[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 136 (Monday, July 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40517-40519]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11248]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0021; FRL-8198-5]


National Management Measures To Control Nonpoint Source Pollution 
From Hydromodification

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: EPA is requesting comment on draft technical guidance for 
managing nonpoint source pollution from hydromodification. The term 
hydromodification refers to an activity that alters the geometry and 
physical characteristics of a stream or river in such a way that the 
flow patterns change. This guidance is intended to provide technical 
assistance to states, territories, authorized tribes, and the public 
for managing hydromodification and reducing nonpoint source pollution 
of surface and ground water. The guidance provides background 
information about nonpoint source pollution from activities associated 
with channelization and channel modification, dams, and streambank and 
shoreline erosion. It discusses the broad concepts of assessing and 
addressing water quality problems on a watershed level, and it presents 
up-to-date technical information about how to reduce nonpoint source 
pollution from hydromodification. Implementation of the guidance will 
result in increased use of scientifically sound, cost-effective 
hydromodification management measures, and will support states in their 
efforts to implement their Nonpoint Source Control Programs.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 16, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2006-0021 by one of the following methods:
--www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting 
comments.
--E-mail: [email protected]
--Mail: Office of Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 4101T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460
--Hand Delivery: Office of Water Docket, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Public Reading Room, Room B102, EPA West Building, 1301 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. 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-2006-
0021. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
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 www.regulations.gov. The 
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 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 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 www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Office of Water Docket, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Public Reading Room, Room B102, EPA 
West Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue, 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 Office 
of Water Docket is (202) 566-2426.
    The complete text of the draft guidance is available on EPA's 
Internet

[[Page 40518]]

site on the Nonpoint Source Control Branch's homepage at http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/pubs.html. Copies of the complete draft guidance 
can also be obtained upon request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Solloway, Assessment and 
Watershed Protection Division, Office of Water, Mailcode: 4503T, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number (202) 566-1202; fax number (202) 
566-1437; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Interested Entities

    Entities potentially interested in today's notice are those that 
manage watersheds potentially affected by hydromodification. Categories 
and entities interested in today's notice include:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Category                 Examples of interested entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State/Local/Tribal Government..........  Water Quality Officials, Public
                                          Land Management Officials,
                                          Association of State and
                                          Interstate Water Pollution
                                          Control Administrators.
Federal Government.....................  Army Corps of Engineers,
                                          Natural Resources Conservation
                                          Service (USDA), Forest Service
                                          (USDA), National Oceanic and
                                          Atmospheric Administration,
                                          Department of Transportation.
Non-government organizations...........  Resource Management
                                          Associations, Trade Group
                                          Associations, Professional
                                          Associations, Environmental
                                          Groups.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be interested in this 
notice. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is aware could 
potentially be interested in this notice. Other types of entities not 
listed in the table could also be interested.

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

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
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. Background

    In 1993, under the authority of section 6217(g) of the Coastal Zone 
Act Reauthorization Amendments, EPA issued Guidance Specifying 
Management Measures for Sources of Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal 
Waters. That guidance document details management measures appropriate 
for the control of five categories of nonpoint sources of pollution in 
the coastal zone: agriculture, forestry, urban areas, marinas and 
recreational boating, and hydromodification. The document also includes 
management measures for wetlands, riparian areas, and vegetated 
treatment systems because they are important to the abatement of 
nonpoint source pollution in coastal waters. States and territories 
were required to adopt measures ``in conformity'' with the coastal 
management measures guidance for their Coastal Nonpoint Pollution 
Control Programs.
    State, territory, and tribal water quality assessments continue to 
identify nonpoint source pollution as a major cause of degradation in 
surveyed waters nationwide. In 1987, Congress enacted section 319 of 
the Clean Water Act to establish a national program to control nonpoint 
sources of water pollution. Under section 319, states, territories, and 
tribes address nonpoint source pollution by assessing the nonpoint 
source pollution problems within the state, territory, or tribal lands; 
identifying the sources of pollution; and implementing management 
programs to control the pollution. Section 319 also authorizes EPA to 
award grants to states, territories, and tribes to assist them in 
implementing management programs that EPA has approved. Program 
implementation includes nonregulatory and regulatory programs, 
technical assistance, financial assistance, education, training, 
technology transfer, and demonstration projects. In fiscal year 2005, 
Congress appropriated and EPA awarded approximately $207 million for 
state nonpoint source management program grants.
    The 1993 management measures guidance focused on conditions of and 
examples from the coastal zone. The draft national management measures 
guidance is intended to expand the focus nationwide to provide 
technical guidance on effective measures for managing hydromodification 
for the abatement of nonpoint source pollution. Although the practices 
detailed in the 1993 coastal guidance apply generally to inland areas, 
EPA has recognized the utility of developing and publishing technical 
guidance that explicitly addresses nonpoint source pollution on a 
nationwide basis. Moreover, additional information and examples from 
research and experience to date with implementation of the management 
measures are available to enrich the national guidance. These changes 
have helped to prompt the revision and expansion of the 
hydromodification chapter of the 1993 guidance.

[[Page 40519]]

III. Scope of the Draft Hydromodification Guidance--Sources of Nonpoint 
Source Pollution Addressed

    The draft technical guidance continues to focus on the major 
sources of pollution from hydromodification identified for the 1993 
coastal guidance by EPA in consultation with a number of other Federal 
agencies and other leading national experts, including several experts 
from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Specifically, the guidance 
identifies management measures for the following:
Channelization and Channel Modification
     Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Surface Water
     Instream and Riparian Habitat Restoration
     Dams
     Erosion and Sediment Control
     Chemical and Pollutant Control
     Protection of Surface Water Quality and Instream and 
Riparian Habitat
     Streambank and Shoreline Erosion
     Eroding Streambanks and Shorelines

IV. Approach Used To Develop Guidance

    The draft management measures guidance is based in large part on 
the 1993 coastal guidance. The coastal guidance was developed using a 
workgroup approach to draw upon technical expertise within other 
Federal agencies as well as state water quality and coastal zone 
management agencies.
    The 1993 text has been expanded to include information on the 
application and effectiveness of hydromodification BMPs from recent 
research, the cost of installing BMPs, watershed-scale and ecological 
impacts of hydromodification activities, and certification programs for 
personnel involved in construction and dam removal.

V. Request for Comments

    EPA is soliciting comments on the draft guidance on nonpoint source 
management measures for hydromodification. The Agency is soliciting 
additional information and supporting data on the measures specified in 
this guidance and on additional measures that may be as effective or 
more effective in controlling nonpoint source pollution from 
hydromodification. EPA requests that commenters focus their comments on 
the technical soundness of the draft management measures guidance.

    Dated: July 6, 2006.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
 [FR Doc. E6-11248 Filed 7-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P