[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2832-2836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-930]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 122

[OW-2002-0068; FRL-7862-1]
RIN 2040-AE71


Extension of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(NPDES) Permit Deadline for Storm Water Discharges for Oil and Gas 
Construction Activity That Disturbs One to Five Acres

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: Today EPA proposes to amend the rule on National Pollutant 
Discharge Elimination System storm water permits to postpone until June 
12, 2006, the requirement to obtain permit coverage for oil and gas 
construction activity that disturbs one to five acres of land. This 
would be the second postponement promulgated by EPA for these 
activities. EPA proposes this postponement in order to afford the 
Agency additional time to complete consideration of the issues raised 
by stakeholders about storm water runoff from construction activities 
at oil and gas sites and of procedures for controlling storm water 
discharges as appropriate to mitigate impacts on water quality. EPA 
intends to take final action with respect to today's proposal by March 
10, 2005. Within six months of this final action (September 12, 2005), 
EPA intends to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal 
Register for addressing these discharges and invite public comments.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before 
February 17, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OW-2002-
0068, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET, 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred 
method for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Attention Docket ID No. OW-
2002-0068.
     Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 4101 T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver your comments to: EPA Docket 
Center, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC, Attention Docket ID No. OW-2002-0068. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation. The EPA Docket 
Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the 
Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the 
Water Docket is (202) 566-2426.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. OW-2002-0068. 
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through EDOCKET, regulations.gov, or e-
mail. The EPA EDOCKET and the federal regulations.gov Web sites are 
``anonymous access'' systems, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through EDOCKET or regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional instructions on submitting 
comments, go to Section I.C of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index 
at

[[Page 2833]]

http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in EDOCKET or in hard 
copy at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID No. OW-2002-0068. The 
EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone 
number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone 
number for the Water Docket is (202) 566-2426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Smith, Office of Wastewater 
Management, Office of Water, Environmental Protection Agency, at 202-
564-0652 or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Affected Entities

    Entities potentially affected by this action include operators of 
construction activities disturbing at least one acre, but less than 
five acres of land at oil and gas sites, North American Industrial 
Classification System (NAICS) codes and titles: 211--Oil and Gas 
Extraction, 213111--Drilling Oil and Gas Wells, and 213112--Support 
Activities for Oil and Gas Operations.
    This description is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather 
provides a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected 
by this action. This description identifies the types of entities that 
EPA is now aware could potentially be affected by this action. Other 
types of entities not identified could also be affected. To determine 
whether your facility or company is affected by this action, you should 
carefully examine the applicability criteria in 40 CFR 122.26(b)(15) 
and (e)(8). If you have questions regarding the applicability of this 
action to a particular entity, consult the person listed in the 
preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
EDOCKET, regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI). In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    i. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    ii. Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
    vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
    viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background

    The Water Quality Act of 1987 added statutory language in Section 
402(p) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) that directs EPA to develop a 
phased approach to regulate storm water discharges. EPA published the 
Phase I Storm Water Rule on November 16, 1990 (55 FR 47990), 
establishing NPDES permit application requirements for ``storm water 
discharges associated with industrial activity.'' The Phase I 
regulations define large construction activities that disturb five 
acres of land and greater (or less than five acres of total land area 
that is part of a larger common plan of development or sale if the 
larger common plan will ultimately disturb five acres or more) as 
``industrial activity'' under 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14)(x) and, as such, 
they are required to obtain NPDES permit coverage for storm water 
discharges. See also 40 CFR 122.21(c)(1).
    EPA published the Phase II Storm Water Rule in the Federal Register 
on December 8, 1999 (64 FR 68722). The Phase II regulations require 
NPDES permit coverage as of March 10, 2003, for storm water discharges 
from small construction sites disturbing at least one acre but less 
than five acres of land and those sites disturbing less than one acre 
that are part of a larger common plan of development or sale that, in 
total, disturbs at least one but less than five acres (hereinafter 
referred to as ``small construction sites'' or ``small construction 
activities''). 40 CFR 122.26(b)(15)(i) and (e)(8). In developing the 
Phase II regulations, EPA conducted an analysis of the potential 
impacts of the rule on the national economy and also analyzed impacts 
on small entities. Costs associated with the regulations were generally 
associated with implementation of sediment and erosion control 
practices or best management practices to reduce the pollutants 
commonly found in construction storm water discharges that may 
ultimately lead to water quality impairments. In performing these 
analyses, EPA considered affected industrial sectors, including the oil 
and gas industry. However, based on the information provided at the 
time, EPA assumed that few, if any, oil and gas exploration, 
production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission 
facilities would fall within the 1 to 5 acre range and thus require 
NPDES permit coverage under the Phase II regulations. Therefore, while 
that regulation did apply to these facilities, EPA did not include oil 
and gas exploration sites in the economic analysis developed to support 
the regulatory determination promulgated in the Phase II Final Rule. 
See U.S. EPA, Economic Analysis of the Final Phase II Storm Water Rule, 
EPA 833-R-99-002, October 1999.
    EPA's authority to promulgate the 1999 Phase II storm water 
regulations derives from CWA Section 402(p)(6) which directed EPA to 
designate for regulation sources of storm water for purposes of 
protecting water quality. EPA exercised this authority in 1999 to 
designate storm water discharges from small municipal separate storm 
sewer systems and small construction sites for NPDES regulation. 
However, significant questions arose after the 1999 promulgation 
regarding whether storm water discharges from small construction sites 
associated with oil and gas activities presented a water quality 
problem at a level that justified national categorical regulation 
through the NPDES permit program, as well as

