[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31186-31188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8469]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R01-OW-2006-0435; FRL-8177-6]


Massachusetts Marine Sanitation Device Standard--Receipt of 
Petition

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice--Receipt of Petition.

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

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a petition has been received from 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts requesting a determination by the 
Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that 
adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of 
sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the waters of 
Plymouth Bay, Plymouth Harbor, Kingston Bay, and Duxbury Bay; their 
respective coastlines and coastal tidal rivers.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 3, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R01-
OW-2006-0435 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (617) 918-0538.
     Mail and hand delivery: U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency--New England Region, One Congress Street, Suite 1100, mail code-
COP, Boston, MA 02114-2023. Deliveries are only accepted during the 
Regional Office's normal hours of operation (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays), and special arrangements 
should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R01-OW-
2006-0435 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.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov 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 copy-righted 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 U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency--New England Region, One Congress Street, Suite 1100, 
mail code-COP, Boston, MA 02114-2023. Such deliveries are only accepted 
during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation, and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The 
Regional Office's are

[[Page 31187]]

open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The telephone number is (617) 918-1538.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Rodney, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency--New England Region, One Congress Street, Suite 1100, 
mail code-COP, Boston, MA 02114-2023. Telephone: (617) 918-1538, fax 
number: (617) 918-0538; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that a petition has 
been received from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts requesting a 
determination by the Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, pursuant to section 312(f)(3) of Public Law 92-500 
as amended by Public Law 95-217 and Public Law 100-4, that adequate 
facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage 
from all vessels are reasonably available for all waters of Plymouth 
Bay, Plymouth Harbor, Kingston Bay, and Duxbury Bay; their respective 
coastlines and coastal tidal rivers within the following boundaries:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Waterbody/general area           Latitude              Longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
North to include the          42[deg]04'06'' N....  70[deg]39'12'' W
 northernmost reaches of the
 Back River.
West to Kingston-Route 3A     41[deg]59'48'' N....  70[deg]44'30'' W
 bridge over the Jones River.
South to Plymouth-Route 3A    41[deg]56'51'' N....  70[deg]37'55'' W
 bridge over the Eel River
 and southernmost waters of
 Warren Cove.
Duxbury municipal boundary..  42[deg]04'22'' N....  70[deg]38'55'' W
East to navigational marker   42[deg]04'36'' N....  70[deg]36'48'' W
 N ``8'' located off Howland
 Ledge.
South to navigational marker  41[deg]59'57'' N....  70[deg]35'03'' W
 RW ``GP'' Bell located east
 of Gurnet Point.
South to navigation Marker R  41[deg]55'07'' N....  70[deg]33'22'' W
 ``12'' Whistle located off
 Mary Ann Rocks.
South to navigation marker    41[deg]48'52'' N....  70[deg]27'38'' W
 RW ``CC'' Bell located off
 the Cape Cod Canal.
West to Plymouth municipal    41[deg]48'38'' N....  70[deg]32'13'' W
 boundary..
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The delineation places the eastern boundary 9,900 feet seaward of 
Duxbury Beach at the public parking area; 4,775 feet seaward of Gurnet 
Point; 6,775 feet seaward of Manomet Point; and 15,000 feet seaward of 
Peaked Cliff.
    The proposed NDA is boarded by the town of Marshfield to the north 
and the town of Bourne to the south.
    Massachusetts has certified that there are six pumpout facilities 
at four locations within the proposed area available to the boating 
public. A list of the facilities, phone numbers, locations, and hours 
of operation is appended at the end of this petition. Brewer's Plymouth 
Marine has a shore-side facility which connects directly to the 
municipal sewer system. The town of Plymouth operates a pumpout boat 
and shoreside facility. The shore-side facility serves three individual 
hose stands and has the ability to service two vessels simultaneously. 
The shore-side facility connects directly to the municipal sewer 
system. The town of Duxbury operates a pumpout boat and shore side 
facility and waste is removed by a licensed hauler. The town of 
Kingston operates a pumpout boat and the waste is removed by a licensed 
hauler.
    Massachusetts has provided documentation indicating that the total 
vessel population is estimated to be 2885 in the proposed area. Of 
these, approximately 1403 are identified as resident recreational 
vessels, 123 are identified as resident commercial, and 1359 are 
identified as transient vessels. It is estimated that 1340 of the total 
vessel population may have a Marine Sanitation Device (MSD) of some 
type. These figures are conservative because Massachusetts calculates 
the percentage of vessels having MSDs using region-specific estimates.
    There are three primary boat ramps within the proposed NDA. In 
addition, there are two primary beaches, Long Beach and Duxbury beach, 
as well as 14 smaller beaches in the proposed area. The Ellisville 
Harbor Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) is also located 
within the proposed area.
    The area is used by both recreational and commercial shell 
fishermen. The total growing area for shellfish in the proposed area is 
approximately 65,000 acres of productive use, supporting soft shell 
clams, surf clams, razor clams, quahogs, bay scallops, and blue 
mussels. The town of Plymouth supports a thriving commercial fishing 
fleet. Species of commercial and recreational interest include alewife, 
cod, blueback herring, smelt, striped bass, and winter flounder, among 
others. The proposed area has a variety of rich natural habitats, and 
supports a wide diversity of species. The federally listed species 
include the bald eagle, shortnose sturgeon, piping plover, and puritan 
tiger beetle as well as dozens of state designated rare and endangered 
species.

List of Pumpouts in the Proposed Area

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Hours of
                                                      Contact      operation (call   Mean low water
             Name                  Location         information        ahead to          depth           Fee
                                                                       verify)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brewer's Marine..............  Plymouth Harbor.  VHF 9, 72,......  April 1-Dec.     9 feet.........  None.
                                                 508-746-4500,...   15; 7 a.m.-5
                                                 [email protected].....   p.m.
Plymouth Harbormaster Pumpout  Plymouth Harbor   VHF 9, 16,......  May 1-Nov. 1;    N/A............  None.
 Boat.                          and Town Pier.   508-830-4182....   Pumpout boat,
                                                                    Daily 10 a.m.-
                                                                    6 p.m.
Plymouth Shore Side Pumpout    Plymouth Harbor   VHF 9,..........  May 1-Nov. 1;    8 feet.........  None.
 at Town Pier.                  and Town Pier.   508-830-4182....   Self-Serve 24
                                                                    hrs.
Duxbury Harbormaster Pumpout   Snug Harbor.....  VHF 16,.........  May 1-Nov.;      N/A............  None.
 Boat.                                           781-934-2866....   Spring 9 a.m.-
                                                                    5 p.m.; Summer
                                                                    7 a.m.-7 p.m.;
                                                                    Fall 9 a.m.-5
                                                                    p.m.
Duxbury Shore Side Pumpout...  Duxbury Town      VHF 16,.........  May 1-Nov.;      6 feet.........  None.
                                Pier.            781-934-2866....   Spring 9 a.m.-
                                                                    5 p.m.; Summer
                                                                    7 a.m.-7 p.m.;
                                                                    Fall 9 a.m.-5
                                                                    p.m.
Kingston Harbormaster........  Town Landing....  VHF 9,..........  Apr. 1-Nov. 1;   3 feet.........  None.
                                                 781-585-0519....   8 a.m.-4 p.m.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 31188]]

    Dated: May 20, 2006.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, Region 1.
[FR Doc. E6-8469 Filed 5-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P