability of the Proposed 
Findings Document, Environmental Assessment (EA), and Finding of No 
Significant Impact for California. Coastal states and territories were 
required to submit their coastal nonprofit programs to the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval in July 1995. The 
Findings document was prepared by NOAA and EPA to provide the rationale 
for the agencies' decision to approve the state coastal nonprofit 
pollution control program. Section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act 
Reauthorization Amendments (CZARA), 16 U.S.C. 1455b, requires states 
and territories with coastal zone management programs that have 
received approval under section 306 of the Coastal Zone Management Act 
to develop and implement coastal nonpoint pollution control programs. 
The EA was prepared by NOAA, pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., to assess the environmental 
impacts associated with the approval of the coastal nonpoint pollution 
control program submitted to NOAA and EPA by California.
    NOAA and EPA have proposed to approve, with conditions, the coastal 
nonpoint pollution control program submitted by California. The 
requirements of 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508 (Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) regulations to implement the National Environmental 
Policy Act) apply to the preparation of the Environmental Assessment. 
Specifically, 40 CFR section 1506.6 requires agencies to provide public 
notice of the availability of environmental documents. This notice is 
part of NOAA's action to comply with this requirement.

Introduction

    Nonpoint source pollution, pollution caused by a wide range of 
activities including agriculture, mining, urban development and 
forestry, is a major cause of water quality impairment nationally and 
in California. To address these problems, the State of California, 
along with various federal and local agencies, private non-profit 
groups and landowners are involved in many efforts to reduce and 
prevent nonpoint source pollution. California's CZARA submittal, an 
important part of these efforts, is a good start to describing a 
program to address the challenging and critical problems associated 
with nonpoint source pollution. However, the proposed findings for the 
California submittal conclude that the program as currently submitted 
to EPA and NOAA is not adequate to protect California's water quality. 
In particular, EPA and NOAA are asking the State Water Resources 
Control Board (SWRCB) and the California Coastal Commission (CCC) to 
more fully identify the activities that will be undertaken to ensure 
widespread implementation of management measures for the major nonpoint 
sources in the State, while providing for evaluation, feedback, public 
review and program adjustments as necessary. California has agreed to 
expand upon the California submittal documents prepared to date to more 
adequately address the requirements of CZARA and advance the success of 
the nonpoint source program.

Background: Description of California's Nonpoint Source Program

    The SWRCB and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards 
(RWQCBs) have primary responsibility in California for the protection 
of water quality. As such, in 1988 the SWRCB adopted the California 
Nonpoint Source (NPS) Management Plan that outlined a 3-tiered approach 
for addressing polluted runoff: (1) Voluntary implementation of Best 
Management Practices (BMPs), (2) regulatory-based encouragement of 
BMPs, and (3) effluent limitations. In addition to the SWRCB and the 
RWQCBs, California's program recognizes that other federal, state, 
local and private entities have key responsibilities for addressing the 
problems caused by nonpoint sources, such as the Board of Forestry, 
Department of Pesticides, California Department of Transportation, 
Natural Resource Conservation Service, and local governments. 
Preparation of the State's NPS Management Plan was in response to Clean 
Water Act Section 319, enacted by Congress in 1987. CWA Section 319 
required states to develop an assessment report detailing the extent of 
nonpoint source pollution and a management program specifying nonpoint 
source controls, in order to be eligible for federal funding. As a 
result, California received an annual federal funding allocation in 
1997 of $5.3 million to carry out its nonpoint source program.

California's Response to Section 6217 of CZARA

    CZARA requirements resulted in the expansion of the partnership for 
addressing nonpoint source pollution to include the California Coastal

[[Page 1444]]