[[Page 2834]]

the potentially high cost of compliance for this industry. As a result 
of these and other concerns, EPA amended its regulations to postpone 
until March 10, 2005, the deadline for oil and gas construction 
activities to obtain NPDES storm water permits under the Phase II rule, 
to allow for further consideration of the environmental and economic 
impacts of this requirement. See 68 FR 11325 (March 10, 2003).
    During the past two years, EPA has gathered information on size, 
location and other site characteristics to better evaluate compliance 
costs associated with the control of storm water runoff from oil and 
gas construction activities. In addition, EPA has met with various 
stakeholders, including visits to a number of oil and gas sites with 
construction-related activities, to discuss and review existing best 
management practices for preventing contamination of storm water runoff 
resulting from construction associated with these oil and gas 
activities. Based on recent information provided by the U.S. Department 
of Energy, EPA now estimates that on average there are 30,000 oil and 
gas construction ``starts'' per year, including exploration and 
development activities. Although EPA was aware of this estimate two 
years ago (See 68 FR 11327 (March 10, 2003)), the Agency has 
investigated this figure further and is now more confident that it 
represents a reasonable estimate of the additional sites that should 
have been considered when EPA promulgated the Phase II rule. Initially, 
EPA assumed that very few of these starts would incur compliance costs 
associated with the Phase II rule because most of them would be less 
than one acre. However, EPA now believes that the majority of such 
sites may exceed one acre when the acreage attributed to lease roads, 
pipeline right-of-ways and other infrastructure facilities is 
apportioned to each site. During the past two years, EPA has also 
gathered economic data for the industry and is currently completing an 
economic impact analysis of the existing Phase II regulations specific 
to the oil and gas industry. EPA's analysis performed to date 
recognizes that there can be administrative delays in the permitting 
process that were not considered in the original economic analysis for 
the 1999 Phase II rulemaking. In addition to concerns about costs and 
economic impacts, EPA notes that issues have been raised by several 
outside parties regarding Section 402(l)(2) of the CWA, which exempts 
certain storm water discharges from oil and gas exploration, 
production, processing, or treatment operations or transmission 
facilities from the NPDES permit requirement.
    EPA believes that further postponing the date for NPDES regulation 
is appropriate for these sources because the Agency needs additional 
time to complete its evaluation of the economic and legal issues that 
have been raised. Moreover, EPA is continuing to evaluate procedures 
and methods for controlling storm water discharges from these sources 
as appropriate to mitigate impacts on water quality. Through this 
action, EPA is proposing to exercise its authority under CWA Section 
402(p)(6) to decide which sources to regulate through NPDES permits and 
in particular, when to regulate those sources. In the meantime, EPA 
strongly encourages oil and gas operators to employ best management 
practices (BMPs) while engaged in construction activities to minimize 
any water quality problems that may be associated with this type of 
construction. EPA strongly recommends that operators consider employing 
the BMPs described on the Agency's NPDES storm water Web site at: 
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/menuofbmps/con_site.cfm.

