[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18329-18331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5325]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2004-0014; FRL-8056-3]


Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of 
Pollutants Under the Clean Water Act; Notice of Data Availability

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Data Availability.

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SUMMARY: On August 16, 2005, EPA proposed to approve a number of new 
analytical methods for measuring E. coli and other microbiological 
pollutants in wastewater and sewage sludge. Today's notice announces 
the availability of new data supporting approval of an additional E. 
coli method. EPA is soliciting comment only on the data and method 
described in today's notice.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 11, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
2004-0014, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected] Attention Docket ID No. 
OW-2004-0014
     Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 4101T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 2046.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Water Center, EPA West Building, Room 
B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID 
No. OW-2004-0014. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's 
normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2004-
0014. 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.regulations.gov, 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, 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 http://www.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 information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov

[[Page 18330]]

index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly 
available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either electronically in 
http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Water Docket, EPA/DC, 
EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The 
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: Robin K. Oshiro, Office of Science and 
Technology, Office of Water (4303-T), Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.; Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 
202-566-1075; fax number: 202-566-1053; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does This Action Apply to Me?

    EPA Regions, as well as States, Territories and Tribes authorized 
to implement the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(NPDES) program, issue permits that must comply with the technology-
based and water quality-based requirements of the Clean Water Act 
(CWA). In doing so, NPDES permitting authorities, including States, 
Territories, and Tribes, make a number of determinations. These include 
the selection of pollutants to be measured, monitoring requirements, 
permit conditions (e.g., triggers), and, in many cases, limits in 
permits. EPA's NPDES regulations (applicable to all authorized State 
NPDES programs) require monitoring results to be reported at the 
intervals specified in the permit, but in no case less frequently than 
once per year. Monitoring results must be conducted according to test 
procedures approved under 40 CFR part 136 [see 40 CFR 122.41(j)(4), 
122.44(i)(1)(iv) and 122.44(i)(2)]. Therefore, entities with NPDES 
permits may potentially be regulated by rulemaking actions relatd to 
the information announced in this notice. In addition, when an 
authorized State, Territory, or Tribe certifies Federal licenses under 
CWA section 401, thye must use the standardized analysis and sampling 
procedures. Categories and entities that could potentially be regulated 
by EPA's proposal in August 2005 include:

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                             Category                                Examples of potentially regulated entities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal, State, Territorial, and Indian Tribal Governments........  Federal, State, Territorial, and Tribal
                                                                     entities authorized to administer the NPDES
                                                                     permitting program; Federal, State,
                                                                     Territorial, and Tribal entities providing
                                                                     certification under Clean Water Act section
                                                                     401.
Industry..........................................................  Facilities that must conduct monitoring to
                                                                     comply with NPDES permits.
Municipalities....................................................  POTWs that must conduct monitoring to comply
                                                                     with NPDES permits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by the 
earlier proposal. This table lists types of entities that EPA is now 
aware could potentially be regulated. Other types of entities not 
listed in the table could also be regulated. To determine whether your 
facility is regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the 
applicability language at 40 CFR 122.1, (NPDES purpose and scope), 40 
CFR 136.1 (NPDES permits and CWA), 40 CFR 503.32 (Sewage sludge and 
pathogens). If you have questions regarding the applicability of this 
action to a particular entity, consult the appropriate 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 
http://www.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:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     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.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Summary of New Information and Request for Comment

    On August 16, 2005, EPA proposed to approve a number of new 
analytical methods for measuring E. coli and other microbiological 
pollutants in wastewater and sewage sludge. In that proposal, EPA 
solicited comment on the proposed methods and also solicited 
information about additional methods. During the comment period, EPA 
received data and information on an additional E. coli method, m-
ColiBlue24[reg], in wastewater (comments OW-2004-0014-51, and 53). In 
today's action, EPA is announcing the availability of this new 
information that could support approval of m-ColiBlue24[reg] for 
monitoring E. coli for use in wastewater. EPA has added these data to 
the docket as document number OW-2004-0014-60, and will consider it 
together with the data received during the comment period in its 
evaluation of methods to be approved in a final rule. Today's notice 
solicits comment on these data and information.

[[Page 18331]]

    EPA is soliciting comment only on the additional information and 
data discussed in this notice. EPA is not requesting comment on other 
methods or on other aspects of the August 16, 2005, proposal.

    Dated: March 30, 2006.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
 [FR Doc. E6-5325 Filed 4-10-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P