[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 71 (Friday, April 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19839-19841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7793]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-New England Region I--EPA-R01-OW-2008-0212; FRL-8553-4]


Massachusetts Marine Sanitation Device Standard--Receipt of 
Petition

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice--Receipt of Petition.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that a petition has been received from 
the State 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 Scituate, 
Marshfield,

[[Page 19840]]

Cohasset, and the tidal portions of the North and South Rivers.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 12, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R01-
OW-2008-0212 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, 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-
2008-0212. 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, 
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 is 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, 
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 State 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 coastlines and coastal tidal 
rivers within the following boundaries:

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         Waterbody/general area                        Latitude                            Longitude
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Northern extent of Green Harbor at the   42[deg]05'11''N                      70[deg]39'03''W
 RT 139 causeway.
South and west along the South River to  42[deg]05'34''N                      70[deg]42'43''W
 the Willow Street Bridge.
South and west along the North River to  42[deg]06'26''N                      70[deg]48'31''W
 Columbia Road Bridge.
South along the navigable extent of the  42[deg]13'30''N                      70[deg]47'06''W
 Gulf River.
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    The proposed NDA boundary will also include coastal waters within 
municipal boundaries, westward of a delineation that extends from:

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         Waterbody/general area                        Latitude                            Longitude
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Marshfield municipal boundary..........  42[deg]04'22''N                      70[deg]38'54''W
East to navigational marker R ``2GH''    42[deg]04'36''N                      70[deg]36'48''W
 located off Howland Ledge.
North to navigational marker G ``21''    42[deg]16'33''N                      70[deg]42'20''W
 F1 G 4 S. Whistle located east of
 Minot Light.
Northwest on a heading to Thieves Ledge  42[deg]19'33''N                      70[deg]49'50''W
 G ``1'' QG Whistle..
To Cohasset municipal boundary.........  42[deg]18'34''N                      70[deg]47'25''W
Southwest to Cohasset municipal          42[deg]15'53''N                      70[deg]49'34''W
 boundary.
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    The proposed area includes the municipal waters of Scituate, 
Marshfield, Cohasset, and the tidal portions of the North and South 
Rivers.
    Massachusetts has certified that there are ten pumpout facilities 
within the proposed area available to the boating public and two 
additional facilities pending. A list of the facilities, phone numbers, 
locations, and hours of operation is at the end of this petition.
    Massachusetts has provided documentation indicating that the total 
vessel population is estimated to be 3,000 in the proposed area. It is 
estimated that 1,363 of the total vessel population may have a Marine 
Sanitation Device (MSD) of some type. The majority of facilities are 
connected directly into the local wastewater treatment system.
    In 1977, the Department of the Interior designated the North and 
South Rivers as National Natural Landmarks, and in 1978 the North River 
received a Protective Order under the state Scenic Rivers Act of 1971. 
The Wompatuck

[[Page 19841]]

State Park, the English State Salt Marsh Wildlife Refuge/Management 
Area, and the Weir River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) 
are all located within the proposed boundaries of this petition. There 
are approximately eight marinas, five public boat ramps, and over a 
dozen beaches located within the proposed No Discharge Area.
    Both recreational and commercial shell fishermen use the area. 
There are ten designated Shellfish Growing Areas representing over 
49,500 acres of productive shellfish beds in the area supporting soft 
shell clams, blue mussels, razor clams, quahogs, bay scallops, oysters, 
and surf clams. The area supports a thriving commercial and 
recreational fishing fleet. The proposed area has a variety of rich 
natural habitats, and supports a wide diversity of species.

                              Pumpout Facilities Within Proposed No Discharge Area
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                                                                                                Mean low water
              Name                     Location          Contact info.           Hours               depth
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Cohasset Harbormaster...........  Cohasset Harbor...  (781) 383-0863,     15 May-1 Nov, 9     N/A Boat Service.
                                                       VHF 10,16.          a.m.-9 p.m.
Cole Parkway Marina.............  Scituate Harbor...  (781) 545-2130,     15 May-15 Oct, 8    6 ft.
                                                       VHF 9.              a.m.-4 p.m.
Harbor Mooring Service..........  North and South     (781) 544-3130,     15 April-1 Nov,     N/A, Boat Service.
                                   Rivers.             Cell (617) 281-     Service provided
                                                       4365, VHF 9.        on-call.
James Landing Marina............  Herring River,      (781) 545-3000....  1 May-15 Oct, 8     6 ft.
                                   Scituate.                               a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Waterline Mooring...............  Scituate Harbor...  (781) 545-4154,     15 May-15 Oct, 8    N/A, Boat Service.
                                                       VHF 9, 16.          a.m.-5 p.m., or
                                                                           by appointment.
Green Harbor Town Pier..........  Green Harbor,       (781) 834-5541,     1 April-15 Nov, 24/ 4 ft.
                                   Marshfield.         VHF 9,16.           7 Self-Serve, 15
                                                                           May-30 Sept,
                                                                           Attendant
                                                                           Service, 8 a.m.-
                                                                           11:30 p.m.
Bridgewaye Marina...............  South River,        (781) 837-9343,     15 June-15 Oct, 9-  6 ft.
                                   Marshfield.         VHF 9, 11.          5 p.m.
Erickson's Marina...............  South River,        (781) 837-2687....  15 March-15 Nov, 8  4 ft.
                                   Marshfield.                             a.m.-5 p.m.
White's Ferry Marina............  South River,        (781) 837-9343,     15 June-15 Oct, 9-  4 ft.
                                   Marshfield.         VHF 9, 11.          5 p.m.
Mary's Boat Livery..............  North River,        (781) 837-2322,     15 May-1 Oct, 8     4 ft.
                                   Marshfield.         VHF 9, 16.          a.m.-4 p.m.
\**\ Marshfield Yacht Club......  South River,        TBA...............  TBA...............  TBA.
                                   Marshfield.
\**\ South River Boat Ramp......  South River,        TBA...............  TBA...............  TBA.
                                   Marshfield.
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\**\ = Pending facilities.


    Dated: April 4, 2008.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, EPA--New England Region I.
 [FR Doc. E8-7793 Filed 4-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P