[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 17, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52763-52765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-26086]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7085-4 ]


Maryland State Prohibition on Discharges of Vessel Sewage; 
Receipt of Applications and Tentative Determination

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that two applications were received 
from the State of Maryland on August 24, 2001, requesting a 
determination by the Regional Administrator, Environmental Protection 
Agency Region III, pursuant to section 312(f) of Public Law 92-500, as 
amended by Public Law 95-217 and Public Law 100-4 (the Clean Water 
Act), that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and 
treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the 
navigable waters of Herring Bay, Ann Arundel County, and the northern 
Coastal Bays (Isle of Wight Bay and Assawoman Bay), Worcester County, 
Maryland. EPA tentatively approves these applications, and upon receipt 
of a final affirmative determination following the public comment 
period, Maryland may completely prohibit the discharge of sewage, 
whether treated or not, from any vessel in Herring Bay and in the 
northern Coastal Bays.

DATES: Comments and views regarding these applications and EPA's 
tentative determination may be filed on or before November 16, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments or requests for information or copies of these 
applications should be addressed to Edward Ambrogio, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, Office of Ecological Assessment and 
Management, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Ambrogio, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, Office of Ecological Assessment and 
Management, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Telephone: (215) 
814-2758. Fax: (215) 814-2782. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These applications were made jointly by the 
Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the Maryland 
Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) . Upon receipt of an affirmative 
determination in response to these applications following the public 
comment period, Maryland may completely prohibit the discharge of 
sewage, whether treated or not, from any vessel in Herring Bay and in 
the northern Coastal Bays (Isle of Wight Bay and Assawoman Bay) in 
accordance with section 312(f)(3) of the Clean Water Act and 40 CFR 
140.4(a).

Herring Bay

    The proposed Herring Bay no discharge zone (NDZ) is a 3,145-acre 
area of water located along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in 
southern Anne Arundel County. The area includes Rockhold, Tracy, and 
Parker Creeks on the north and Rose Haven Harbor on the south. The 
proposed NDZ includes tidal waters west of the following: Beginning on 
Holland Point at or near 38 deg.43'34.9" N latitude/76 deg.31'37.3" W 
longitude, then running in a northerly direction to Crab Pile A at or 
near 38 deg.46'33.0" N latitude/76 deg.32'10.1" W longitude, then 
running to a point on the north shore of Parkers Creek at or near 
38 deg.46'39.1" N latitude/76 deg.32'10.8" W longitude.
    The Herring Bay watershed is approximately 25 square miles. 
Although traditionally a farming area, several residential communities 
are located within the watershed including some that are located along 
the shoreline. Herring Bay is also a very popular recreational boating 
area and is home to 16 marinas containing 2,090 slips.
    Long-term pollution problems that have impacted Herring Bay include 
failing septic systems, discharge from a private sewage treatment 
plant, and runoff from farm and other lands. With the number of marinas 
in the area, recreational boating is also a concern. The potential for 
bacterial contamination from all sources of pollution, including boat 
sewage, has resulted in the on-going closure of the oyster beds, 
however, recent water quality data does not show consistent high levels 
of fecal coliform in the area.
    Currently, there are no public or private sewage treatment plants 
that impact Herring Bay. Although the Broadwater Wastewater Treatment 
Plant is north of Herring Bay and the Chesapeake Beach Wastewater 
Treatment Plant is south of Herring Bay, neither plant's discharges 
affect Herring Bay. Until very recently, there had, however, been a 
private treatment plant at Rose Haven which discharged into Herring 
Bay. That plant is now closed and the sewage from Rose Haven currently 
goes to the Chesapeake Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant.
    Information submitted in the application states that there are a 
total of nine pumpout facilities currently in Herring Bay, of which 
eight provide portable toilet disposal through the use of a wand 
attachment to the pumpout hose. Eight of the nine pumpout facilities 
currently available to the general public are located at six marinas. 
Each of the six marinas is a privately owned facility that used Clean 
Vessel Act (75%) and state funds (25%) to install their pumpouts. Each 
facility that is open to the general public is limited to charging no 
more than $5.00 per pumpout. One of the nine pumpouts is located at a 
61-slip marina and is only available to slipholders. To provide a 
conservative estimate of pumpout availability, this private pumpout was 
not included in the application's calculations. Also not included were 
two additional marinas that have applied for grant funding to install 
pumpouts which should become operational during the 2001 boating 
season. For the purposes of this application, therefore, there are a 
total of eight pumpouts in Herring Bay, of which seven provide portable 
toilet disposal. Maryland's boating season is generally considered to 
be from April 15 to November 15, with very little recreational boating 
activity occurring in the winter. For the few boats in Herring Bay that 
may need to be pumped out in the off-season, both of Herrington Harbour 
North's pumpouts and one of Herrington Harbour South's pumpouts are 
open throughout the year. The other pumpouts are open during the 
boating season only. For those marinas with wand attachments (all 
facilities except Sherman's), portable toilets may be emptied whenever 
the pumpouts are open. Details of these facilities' location, 
availability and hours of operation are as follows:

