[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 120 (Friday, June 22, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34464-34466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12157]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0357; FRL-8330-5]


Review of National Dredging Policy

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On behalf of the National Dredging Team, the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting comment on the 
National Dredging Policy and the National Dredging Team's 2003 Action 
Agenda for Dredged Material Management. The National Dredging Policy 
was developed by a Federal Interagency Working Group, which was 
convened by the U.S. Department of Transportation in the early 1990s to 
investigate and recommend methods to improve the dredging review 
process. The Group identified the need for a unified national dredging 
policy to guide in the development of recommendations and to focus 
Federal agency commitments. The findings and principles described in 
the National Dredging Policy have been embraced by the Group's 
participating agencies. The National Dredging Team (NDT), a Federal 
interagency group co-chaired by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (USACE), published its Dredged Material Management: Action 
Agenda for the Next Decade in 2003. This Action Agenda lays out 22 
recommended actions to guide the National Dredging Team and support 
implementation of the National Dredging Policy. At the request of the 
Cabinet-level Committee on the Marine Transportation System, the NDT is 
currently reviewing the National Dredging Policy, as well as the NDT's 
Action Agenda, to reaffirm their adequacy in support of the U.S. Marine 
Transportation System.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 6, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2007-0357, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2007-0357.
     Mail: Review of National Dredging Policy, Water Docket, 
EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., EPA West Room 3334, Washington, DC 20460.

[[Page 34465]]

     Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20004, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2007-0357.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2007-
0357. 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 Water Docket, EPA Docket 
Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 
DC 20004. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Water Docket 
telephone number is 202-566-2426. 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: Molly Madden, Oceans and Coastal 
Protection Division, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, 
(Mailcode: 4504T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-1279; fax 
number: (202) 566-1546; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does This Action Apply to Me?

    Entities potentially interested in today's notice are those who are 
involved with dredging for the purpose of navigation or are involved 
with waterborne commerce, including port authorities and environmental 
interest groups. Categories and examples of entities interested in 
today's notice include:

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           Category                 Examples of interested entities
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Federal Government...........  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maritime
                                Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S.
                                Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
                                Administration, Fish and Wildlife
                                Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
                                U.S. Geological Survey.
State/Local/Tribal Government  Governments involved in navigational
                                dredging; port authorities; coastal
                                communities.
Industry and General Public..  Shippers, maritime interests, marinas,
                                waterborne commerce groups,
                                environmental interest groups.
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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 now 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?

    1. 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

    Dredging is an important issue in the U.S. Marine Transportation 
System. Navigational dredging plays a key role in supporting the Marine 
Transportation System's effectiveness and reliability for the movement 
of people and commerce. In 1993, the Secretary of Transportation 
convened an Interagency Working Group on the Dredging Process to 
investigate and recommend actions to improve the dredging project 
review process. In December 1994, the Interagency Group delivered its 
report, The Dredging Process in the United States: An Action Plan for 
Improvement to the Secretary of Transportation. This report contained 
18 recommendations, and proposed a National Dredging Policy and the 
formation of a National Dredging Team. The Group identified the need 
for a unified national dredging policy to guide in the development of 
recommendations and to focus Federal agency commitments. The 
Administration adopted the following findings and principles as a 
statement of

[[Page 34466]]

