[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44460-44462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16272]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7238-7]


Public Notice of Final NPDES General Permits for Facilities/
Operations That Generate, Treat, and/or Use/Dispose of Sewage Sludge by 
Means of Land Application, Landfill, and Surface Disposal in EPA Region 
VIII

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of issuance of NPDES general permits.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Region VIII of EPA is hereby giving notice of its issuance of 
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general 
permits for facilities or operations that generate, treat, and/or use/
dispose of sewage sludge by means of land application, landfill, and 
surface disposal in the States of CO, MT, ND, and WY and in Indian 
country, as defined at 18 U.S.C. 1151, in the States of CO, MT, ND, SD, 
WY and UT (except for the Goshute Indian Reservation and the Navajo 
Indian Reservation). The effective date of the general permits is 
August 16, 2002.
    The NPDES permit numbers and the areas covered by each general 
permit are listed below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Area covered by the
             State                  Permit No.         general permit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado......................  COG650000          State of Colorado
                                                    except for Federal
                                                    Facilities and
                                                    Indian country
                                COG651000          Indian country within
                                                    the State of
                                                    Colorado and the
                                                    portions of the Ute
                                                    Mountain Indian
                                                    Reservation located
                                                    within the States of
                                                    New Mexico and Utah.

[[Page 44461]]

 
                                COG652000          Federal Facilities in
                                                    the State of
                                                    Colorado, except
                                                    those located in
                                                    Indian country,
                                                    which are covered
                                                    under permit
                                                    COG51000.
Montana.......................  MTG650000          State of Montana
                                                    except for Indian
                                                    country.
                                MTG651000          Indian country within
                                                    the State of
                                                    Montana.
North Dakota..................  NDG650000          State of North Dakota
                                                    except for Indian
                                                    country.
                                NDG651000          Indian country within
                                                    the State of North
                                                    Dakota (except for
                                                    Indian country
                                                    located within the
                                                    former boundaries of
                                                    the Lake Traverse
                                                    Indian Reservation,
                                                    which are covered
                                                    under permit
                                                    SDG651000) and that
                                                    portion of the
                                                    Standing Rock Indian
                                                    Reservation located
                                                    within the State of
                                                    South Dakota.
South Dakota..................  SDG651000          Indian country within
                                                    the State of South
                                                    Dakota (except for
                                                    the Standing Rock
                                                    Indian Reservation,
                                                    which is covered
                                                    under permit
                                                    NDG651000, that
                                                    portion of the Pine
                                                    Ridge Indian
                                                    Reservation located
                                                    within the State of
                                                    Nebraska, and Indian
                                                    country located
                                                    within the State of
                                                    North Dakota within
                                                    the former
                                                    boundaries of the
                                                    Lake Traverse Indian
                                                    Reservation).
Utah..........................  UTG651000          Indian country within
                                                    the State of Utah
                                                    except for the Ute
                                                    Mountain Indian
                                                    Reservation (which
                                                    is covered under
                                                    permit COG651000),
                                                    the Goshute Indian
                                                    Reservation, and the
                                                    Navajo Indian
                                                    Reservation.
Wyoming.......................  WYG650000          State of Wyoming
                                                    except for Indian
                                                    country.
                                WYG651000          Indian country within
                                                    the State of
                                                    Wyoming.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Coverage under the general permits may be for one of the following 
three categories: Category 1--Facilities/operations that generate and/
or partially treat sewage sludge, but do not use/dispose of sewage 
sludge; Category 2--Facilities/operations that use/dispose of sewage 
sludge and may also generate and/or treat sewage sludge; and Category 
3--Wastewater lagoon systems that need to land apply sewage sludge on 
an occasional, restricted basis. Coverage under the general permit will 
be limited to one of the three categories, but coverage may be granted 
to one or more subcategories under Category 2. In applying for coverage 
under the general permit, the applicant will be required to specify 
under which category or subcategory(s) coverage is being requested. 
However, the permit issuing authority will have the final determination 
as to which category or subcategory(s) the coverage will be granted. 
Facilities or operations that incinerate sewage sludge are not eligible 
for coverage under these general permits and must apply for an 
individual permit. The requirements in the permit for the use/disposal 
of sewage sludge are based primarily on 40 CFR 503.
    The deadlines for applying for coverage under the general permits 
are given in the permits and the Fact Sheet. For most facilities/
operations, the deadline is 90 days after the effective date of the 
permit. Wastewater lagoon systems that are not using/disposing of 
sewage sludge do not need to apply for permit coverage unless notified 
by the permit issuing authority.

DATES: The general permits become effective on August 16, 2002 and will 
expire five years from that date. For appeal purposes, the 120 day time 
period for appeal to the U.S. Federal Courts will begin August 16, 
2002.