    Gates Marine Services is an 88-slip facility located on Rockhold 
Creek north of the Deale Road bridge. The marina has a trailer 
mounted pumpout installation located at the travel lift. A wand 
attachment is used to empty portable toilets. The marina's sewage 
disposal hours of operation are 8 am-Monday through Friday, 8 am-4 
pm Saturday and Sunday.
    Harbor Cove Marina is a 78-slip facility located on Rockhold 
Creek north of the Deale Road bridge. The marina has a fixed pumpout 
installation which is located at the gas dock (``C'' dock). A wand 
attachment is used to empty portable toilets. The marina's sewage 
disposal hours of operation are 8 am-6 pm seven days per week.
    Herrington Harbour North is a 670-slip marina located at the 
junction of Rockhold

[[Page 52764]]

Creek and Tracy Creek in northern Herring Bay. The marina has a 
fixed pumpout installation which is located on the T head of ``D'' 
Dock and it also has a portable pumpout that is used for pumpouts 
throughout the marina. Both pumpouts utilize wand attachments to 
empty portable toilets. The marina's sewage disposal hours of 
operation are 9 am-5 pm seven days per week.
    Herrington Harbour South is a 650-slip marina located on Rose 
Haven Harbor in southern Herring Bay. The marina has a fixed pumpout 
installation which is located on the fuel dock (``D'' Dock) and it 
also has a pumpout boat that travels throughout the marina pumping 
out both slip holders and transient vessels. Both pumpouts utilize 
wand attachments to empty portable toilets. The marina's sewage 
disposal hours of operation are 24 hours daily (self-serve) seven 
days per week, staffed 8 am-6 pm seven days per week between May 31 
and September 7.
    Sherman's Marina is a 26-slip facility located on Rockhold Creek 
north of the Deale Road bridge. The marina has a fixed pumpout 
installation which is located on the ``B'' dock. The marina's sewage 
disposal hours of operation are during daylight hours seven days per 
week.
    Shipwright Harbor is a 250-slip facility located at the mouth of 
Rockhold Creek in northern Herring Bay. The marina has a fixed 
pumpout installation which is located near the travel lift. A wand 
attachment is used to empty portable toilets. The marina's sewage 
disposal hours of operation are 9:00am-5:00pm seven days per week.

    Under Maryland law (Natural Resources Article Sec. 8-707), each 
grant funded pumpout project must be approved by MDE. The MDE, in turn, 
consults with the local health/permitting authority to ensure that the 
proposed pumpout and sewage disposal method is in compliance with all 
applicable Federal and state laws. All six of the marinas in Herring 
Bay that have pumpouts open to the public, used grant funding to obtain 
their pumpouts (a total of eight pumpout facilities). All of these 
projects were approved by MDE upon the recommendation of the Anne 
Arundel County Department of Utilities. All six marinas discharge to 
either the Chesapeake Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant, or to the 
Broadwater Wastewater Treatment Plant via either a direct connection, 
or by a licensed septage hauler.
    The MDNR maintains records on the number and size of vessels 
registered and documented in Maryland's waters. In an attempt to 
estimate transient vessels in the area, a representative of the two 
largest marinas in Herring Bay was contacted and asked to estimate how 
many transient vessels, by size, are typically in Herring Bay on a 
typical high-volume day during the boating season. Included in the 
number of registered vessels are charter boats generally used for 
fishing. From this information, the vessel population of Herring Bay 
based on length is 638 vessels less than16 feet, 906 vessels between 16 
and 26 feet, 1,111 vessels between 26 and 40 feet, and 158 vessels over 
40 feet. Based on the number and size of boats, and using various 
methods to estimate the number of on-board holding tanks and portable 
toilets, it was determined that Herring Bay needs a total of five 
pumpouts and one dump station. As described above, Herring Bay is 
currently served by eight operational pumpouts, of which seven provide 
portable toilet disposal. Additionally, two other marinas (Paradise 
Marina and Rockhold Creek Marina) are actively participating in the 
pumpout grant program and should complete their installations by the 
start of the next boating season in early 2002.

