[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 178 (Thursday, September 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47673-47674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-22910]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7055-6]


Clean Water Act Section 303(d): Availability of Total Maximum 
Daily Loads (TMDLs)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability for comment of the 
administrative record file for TMDLs, prepared by EPA Region 6, 
addressing pesticides listings in Louisiana's Mermentau and Vermilion/
Teche river basins. These TMDLs include 22 waters listed with 
pesticides as a cause of impairment under section 303(d) of the Clean 
Water Act (CWA). EPA prepared these TMDLs in response to a Court Order 
dated October 1, 1999, in the lawsuit Sierra Club, et al. v. Clifford 
et al., No. 96-0527, (E.D. La.). Under this court order, EPA is 
required to prepare TMDLs when needed for waters on the Louisiana 1998 
section 303(d) list by December 31, 2007.

DATES: Comments on the TMDLs must be submitted in writing to EPA on or 
before October 15, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the TMDLs should be sent to Ellen Caldwell, 
Environmental Protection Specialist, Water Quality Protection Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6, 1445 Ross Ave., Dallas, 
TX 75202-2733. For further information, contact Ellen Caldwell at (214) 
665-7513. The administrative record file for these TMDLs is available 
for public inspection at this address as well. Copies of the TMDLs and 
their respective calculations may be viewed at www.epa.gov/region6/water/tmdl.htm. The administrative record files may be obtained by 
calling or writing Ms. Caldwell at the above address. Please contact 
Ms. Caldwell to schedule an inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Caldwell at (214) 665-7513.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1996, two Louisiana environmental groups, 
the Sierra Club and Louisiana Environmental Action Network 
(plaintiffs), filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against the United 
States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), styled Sierra Club, et 
al. v. Clifford et al., No. 96-0527, (E.D. La.). Among other claims, 
plaintiffs alleged that EPA failed to establish Louisiana TMDLs in a 
timely manner. Discussion of the court order may be found at 65 FR 
54032 (September 6, 2000).

EPA Seeks Comments on 27 TMDLs

    By this notice EPA is seeking comments on the following 23 
pesticides TMDLs on the 1999 court-ordered 303(d) list within the 
Mermentau and Vermilion/Teche basins and 4 newly identified TMDLs for 
waters located within the Mermentau basin. The pesticides of concern 
identified were carbofuran and fipronil.

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          Subsegment                Waterbody name         Pollutants
------------------------------------------------------------------------
050101........................  Bayou Des Cannes--      Pesticides
                                 Headwaters to           (carbofuran &
                                 Mermentau River.        fipronil)
050701........................  Grand Lake............  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
050702........................  Intracoastal Waterway.  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
050901........................  Bays and Gulf Waters    Pesticides
                                 to State 3-mile Limit.  (carbofuran)
060205........................  Bayou Teche--           Pesticides
                                 Headwaters At Bayou     (carbofuran)
                                 Courtableau to I-10.
060207........................  Bayou des Glaises       Pesticides
                                 Diversion Canal.        (carbofuran)
060301........................  Bayou Teche--I-10 to    Pesticides
                                 Keystone Locks and      (carbofuran)
                                 Dam.
060401........................  Bayou Teche--Keystone   Pesticides
                                 Locks and Dam to        (carbofuran)
                                 Charenton Canal.
060701........................  Tete Bayou............  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
060801........................  Vermilion River--       Pesticides
                                 Headwaters at Bayou     (carbofuran)
                                 Fusilier-Bourbeaux
                                 Junction to New
                                 Flanders (Ambassador
                                 Caffery Bridge At Hwy
                                 3073).
060802........................  Vermilion River--From   Pesticides
                                 New Flanders            (carbofuran)
                                 (Ambassador Caffery
                                 Bridge) at Hwy 3073
                                 to Intracoastal
                                 Waterway.
060803........................  Vermilion River Cutoff  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
060901........................  Bayou Petite Anse.....  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
060902........................  Bayou Carlin            Pesticides
                                 (Delcambre Canal)--     (carbofuran)
                                 Lake Peigneur to
                                 Bayou Petite Anse
                                 (Estuarine).
060903........................  Bayou Tigre...........  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
060904........................  Vermilion River B890    Pesticides
                                 Basin New Iberia        (carbofuran)
                                 Southern Drainage
                                 Canal.
060906........................  Intracoastal Waterway.  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
060907........................  Franklin Canal........  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
060910........................  Boston Canal and        Pesticides
                                 Associated Canals       (carbofuran)
                                 (Estuarine).
060911........................  Vermilion-Teche River   Pesticides
                                 Basin.                  (carbofuran)
061101........................  Bayou Petite Anse.....  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)

[[Page 47674]]

 
061102........................  Intracoastal Waterway.  Pesticides
                                                         (carbofuran)
050201........................  Bayou Plaquemine        Pesticides
                                 Brule--headwaters to    (fipronil)
                                 Bayou Des Cannes.
050401........................  Mermentau River--       Pesticides
                                 origin to Lake Arthur.  (fipronil)
050501........................  Bayou Queue de Tortue-- Pesticides
                                 headwaters to           (fipronil)
                                 Mermentau River.
050603........................  Bayou Chene--includes   Pesticides
                                 Bayou Grand Marais.     (fipronil)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    EPA requests that the public provide to EPA any water quality 
related data and information that may be relevant to the calculations 
for these TMDLs, or any other comments relevant to these TMDLs. EPA 
will review all data and information submitted during the public 
comment period and revise the TMDLs where appropriate. EPA will then 
forward the TMDLs to the Court and the Louisiana Department of 
Environmental Quality (LDEQ). LDEQ will incorporate the TMDLs into its 
current water quality management plan.

    Dated: September 4, 2001.
Richard G. Hoppers,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 01-22910 Filed 9-12-01; 8:45 am]
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