[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68869-68870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-28850]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7407-7]


Supplemental Information and Extension of Public Comment Period 
on the General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits 
for Log Transfer Facilities in Alaska: AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of extension of public comment and request for 
additional public comments on general NPDES permits for log transfer 
facilities in Alaska.

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SUMMARY: The Director, Office of Water, EPA Region 10, is extending the 
comment period on proposed modifications of the two general National 
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for Alaskan log 
transfer facilities (LTFs), inconclusive of log storage areas: NPDES 
permit numbers AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000. In addition, EPA Region 10 
is providing clarification on an element in the proposed modifications 
dealing with bark deposition and application of a Zone of Deposit. 
Notice of a public comment period on the project area zone of deposit 
for bark and woody debris, and proposed modifications of the NPDES 
permits was published in the Federal Register on October 22, 2002, 67 
FR 64885. Region 10 is extending the public comment period to January 
13, 2002.

DATES: Interested persons may submit written comments on the proposed 
modifications to general NPDES permits AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000 and 
on the project area zone of deposit on or before January 13, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to the attention of Alaskan LTF Public 
Comments, EPA Region 10 (OW-130), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. 
All comments should include the name of the commenter, a concise 
statement of the comment, and the relevant facts upon which the comment 
is based.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The NPDES Permits Unit, EPA Region 10 
Office of Water, Seattle, Washington, at (206) 553-0775.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA published the public notice of its 
request for comment on the ``project area zone of deposit'' for LTFs 
and its proposed modification of two general permits for Alaskan log 
transfer facilities on October 22, 2002 (67 FR 64885). The October 22, 
2002 Federal Register Notice announced a 60-day public comment period 
ending on December 23, 2002. The EPA did not, however, post the 
administrative record on the internet, provide copies of the record at 
its listed offices, nor distribute copies of the public notice and 
draft modified general permits to permittees and other interested 
parties in a timely fashion. Therefore, the EPA has determined to 
extend the public comment period to provide for sixty (60) days of 
comment following this present re-notice of public comment and proposed 
permit modification.
    In addition to extending the comment period, the EPA seeks to 
clarify the October 22 Federal Register Notice (67 FR 64885) in regard 
to issues associated with the regulation of continuous coverage of bark 
and woody debris inside of the project area zone of deposit authorized 
by the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC). 
The EPA asks that commenters provide comment on the practical, 
technical, economic, environmental and legal considerations regarding 
one of two alternative permit conditions to address the physical and 
environmental impacts associated with continuous coverage of the 
seafloor by bark and woody debris that is discharged from LTFs. The two 
alternatives being considered by EPA are: (1) A 1 acre threshold on 
continuous bark coverage that, once exceeded, would require the 
development and implementation of a remediation plan overseen by ADEC; 
or (2) a 1 acre limit on continuous bark coverage in the two general 
NPDES permits, which if exceeded, would be a violation of the permit.
    The first alternative is to provide a threshold of 1 acre of 
continuous bark coverage that would serve as an area of initiation for 
the development and implementation of a remediation plan to control and 
reduce the deposition of additional bark and woody debris that might 
contribute to the continuous coverage of additional area of seafloor in 
excess of 1 acre. The 1 acre threshold for remediation was provided by 
the ADEC in its certification of reasonable assurance that the general 
NPDES permits would meet the Alaska Water Quality Standards pursuant to 
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The ADEC has indicated that the 1 
acre threshold was established in the Timber Task Force Guidelines and 
was meant to be a threshold for regulatory discretion to determine if 
cleanup was required, but was not intended to be a legal limit in a 
NPDES permit. Specifically, from Alaska Timber Task Force's (1985), Log 
transfer facility siting, construction, operations and monitoring/
reporting guidelines (p. 11, section C6): ``Bark accumulation: The 
regulatory agency(ies) will impose an interim intertidal and submarine 
threshold bark accumulation level. When accumulations exceed the 
threshold level, cleanup--if any--will occur at the discretion of the 
permitting agency(ies). The interim threshold bark accumulation level 
is described as 100% coverage exceeding both 1 acre in size and a 
thickness greater than 10 cm (3.9 inches) at any point.''
    The second alternative is to provide a limit of 1 acre of 
continuous bark coverage no deeper than 10 centimeters at any point 
that would serve as a maximum area of coverage under the NPDES permit. 
The 1 acre limit of maximum continuous coverage was provided by the EPA 
in its proposed modification of the two general permits on October 22, 
2002, based on information developed by the Timber Task Force 
Guidelines on the impacts of discharges of bark and woody debris and 
previous ADEC Section 401 Certifications. Please refer to the October 
22, 2002 Federal Register Notice (67 FR 64885) for a more detailed 
discussion of the alternatives for controlling continuous coverage of 
the seafloor by bark and woody debris from LTFs.
    The EPA also draws attention to an issue of the appropriate 
precision used in the term ``1 acre.'' The EPA's present October 22, 
2002 Federal Register Notice uses the value ``1.0 acre,'' a more 
precise definition of the exact extent of bark coverage. The EPA asks 
for additional comment on which of these approaches to measurement 
precision is best.

[[Page 68870]]

    Administrative Record: The two draft general NPDES permit nos. AK-
G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000, the October 22, 2002, Federal Register 
Notice, and this Federal Register Notice are available for inspection 
and copying at six locations: (a) EPA-Juneau, 709 West 9th Street, Room 
223A; (b) ADEC-Juneau, 410 Willoughby Avenue, Suite 200; (c) EPA-
Anchorage, 222 West 7th Avenue, Room 19; (d) ADEC-Anchorage, 555 
Cordova Street; (e) ADEC-Ketchikan, 540 Water Street; and (f) EPA-
Seattle, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 10th Floor Library. These documents are 
also available on EPA Region 10's internet site at http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/. The administrative record for the proposed modifications 
reflected in the draft general NPDES permits AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-
1000 and the project area zone of deposit can be reviewed in the EPA's 
Seattle Office, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 13th Floor.

    Dated: November 1, 2002.
Randall F. Smith,
Director, Office of Water, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 02-28850 Filed 11-12-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P