Northern Coastal Bays

    The proposed northern Coastal Bays no discharge zone (NDZ) will 
include all tidal waters north of the Ocean City Inlet, including Isle 
of Wight Bay and Assawoman Bay, defined by the points 38 deg.19'23.83" 
N latitude/75 deg.5'14.36" W longitude to 38 deg.19'35.77" N latitude/
75 deg.06'27.68" W longitude, to the Delaware state line.
    The Maryland Coastal Bays are comprised of five large tidal bays 
(Assawoman, Isle of Wight, Sinepuxent, Newport, and Chincoteague) that 
are bounded by two barrier islands (Fenwick and Assateague). The 
drainage basin feeding into the watershed is 117,939 acres and is 
characterized by poor flushing ability due to two narrow inlets. The 
land surrounding the northern Coastal Bays (Isle of Wight Bay and 
Assawoman Bay) is primarily agriculture, forested or marsh but also 
includes the largest percentage of developed land surrounding all five 
Coastal Bays (Ocean Pines and Ocean City). The population of Worcester 
County is expected to increase significantly over the next 10 years and 
reach 50,000 before the year 2010. Currently, Worcester County is the 
second fastest growing county in the state.
    In 1996 the MDE listed the northern Coastal Bays (specifically 
Assawoman and Isle of Wight) on the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) 
impaired waters list as a priority area for excessive nutrients, low 
dissolved oxygen, and elevated fecal coliform counts. MDE is currently 
in the process of having a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) model 
calculated for the above listed substances. The St. Martin's River, a 
large freshwater tributary leading to the Isle of Wight Bay, along with 
Herring and Turville Creeks are currently listed as ``restricted for 
shellfish harvest'' by MDE as well.
    There is one wastewater treatment plant, located within the 
residential community of Ocean Pines, that discharges treated effluent 
into the Isle of Wight Bay. The Ocean City Wastewater Treatment Plant 
in Ocean City discharges treated effluent several miles offshore into 
the Atlantic Ocean.
    Information submitted in the application states that there are a 
total of nine pumpout facilities currently in the northern Coastal 
Bays, of which five provide portable toilet disposal through the use of 
a wand attachment to the pumpout hose or at dump stations. Eight of the 
nine pumpout facilities that are available to the general public, as 
well as all facilities that provide portable toilet disposal are 
located at six marinas. Each of the six marinas is a privately owned 
facility; four used Clean Vessel Act (75%) and state funds (25%) to 
install their pumpouts. These four marinas are limited to charging no 
more than $5.00 per pumpout. One of the nine pumpouts is located at a 
marina that is only available to slipholders. To provide a conservative 
estimate of pumpout availability, this private pumpout was not included 
in the application's calculations. Also not included was one additional 
marina that applied for grant funding to install a pumpout which should 
become operational during the 2002 boating season. For the purposes of 
this application, therefore, there are a total of eight pumpouts in the 
northern Coastal Bays, of which five provide portable toilet disposal 
via a wand attachment or a dump station. Maryland's boating season is 
generally considered to be from April 15 to November 15, with very 
little recreational boating activity occurring in the winter. For the 
few boats in the northern Coastal Bays that may need to be pumped out 
in the off-season, Advanced Marina's pumpout is open throughout the 
year. The other pumpouts are generally open during the boating season 
only. Details of these facilities' location, availability and hours of 
operation are as follows:

    Advanced Marina is a 60-slip marina located at 66th St., Ocean 
City on Isle of Wight Bay. The marina has a portable pumpout unit 
and potty wand attachment for emptying portable toilets. The 
marina's sewage disposal hours of operation are 8 a.m.-8 p.m. seven 
days per week, all year.
    Harbour Island Marina is a 110-slip marina located at 14th St., 
Ocean City on Isle of Wight Bay. The marina has one fixed pumpout 
unit at the entrance to the marina

