[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 68 (Monday, April 11, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 18347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-7221]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 122

[OW-2002-0068; FRL-7897-2]
RIN 2040-AE71


Public Meeting To Discuss Technical Issues Associated With the 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater 
Permit Coverage for Small Oil and Gas Construction Activities

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public meeting 
to discuss specific issues associated with the development of 
regulations for storm water discharges from oil and gas construction 
activities. The intent of the public meeting is to provide an 
opportunity for stakeholders to participate in an open discussion of 
the technical issues associated with controlling storm water discharges 
from oil and gas construction activities. The meeting is designed to 
facilitate an exchange of information between interested parties and 
EPA on critical technical and procedural issues relating to a proposed 
rulemaking. The Agency expects to consider the information provided in 
its technical analysis for developing a framework for regulating storm 
water discharges from oil and gas construction sites. To structure the 
meeting, EPA will give several presentations, which will then be 
followed by a question and comment period from the participants.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 10, 2005. The 
meeting will begin promptly at 10 a.m. and end at approximately 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Adolphus Hotel located at 
1321 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, Texas. The hotel is located 18 
miles from the Dallas Fort Worth airport and 8 miles from Love Field 
airport. If you need overnight accommodations, please contact the hotel 
directly. The Adolphus hotel phone number is 214-651-3631.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ruby Cooper of the Office of 
Wastewater Management (4203M), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Room 7329F, EPA East, Washington, DC 
20460; telephone number: (202) 564-0751; fax number: (202) 564-6431: e-
mail address: [email protected]. For any updates on the issues that 
EPA will discuss at the meeting, refer to EPA's storm water Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 9, 2005 (70 FR 11560) EPA issued a 
final rule providing a fifteen month postponement of the NPDES permit 
requirement for oil and gas construction activity disturbing one to 
five acres, from March 10, 2005, to June 12, 2006. This postponement 
allows additional time for EPA to complete its analysis of the issues 
raised by stakeholders about storm water discharges from construction 
activities at oil and gas sites and of practices and methods for 
controlling these storm water discharges to mitigate impacts on water 
quality. Within approximately five months EPA intends to publish a 
notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register addressing these 
discharge issues and to invite public comment.
    The purpose of this public meeting is to give all interested 
stakeholders an opportunity to hear some of EPA's preliminary findings 
and to discuss specific technical and procedural issues associated with 
controlling stormwater discharges from oil and gas construction sites. 
In addition, EPA will provide an overview of the regulatory process and 
the schedule for the proposed rulemaking.
    To register for the meeting, please contact Ms. Jamie Mallen of 
Tetra Tech via FAX at (703) 385-6007 or via e-mail at 
ffx.com">Jamie.Mallen@tetratech-ffx.com. She may also be reached at the Tetra 
Tech main number at 703-385-6000. Please register by April 22, 2005. 
Depending on time available and the number of participants that wish to 
express their viewpoint, EPA will try to accommodate all meeting 
participants desiring to make a formal statement for the record. Formal 
statements are restricted to five minutes. In order to better plan the 
meeting and ensure that all participants have an opportunity to speak, 
EPA requests that those individuals desiring to make a formal prepared 
statement notify Ms. Jamie Mallen of Tetra Tech of their intent at 
least 10 days prior to the meeting. EPA further requests that any 
participant desiring to introduce specific technical information and/or 
quantitative data relating to a particular subject provide a print copy 
of the materials (e.g., spreadsheets, tables, references, cites, etc.) 
to avoid any errors in the meeting record. EPA has secured the services 
of an independent contractor to serve as the meeting facilitator. A 
transcript and summary of the proceedings will be made available on the 
Office of Wastewater Management Web site (http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater) within 30 days after the meeting date.

    Dated: April 5, 2005.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. 05-7221 Filed 4-8-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P