[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 42226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20126]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7029-8]


Notice of Availability: Final Guidance: Coordinating CSO Long-
Term Planning With Water Quality Standards Reviews

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Availability of final guidance.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is publishing the final Guidance: Coordinating CSO Long-
Term Planning with Water Quality Standards Reviews. The guidance 
addresses questions raised since the publication of the CSO Control 
Policy in 1994 on coordinating the long-term control plan (LTCP) 
development process with the water quality standards review. As 
outlined in the guidance, EPA will continue to implement the CSO 
Control Policy through its existing statutory and regulatory 
authorities. The guidance cannot impose legally binding requirements on 
EPA, States, Tribes, or the regulated community. It cannot substitute 
for Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements, EPA's regulations, or the 
obligations imposed by consent decrees or enforcement orders.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may obtain a copy of the guidance from 
the EPA's NPDES website at www.epa.gov/npdes or by contacting the 
Office of Water Resources Center at 202-260-7786 (e-mail: [email protected]) or at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RC-4100, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please request 
Guidance: Coordinating CSO Long-Term Planning with Water Quality 
Standards Reviews (EPA Number EPA-833-R-01-002; July 2001).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Dwyer, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, ICC Building (MC 4203M), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC, 20460. E-mail address: [email protected]. 
Telephone: 202-564-0717.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA issued the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) 
Control Policy in April 1994 (59 FR 18688). To date, EPA has released 
seven guidance documents and worked with stakeholders to foster 
implementation of the Policy. The CSO Control Policy calls for the 
development of a long-term control plan (LTCP), which includes measures 
that provide for compliance with the Clean Water Act including 
attainment of water quality standards. The CSO Control Policy provides 
that the LTCP should be coordinated with the review and revision, as 
appropriate, of water quality standards and implementation procedures 
on CSO-impacted receiving waters. This process is intended to ensure 
that the long-term controls will be sufficient to meet water quality 
standards (59 FR 18694).
    As part of EPA's FY 1999 Appropriation, Congress directed EPA to 
develop guidance on the conduct of water quality standards and 
designated use reviews for CSO-receiving waters, and urged EPA to 
provide technical and financial assistance to States and EPA Regions to 
conduct these reviews. Further, in December 2000, amendments to the 
Clean Water Act at section 402(q) required EPA to issue final guidance 
on this subject by July 31, 2001.
    The objective of this guidance is to lay a strong foundation for 
coordinating CSO long-term control planning with water quality 
standards reviews. Reaching early agreement among interested parties on 
the data to be collected and the analyses to be conducted to support 
the long-term control plan development and water quality standards 
reviews can facilitate the review of water quality standards and the 
reconciliation of water quality standards with a well-designed and 
operated CSO control program.
    The guidance describes the process for coordinating LTCP 
development and implementation with the water quality standards review. 
This process is the centerpiece of EPA's commitment to assure that both 
communities with combined sewer systems and States participate in 
implementing the water quality-based provisions in the CSO Control 
Policy. The CSO Control Policy anticipates the ``review and revision, 
as appropriate, of water quality standards and their implementation 
procedures when developing CSO control plans to reflect site-specific 
impacts of CSOs.'' Although this coordination is an intensive iterative 
process, it provides greater assurance that CSO communities will 
implement CSO control programs to help attain appropriate water quality 
standards.
    This guidance was published as a draft in January 2001 and titled, 
Draft Guidance on Implementing the Water Quality-Based Provisions in 
the Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy (66 FR 364; January 3, 
2001). EPA received comments from 27 interested parties. EPA reviewed 
the comments and made appropriate changes to the draft guidance in 
response to the submitted comments.

    Dated: August 3, 2001.
Diane Regas,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. 01-20126 Filed 8-9-01; 8:45 am]
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