III. Today's Action

    In today's action, EPA is proposing to extend until June 12, 2006, 
the deadline for obtaining NPDES storm water permits for oil and gas 
construction activity that disturbs at least one acre, but less than 
five acres of land and sites disturbing less than one acre that are a 
part of a larger common plan of development or sale that disturbs 
between one and five acres. The text proposed at Sec.  122.26(e)(8) is 
not meant to create any duty to apply for an NPDES permit that did not 
already exist as a result of EPA's Phase II regulations. Rather, this 
proposed amendment is meant merely to extend the permitting deadline 
for a certain class of dischargers.
    During the next fifteen months, EPA intends to (1) complete the 
economic impact analysis; (2) complete the evaluation of the legal and 
procedural implications associated with several options that the Agency 
is considering with regard to regulation of storm water discharges from 
oil and gas-related construction sites; (3) continue to evaluate 
practices and methods operators may employ to control storm water 
discharges from the sites affected by this proposal. EPA intends to 
convene at least one public meeting with various stakeholders for the 
purpose of exchanging information on current industry practices and the 
effectiveness of those practices in protecting water quality and 
obtaining input on the appropriate approach for addressing construction 
storm water discharges from this industry. Finally, EPA expects to 
propose and take some subsequent final action based on the Agency's 
conclusions following these activities. EPA specifically solicits 
comment on the proposed extension of the permit deadline for small oil 
and gas sites. The Agency will address these comments when EPA takes 
final action on today's proposal which EPA intends to do by March 10, 
2005. Regarding other possible options under consideration for a 
separate action, EPA does not have any specific draft regulatory 
language to share with the public at this time. Within six months of 
this final action, EPA intends to publish a notice of proposed 
rulemaking in the Federal Register for addressing these discharges and 
invite public comment.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review

    Under Executive Order 12866, (58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993)) the 
Agency must determine whether the regulatory action is ``significant'' 
and therefore subject to OMB review and the requirements of the 
Executive Order. The Order defines ``significant regulatory action'' as 
one that is likely to result in a rule that may:
    (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 
communities;
    (2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, 
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
thereof; or
    (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
the Executive Order.
    It has been determined that this proposed rule is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' under the terms of Executive Order 
12866 and therefore is not subject to formal OMB review.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed action would not impose an information collection 
burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq. If promulgated, it would

[[Page 2835]]

merely postpone implementation of an existing rule deadline for 
discharges associated with certain construction activity at oil and gas 
sites.
    Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources 
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or 
provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time 
needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize 
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and 
verifying information; processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to 
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; 
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; 
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations are listed in 40 CFR Part 9.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative 
Procedure Act 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. Small entities include small businesses, 
small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.
    For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's proposed rule on 
small entities, small entity is defined as: (1) A small business based 
on SBA size standards; (2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a 
government of a city, county, town, school district or special district 
with a population of less than 50,000; and (3) a small organization 
that is any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and 
operated and is not dominant in its field.
    After considering the economic impacts of today's proposed rule on 
small entities, I certify that this action will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Because EPA 
proposes to postpone a deadline for numerous small entities to comply 
with NPDES permit requirements, this proposed action will not impose 
any burden on any small entity. We continue to be interested in the 
potential impacts of the proposed rule on small entities and welcome 
comments on issues related to such impacts.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Pub. 
L. 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments and the private sector. Under Section 202 of the UMRA, EPA 
generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit 
analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that 
may result in expenditures to State, local, and tribal governments, in 
the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any 
one year. Before promulgating an EPA rule for which a written statement 
is needed, Section 205 of the UMRA generally requires EPA to identify 
and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt 
the least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative 
that achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of Section 205 
do not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover, 
Section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least 
costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative if the 
Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that 
alternative was not adopted. Before EPA establishes any regulatory 
requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments, including tribal governments, it must have developed under 
Section 203 of the UMRA a small government agency plan. The plan must 
provide for notifying potentially affected small governments, enabling 
officials of affected small governments to have meaningful and timely 
input in the development of EPA regulatory proposals with significant 
Federal intergovernmental mandates, and informing, educating, and 
advising small governments on compliance with the regulatory 
requirements.
    EPA has determined that this proposed rule to change an NPDES 
deadline would not contain a Federal mandate that may result in 
expenditures of $100 million or more for State, local, and tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or the private sector in any one year. 
The proposed rule would not impose any additional costs to these 
entities. Thus, today's proposed rule is not subject to the 
requirements of Sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA. For the same reason, 
EPA has determined that this rule contains no regulatory requirements 
that might significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Thus, 
today's proposed rule is not subject to the requirements of Section 203 
of UMRA.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    Executive Order 13132, entitled ``Federalism'' (64 FR 43255, August 
10, 1999), requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure 
``meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the 
development of regulatory policies that have federalism implications.'' 
``Policies that have federalism implications'' is defined in the 
Executive Order to include regulations that have ``substantial direct 
effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government.''
    This proposed rule does not have federalism implications. If 
promulgated, it will not have substantial direct effects on the States, 
on the relationship between the national government and the States, or 
on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various 
levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132. Thus, 
Executive Order 13132 does not apply to this rule.
    In the spirit of Executive Order 13132, and consistent with EPA 
policy to promote communications between EPA and State and local 
governments, EPA specifically solicits comment on this proposed rule 
from State and local officials.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    Executive Order 13175, entitled, ``Consultation and Coordination 
with Indian Tribal Governments'' (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), 
requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful 
and timely input by tribal officials in the development of regulatory 
policies that have tribal implications.''
    This proposed rule does not have Tribal implications. It will not 
have substantial direct effects on Tribal governments, on the 
relationship between the Federal government and Indian tribes, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
government and Indian tribes, as specified in Executive Order 13175. 
Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this rule.
    EPA specifically solicits additional comment on this proposed rule 
from tribal officials.