Commission (CCC), in order to strengthen the links between Federal and 
State coastal zone management and water quality programs. Therefore, 
the SWRCB, the RWQCBs and CCC undertook a joint effort to improve the 
statewide nonpoint source program and comply with CZARA requirements. 
In February 1994, the State initiated a comprehensive review process to 
consider the requirements of Section 6217 and update its existing 
statewide nonpoint source management program rather than create a 
separate program dealing exclusively with coastal waters. The State 
anticipated that a statewide approach would reduce resource 
expenditures and eliminate the potential for regulatory inequities 
which might occur if a separate nonpoint source pollution control 
program was instituted for coastal areas.
    Technical advisory committees (TACs), composed of representatives 
from industry, academia, environmental groups, and state and federal 
agencies, were convened to provide critical input to the program 
review. For one year the TAC's reviewed current nonpoint source 
programs and developed consensus-based recommendations for improving 
implementation, including innovative approaches for using existing 
programs more efficiently, and allowing limited staff and fiscal 
resources to be focused on the most pressing water quality problems. 
The 10 separate technical advisory committee (TAC) reports identified a 
wide range of activities aimed at implementing the CZARA management 
measures, improving the State's nonpoint source program, and reducing 
the water quality impacts associated with nonpoint source pollution. In 
addition these reports contained several common themes, such as: 
voluntary cooperation is preferred over prescriptive measures; improve 
outreach and technical assistance to individuals and local groups; 
support local stewardship and specific, problem-responsive measures 
devised through comprehensive watershed management plans; better 
coordinate activities of the various resource management agencies; and 
where voluntary efforts have not succeeded and significant water 
quality problems persist, utilize appropriate authorities to achieve 
environmental improvements.
    The SWRCB and the CCC then prepared the State of California's 
response to CZARA and submitted the documents in September 1995 to EPA 
and NOAA, as required by the statute. The State's submittal package 
included two principal documents:
     ``California's Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control 
Submittal,'' which is an account of the State's existing programs 
related to the management of nonpoint pollution, and
     ``Initiatives in Nonpoint Source Management,'' which 
describes several Initiatives adopted by the SWRCB to improve the 
nonpoint source program, along with the associated TAC reports.

EPA and NOAA's Review of California's 6217 Submittal

    The proposed findings document now available for public review 
concludes that California's nonpoint source program is encouraging 
because of its broad scope in terms of the State's authorities and 
programs to address nonpoint source pollution, its statewide 
applicability and the watershed approach being proposed. However, the 
State's submittal is not sufficient to conform with the requirements of 
CZARA because (in summary):
     The submittal does not describe how the management 
measures are incorporated into the State's program and how they will be 
implemented;
     The submittal does not describe how existing ``back-up'' 
authorities will be used to ensure implementation of the management 
measures, if voluntary efforts fail;
     The submittal does not adequately address key gaps and 
recommendations identified by the Technical Advisory Committees;
     The submittal does not incorporate the activities, roles 
and responsibilities of the CCC;
     The submittal does not adequately address common program 
elements related to administrative coordination, technical assistance, 
critical coastal areas, additional management measures and monitoring.
    EPA and NOAA have reached agreement with the CCC and the SWRCB on 
an ``action plan'' for improving California's Nonpoint Source Program 
that will also assist the State in meeting the requirements of Section 
6217 of CZARA. The ``action plan'' outlines a framework and key 
activities that the CCC and the SWRCB along with the RWQCBs will 
undertake to prepare an implementation strategy to improve efforts to 
reduce nonpoint source pollution. EPA and NOAA anticipate that the 
completion of the activities in the ``action plan'' will address the 
submittal's current shortcomings in a manner that will provide 
California with a more effective nonpoint source program and help meet 
the conditions for programs approval identified in the proposed 
findings. EPA and NOAA are encouraging the State to base this strategy, 
to the fullest extent possible, on the CZARA materials submitted to 
date and to continue to involve a wide range of stakeholders in 
preparing and implementing a nonpoint source program that more fully 
protects California's water quality and complies with CZARA.
    Copies of the Proposed Findings Document, Environmental Assessment, 
and Finding of No Significant Impact may be obtained upon request from: 
Joseph P. Flanagan, Coastal Programs Division (N/ORM3), Office of Ocean 
and Coastal Resource Management, NOS, NOAA, 1305 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910, tel. (301) 713-3121, x201.

DATES: Individuals or organizations wishing to submit comments on the 
proposed Findings or Environmental Assessment should do so by February 
9, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be made to: Joseph A. Uravitch, Coastal 
Programs Division (N/ORM3), Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource 
Management, NOS, NOAA 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland, 
20910, tel. (301) 713-3155, x195. (Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog 
11.419 Coastal Zone Management Program Administration)

    Dated: January 6, 1998.
Captain Evelyn J. Fields,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal 
Zone Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Robert H. Wayland III,
Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, Environmental 
Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 98-542 Filed 1-8-98; 8:45 am]
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