[[Page 52765]]

and one potty wand attachment for emptying portable toilets. The 
marina's sewage disposal hours of operation are 6:00am-8:00pm seven 
days per week, from May through September.
    Ocean City Fishing Center is a 240-slip marina located near the 
Route 50 bridge in West Ocean City on the Isle of Wight Bay. The 
marina has one fixed pumpout unit located next to the marina office. 
The marina's sewage disposal hours of operation are 5 a.m.-8 p.m. 
seven days per week, from May through September.
    Ocean Pines Marina is an 86-slip marina located near the Route 
90 bridge in Ocean Pines on the St. Martins River. The marina has 
one fixed pumpout located at the end of pier A. The marina's sewage 
disposal hours of operation are 8am-6pm Monday through Friday, 7am-
7pm Saturday and 7am-6pm Sunday, from May through October.
    Sunset Marina is a 204-slip marina located at the Ocean City 
Inlet in West Ocean City on Isle of Wight Bay. The marina has one 
fixed pumpout with two remote stands, each at the end of successive 
piers, one portable unit with potty wand attachment for emptying 
portable toilets, and one dump station on the bulkhead. The marina's 
sewage disposal hours of operation are 9am-5pm seven days per week, 
from May through September.
    Townes of Nantucket II is a 92-slip marina located at Nantucket 
Point near the Delaware state line in Ocean City on Assawoman Bay. 
The marina has one fixed pumpout and one dump station for portable 
toilets, both located at the ``A'' bulkhead. The marina's sewage 
disposal hours of operation are 24 hours a day, seven days per week, 
from April through October.

    Marinas participating in the Maryland Pumpout Program are required 
by law (Natural Resources Article Sec. 8-707) to have an approved 
method of sewage disposal as determined by MDE and local (county or 
municipal) health inspectors. Four of the six marinas participated in 
the Maryland Pumpout Program, and therefore are in compliance with 
state and Federal laws. Information about the removal of pumpout waste 
from the other two marinas was obtained through marina surveys. Of the 
six marinas described above, five discharge to the Ocean City 
Wastewater Treatment Plant; the remaining marina discharges to the 
Ocean Pines Wastewater Treatment Plant.
    The MDNR maintains records of all documented and registered boats 
in the state. In order to estimate the number of transient boaters, 
several methods were employed. First a marina survey was conducted 
where marina owners were asked to estimate the percentage of transient 
boaters that utilize their facility and the northern Coastal Bays. 
Second, information collected from a 1999 aerial survey of the northern 
Coastal Bays, conducted by the MDNR Fisheries Department, was used to 
determine types and sizes of boats using the waters on a peak day in-
season. Finally, a land survey was conducted where MDNR employees 
surveyed Coastal Bay vessel usage on a typical day during the season. 
All of these methods were employed to come up with a best estimate for 
transient usage. It was estimated, using the above techniques, that 
Ocean City/northern Coastal Bays have approximately 10,000 wet slips. 
It was also assumed that the transient boat population mirrored the 
resident population as far as relative percent of the size and numbers 
of boats. Based on this information the vessel population of the 
northern Coastal Bays based on length is 2,800 vessels less than 16 
feet, 6,600 vessels between 16 and 26 feet, 600 vessels between 26 and 
40 feet, and 100 vessels over 40 feet. Based on the number and size of 
boats, and using various methods to estimate the number of holding 
tanks and portable toilets, it was determined that the northern Coastal 
Bays need three pumpouts and five dump stations. There are currently 
eight operating pumpouts and one proposed pumpout in the northern 
Coastal Bays along with two dump stations and three pumpouts equipped 
to empty portable toilets making a total of five portable toilet waste 
facilities. There is also one proposed pumpout that would accept 
portable toilets by the start of the next boating season in early 2002.

Tentative Finding

    The EPA hereby makes a tentative affirmative determination that 
adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of 
sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for Herring Bay, Ann 
Arundel County, Maryland, and the northern Coastal Bays (Isle of Wight 
Bay and Assawoman Bay), Worcester County, Maryland. A final 
determination on this matter will be made following the 30 day period 
for public comment and may result in a Maryland state prohibition of 
any sewage discharges from vessels in Herring Bay and the northern 
Coastal Bays. Comments and views regarding these applications and EPA's 
tentative determination may be filed on or before November 16, 2001.
    Comments or requests for information or copies of Maryland's 
applications should be addressed to Edward Ambrogio, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, Office of Ecological Assessment and 
Management, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Telephone: (215) 
814-2758. Fax: (215) 814-2782. Email: [email protected].

Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 01-26086 Filed 10-16-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P