[[Page 2836]]

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    Executive Order 13045: ``Protection of Children from Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) applies 
to any rule that: (1) Is determined to be ``economically significant'' 
as defined under E.O. 12866, and (2) concerns an environmental health 
or safety risk that EPA has reason to believe may have a 
disproportionate effect on children. If the regulatory action meets 
both criteria, the Agency must evaluate the environmental health or 
safety effects of the planned rule on children, and explain why the 
planned regulation is preferable to other potentially effective and 
reasonably feasible alternatives considered by the Agency. This 
regulation is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because it is not 
economically significant as defined under E.O. 12866.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This proposed rule would not be subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)) because it 
is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. The 
only effect of this proposed rule would be to (1) delay the permit 
authorization requirement for discharges associated with certain 
construction activity at oil and gas sites by an additional fifteen 
months and (2) allow EPA time necessary to develop a further proposal 
to address storm water discharges from such activities.

I. National Technology Transfer And Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Pub. L. 104-113, Section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its 
regulatory activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with 
applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards 
are technical standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, 
sampling procedures, and business practices) that are developed or 
adopted by voluntary consensus standard bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA 
to provide Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides 
not to use available and applicable voluntary consensus standards.
    This proposed rulemaking does not involve technical standards. 
However, EPA is exploring the availability and potential use of 
voluntary consensus standards developed consistent with the NTTAA as a 
means of addressing storm water runoff from oil and gas construction 
activities. Assuming that EPA ultimately extends the permitting 
deadline as proposed, the Agency would expect any future action to 
incorporate the use of voluntary consensus standards where such 
standards are available consistent with NTTAA and the requirements of 
the CWA.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 122

    Administrative practice and procedure, Confidential business 
information, Environmental protection, Hazardous substances, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements, Water pollution control.

    Dated: January 12, 2005.
Stephen L. Johnson,
Deputy Administrator.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, chapter I of title 40 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 122--EPA ADMINISTERED PERMIT PROGRAMS: THE NATIONAL POLLUTANT 
DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM

    1. The authority citation for part 122 continues to read as 
follows:

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

Subpart B--[Amended]

    2. Revise Sec.  122.26(e)(8) to read as follows:


Sec.  122.26  Storm water discharges (applicable to State NPDES 
programs, see Sec.  123.25).

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (8) For any storm water discharge associated with small 
construction activity identified in paragraph (b)(15)(i) of this 
section, see Sec.  122.21(c)(1). Discharges from these sources, other 
than discharges associated with small construction activity at oil and 
gas exploration, production, processing, and treatment operations or 
transmission facilities, require permit authorization by March 10, 
2003, unless designated for coverage before then. Discharges associated 
with small construction activity at such oil and gas sites require 
permit authorization by June 12, 2006.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-930 Filed 1-14-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P