ADDRESSES: The public record is located at EPA Region 8, and is 
available upon written request. Requests for copies of the public 
record, including a complete copy of response to comments, a list of 
changes made from the draft permit to the final permit, the general 
permit, and the fact sheet for the general permit, should be addressed 
to William Kennedy,: NPDES PERMITS TEAM (8P-W-P); U.S. EPA, REGION 
VIII; 999 18TH STREET, SUITE 300; DENVER, CO 80202-2466 or telephone 
(303) 312-6285. Copies of the general permit, fact sheet, response to 
comments, and a list of changes from the draft permit to the final 
permit may also be downloaded from the EPA Region VIII web page at 
http://www.epa.gov/region08/water/wastewater/biohome/biohome.html. 
Please allow approximately one week after this notice for documents to 
be posted on the web page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding the specific 
permit requirements may be directed to Bob Brobst, telephone (303) 312-
6129 or E-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Region VIII proposed and solicited comments 
on the general permits at 66 FR 793 (January 4, 2001). In addition, 
notices and copies of the draft general permit and Fact Sheet were sent 
to most publicly owned treatment works in Region VIII that would likely 
have to apply for coverage under the general permit. Comments were 
received from six facilities/operations that generate, treat, and/or 
use/dispose of sewage sludge. The comments covered a wide range of 
issues. Many of the issues were addressed in the final permit. The 
response to comments is included as part of the public record. Also, 
the public record includes a list of the changes made from the draft 
permit to the final permit. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not 
have any comments.
    The States of South Dakota and Utah have been authorized as the 
permit authority for sewage sludge, therefore general permits will be 
issued only for Indian country in those States. The general permit for 
Indian country in Utah does not include the portions of the Goshute 
Indian Reservation and the Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah because 
the permitting activities for these reservations are done by Region IX 
of EPA. The State of Colorado has not been authorized as the permit 
authority for Federal facilities. Therefore, a separate general permit 
is being issued for Federal facilities in Colorado that are not located 
in Indian country.
    On June 21, 2000 and September 21, 2000, U.S. District Judge Donald 
W. Molloy issued orders stating that until all necessary total maximum 
daily loads under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act are established 
for a particular water quality limited segment, the EPA is not to issue 
any new permits or increase permitted discharges under the NPDES 
program. (See Friends of the Wild Swan, Inc. v. EPA, 130 F. Supp. 2nd 
1199 (D. Mont. 2000); 130 F. Supp 2nd 1204 (D. Mont. 2000)) EPA finds 
that the issuance of these general permits does not conflict with this 
order, because (1) the permits do not authorize any point source 
discharges into waters of the United States and (2) as discussed under 
the ``Protection of Public Health and The Environment'' section of the 
Fact Sheet, the use and/or disposal of sewage sludge in compliance with 
the conditions of these permits is not likely to have any adverse 
effect on any waterbody in Montana that has been listed under section 
303(d) of the Clean Water Act.

[[Page 44462]]

    Since these permits do not involve discharges to waters of the 
United States, certification under section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water 
Act is not necessary for the issuance of these permits and 
certification was not requested.

Appeal of Permit

    Any interested person may appeal the ``NPDES General Permit for 
Facilities/Operations That Generate, Treat, Use/Dispose of Sewage 
Sludge By Means of Land Application, Landfill, and Surface Disposal'' 
in the Federal Court of Appeals in accordance with section 509(b)(1) of 
the Clean Water Act. This appeal must be filed within 120 days of the 
effective date of the permit. Persons affected by a general NPDES 
permit may not challenge the conditions of the permit as a right of 
further EPA proceedings. Instead, they may either challenge the permit 
in court or apply for an individual permit and then request a formal 
hearing on the issuance or denial on an individual permit.
    Executive Order 12866: Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735 
(Oct. 4, 1993)), the EPA must determine whether its regulatory actions 
are ``significant'' and therefore subject to review by the OMB. The EPA 
has determined that the issuance of these general permits is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' under the terms of Executive Order 
12866 and is therefore not subject to formal OMB review prior to 
proposal.
    Paperwork Reduction Act: EPA has reviewed the requirements imposed 
on regulated facilities in these general permits under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The information 
collection requirements of these permits have already been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget in submissions made for the NPDES 
permit program under the provisions of the Clean Water Act.
    Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA): The RFA, as amended by the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 
601 et seq, generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory 
flexibility analysis of any rule subject to the notice and comment 
rulemaking requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) or any other statute, unless 
the agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. The permits issued 
today, however, are not a ``rule'' subject to the requirements of 5 
U.S.C. 553(b) and are therefore not subject to the RFA.
    Unfunded Mandates Reform Act: Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law 104-4, generally requires Federal 
agencies to assess the effects of their ``regulatory actions'' on 
tribal, state, and local governments and the private sector. 
``Regulatory actions'' are defined as ``rules'' subject to the RFA. The 
permits issued today are not ``rules'' subject to the RFA; therefore, 
they are not subject to the requirements of the UMRA.

    Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

    Dated: June 19, 2002.
Kerrigan G. Clough,
Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Partnerships and Regulatory 
Assistance, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. 02-16272 Filed 7-1-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P