[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 211 (Thursday, November 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61877-61878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21527]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8490-3]


Reissuance of General NPDES Permits (GPs) for Aquaculture 
Facilities in Idaho Subject to Wasteload Allocations Under Selected 
Total Maximum Daily Loads (Permit Number IDG-13-0000), Cold Water 
Aquaculture Facilities in Idaho (Not Subject to Wasteload Allocations) 
(Permit Number IDG-13-1000), and Fish Processors Associated With 
Aquaculture Facilities in Idaho (Permit Number IDG-13-2000)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final notice of issuance of three NPDES general permits.

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SUMMARY: On September 27, 2004, a general permit regulating the 
activities of aquaculture facilities in Idaho and associated on-site 
fish processors expired. On June 19, 2006, the Director, Office of 
Water and Watersheds, EPA Region 10, proposed to reissue three general 
permits to cover facilities covered under the previous permit. EPA 
provided a public meeting on June 29, 2006 and a public hearing on 
September 26, 2006, both in Twin Falls, Idaho, in the midst of a 103-
day public comment period. On June 7, 2007, the Director reproposed 
modified draft permits for GPs IDG130000 and 
IDG132000; the 45-day comment period ended on July 23, 2007.
    On October 5, 2007, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality 
certified under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act that, if the 
permittees comply with the terms and conditions imposed by the permits, 
there is reasonable assurance that the discharges will comply with the 
applicable requirements of the Clean Water Act and Idaho Water Quality 
Standards.
    EPA received 38 comments on the GPs and has prepared a Response to 
Comments to explain changes made in the permits based on the comments 
and reasons for not making changes. EPA has determined that each 
facility that submitted a new Notice of Intent (NOI) after January 1, 
2004, will be automatically covered by the GPs. These general permits 
also will cover some facilities that currently operate under individual 
permits, thereby terminating the authorization to discharge under the 
individual permits.

DATES: The GPs will become effective December 1, 2007. The permits will 
expire November 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the GPs and the Response to Comments may be 
requested from Audrey Washington, EPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Suite 900, OWW-130, Seattle, WA 98101 or by e-mail to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the general permits, fact 
sheets, and response to comments are available on the EPA Region 10 Web 
site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/NPDES+Permits/General+NPDES+Permits#Aquaculture. They can also be requested by phone 
from Audrey Washington at (206) 553-0523.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Endangered Species Act

    EPA has determined that issuance of the General Permits is not 
likely to adversely affect threatened or endangered salmonids, 
designated critical habitat, or essential fish habitat. Reissuance of 
the processor permit and WLA permit for cold water facilities is likely 
to adversely affect Utah valvata snail, Snake River physa snail, Bliss 
Rapids snail, and Banbury Springs lanx. Reissuance of the Wasteload 
Allocation Permit to four warm water facilities facilities in Gooding 
and Twin Falls counties is likely to adversely affect the Utah valvata 
snail, Snake River physa, and Bliss Rapids snail because of the 
increase in temperature of the receiving streams in the immediate 
vicinity of these facilities. EPA has determined that issuance of the 
General Permits will have no affect on any terrestrial threatened or 
endangered species or their designated critical habitat. Consultation 
with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ongoing.

B. Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this action from 
the review requirements of Executive Order 12866 pursuant to Section 6 
of that order.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection requirements of this permit were 
previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 
and assigned OMB control numbers 2040-0086 (NPDES permit application) 
and 2040-0004 (discharge monitoring reports).

D. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 
requires that EPA prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for rules 
subject to 5 U.S.C. 553(b) that have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. Although general permits are 
considered to be adjudications and not rules and therefore are not 
legally subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as a matter of 
policy EPA is evaluating on an individual basis whether or not a 
specific general permit would have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. Upon considering EPA's current 
guidance, entitled Final Guidance for EPA Rulewriters: Regulatory 
Flexibility Act as Amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
and Fairness Act, and the fact that each of these general permits 
affects less than 100 facilities, EPA concludes that these general 
permits do not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities and that the RFA does not call for further 
quantitative analysis of impacts.

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law 
104-4, generally requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of 
their ``regulatory actions'' (defined to be the same as ``rules'' 
subject to the RFA) on tribal, State, and local governments and

[[Page 61878]]

the private sector. However, general NPDES permits are not ``rules'' 
subject to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and are therefore not 
subject to the UMRA.

F. Appeal of Permits

    Any interested person may appeal the general permits in the Federal 
Court of Appeals in accordance with Section 509(b)(1) of the Clean 
Water Act. This appeal must be filed within 120 days after the permit 
effective date. Persons affected by the permits may not challenge the 
conditions of the permits in further EPA proceedings (See 40 CFR Sec.  
124.19). Instead they may either challenge the permit in court or apply 
for an individual NPDES permit.

    Dated: October 25, 2007.
Christine Psyk,
Associate Director, Office of Water & Watersheds, Region 10, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. E7-21527 Filed 10-31-07; 8:45 am]
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