National Dredging Policy. The findings are:
     A network of ports and harbors is essential to the United 
States' economy, affecting its competitiveness in world trade and 
national security. Port facilities serve as a key link in the 
intermodal transportation chain and can realize their full potential as 
magnets for shipping and commerce only if dredging occurs in a timely 
and cost-effective manner.
     The nation's coastal, ocean, and freshwater resources are 
critical assets which must be protected, conserved, and restored. These 
resources are equally important to the United States by providing 
numerous economic and environmental benefits.
     Consistent and integrated application of existing 
environmental statutes can protect the environment and can allow for 
sustainable economic growth.
     Close coordination and planning at all governmental 
levels, and with all aspects of the private sector, are essential to 
developing and maintaining the nation's ports and harbors in a manner 
that will increase economic growth and protect, conserve, and restore 
coastal resources.
     Planning for the development and maintenance of the 
nation's ports and harbors should occur in the context of broad 
transportation and environmental planning efforts such as the National 
Transportation System and the ecosystem/watershed management approach.
    The principles are:
     The regulatory process must be timely, efficient, and 
predictable, to the maximum extent practicable.
     Advanced dredged material management planning must be 
conducted on a port or regional scale by a partnership that includes 
the Federal government, the port authorities, state and local 
governments, natural resource agencies, public interest groups, the 
maritime industry, and private citizens. To be effective, this planning 
must be done prior to individual Federal or non-Federal dredging 
project proponents seeking individual project approval.
     Dredged material managers must become more involved in 
watershed planning to emphasize the importance of point and non-point 
source pollution controls to reduce harbor sediment contamination.
     Dredged material is a resource, and environmentally-sound 
beneficial use of dredged material for such projects as wetland 
creation, beach nourishment, and development projects must be 
encouraged.
    The findings and principles were embraced by all of the Group's 
participating agencies. The Federal agencies committed themselves to 
the fulfillment of these principles.
    In 2001, the National Dredging Team convened a stakeholder workshop 
to assess progress on the 1994 report's 18 recommendations and identify 
actions that could address issues impacting dredging and dredged 
material management for the foreseeable future. The result is the 
National Dredging Team's 2003 Dredged Material Management: Action 
Agenda for the Next Decade (2003 Action Agenda), which supersedes the 
1994 report. The 2003 Action Agenda contains the National Dredging 
Policy and 22 recommendations to assist the National Dredging Team in 
implementing the National Dredging Policy. The National Dredging Team 
continues to be guided by the 2003 Action Agenda and is actively 
addressing these recommendations, many of which require ongoing 
activity. The recommendations in the 2003 Action Agenda fall into four 
themes: beneficial use of dredged material, sediment management, 
strengthening Regional Dredging Teams, and emerging issues. The 
National Dredging Team recognizes that additional issues may have 
emerged since publication of the 2003 Action Agenda.
    The goals of the National Dredging Team, which is a Federal 
interagency group co-chaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are to facilitate 
communication, coordination, and resolution of dredging issues among 
the participating Federal agencies and to serve as a forum for 
promoting the implementation of the National Dredging Policy and the 
recommendations in the National Dredging Team's Action Agenda. The 
National Dredging Policy and the 2003 Action Agenda can be found at 
http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/ndt/.

III. Today's Action

    Today's notice announces the review of the National Dredging Policy 
and the National Dredging Team's 2003 Action Agenda. The interagency, 
Cabinet-level Committee on the Marine Transportation System requested 
that the National Dredging Team review the National Dredging Policy 
(and the National Dredging Team's 2003 Action Agenda) to reaffirm their 
adequacy in support of the U.S. Marine Transportation System. As a key 
element in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan, the Committee on the Marine 
Transportation System has been directed by the President to improve 
federal Marine Transportation System coordination and policies, and 
recommend strategies and plans for improvement. Dredging is an 
important issue in the Marine Transportation System. The Committee on 
the Marine Transportation System looks upon dredging as supporting the 
Marine Transportation System's effectiveness and reliability regarding 
the movement of people and commerce. Therefore, the Committee on the 
Marine Transportation System requested the National Dredging Team take 
this action on its behalf. Implementation of the National Dredging 
Policy is promoted by the National Dredging Team, which is leading this 
review through its co-chairs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The National Dredging Policy 
provides a national, unified policy for navigational dredging and 
focuses Federal agency commitments. Reviewing this Policy and the 
National Dredging Team's 2003 Action Agenda provides an opportunity to 
assess our progress in addressing the issues impacting dredging and 
dredged material management. As part of its review, the National 
Dredging Team will consider the public comments submitted in response 
to this notice. As part of the National Dredging Team's review to 
reaffirm the adequacy of the Policy and 2003 Action Agenda, the 
National Dredging Team will consider whether it should revise the 
Policy or publish an Addendum to the 2003 Action Agenda, updating the 
Action Agenda as appropriate. If the National Dredging Team develops 
any revisions to the National Dredging Policy or any Addendum to the 
2003 Action Agenda, EPA would intend to publish a Federal Register 
notice requesting comment on such revisions or addenda.

    Dated: June 14, 2007.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator for Water.
 [FR Doc. E7-12157 Filed 6-21-07; 8:45 am]
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