[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 232 (Friday, December 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63752-63753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28974]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTON AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0761; FRL-9088-1]


Executive Order 13508 Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration 
Section 202 Federal Agency Reports

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice and Request for Public Comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of seven final reports 
by federal agencies for restoration and protection of the Chesapeake 
Bay and requests public comment. The reports were prepared pursuant to 
Executive Order (E.O.) 13508 of May 12, 2009, Chesapeake Bay Protection 
and Restoration. This E.O. requires that a draft strategy be published 
for public review and comments together with the final reports prepared 
by the federal agencies. The draft strategy was made available on 
November 9, 2008 for comment.

DATES: Comments on the seven Section 202 reports must be submitted on 
or before January 8, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2009-0761, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: After entering the docket for 
this action, click on one of the seven agency reports, for which you 
want to make comment. Once you arrive at the page for the specific 
report on which you wish to comment, click the ``Submit a Comment'' 
button at the top right of the web page, then follow the on-line 
instructions.
     Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room, EPA 
Headquarters West, Room 3340, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's 
normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), and special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information by 
contacting the Docket Center at 202-566-1744.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-
0761. This Notice is not open for public comment, but, the Section 202 
reports are available for comment on http://www.regulations.gov. The 
Section 203 draft strategy was made available in the Federal Register 
on November 9, 2009 and is also available in the docket for comment. 
Additional information about the docket is contained below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marguerite Duffy, USEPA, Region 3, 
Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Annapolis City Marina, 410 Severn 
Avenue, Suite 109 (3CB10), Annapolis, MD 21403; telephone number: (410) 
267-5764; fax number (410) 267-5777; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Why Were These Documents Prepared?

    Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration, 
dated May 12, 2009 (74 FR 23099, May 15, 2009), requires a Federal 
Leadership Committee composed of seven federal agencies to prepare and 
publish a set of reports and a draft strategy for public review and 
comment within 180 days of the date of the order. The deadline for 
publication of the draft strategy was November 9, 2009 and accordingly 
is published in the Federal Register for a 60 day comment period. The 
federal agency draft reports required by E.O. 13508 Sections 202(a) 
through (g) were submitted to the Federal Leadership Committee for the 
Chesapeake Bay on September 9, 2009 and released to the public on 
September 10, 2009. The September 9, 2009, draft reports were reviewed 
by the Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay, in 
consultation with relevant state agencies. The revised Section 202 
reports reflect consideration of the comments received during state 
consultation and preliminary public input. During the next six months, 
review and incorporation of comments will continue as appropriate.

How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?

    Docket: EPA has established a public docket for this Notice under 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2009-0761. The E.O. 13508 Section 202 reports 
are available in the docket at http://www.regulations.gov, as well as 
at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net. Assistance and tips for 
accessing the docket can be found at http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net. The seven Section 202 reports are 
included as separate documents within docket number EPA-HQ-OW-2009-
0761. Comments via email are not being accepted. Instead, comments will 
be accepted through http://www.regulations.gov and by mail. If you are 
commenting on the Section 202 reports, note that there are seven 
Section 202 reports within the docket

[[Page 63753]]

and you must submit comments to the specific Section 202 report, on 
which you are commenting. If you are mailing comments to the docket on 
one or more reports, clearly identify the specific 202 report(s) and 
page number at which each comment is directed. All comments received, 
including any personal information provided, will be included in the 
public docket without change and will be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, unless the comment includes information claimed to 
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information, the 
disclosure of which is restricted by statute.
    Do not submit information to http://www.regulations.gov that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. It is recommended 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 your comment cannot 
be read due to technical difficulties and we are unable to contact you 
for clarification, we will not 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 the 
public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. Publicly available docket materials 
are available electronically either at http://www.regulations.gov as 
well as at the EPA Docket Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number for this 
docket 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. Certain 
material, such as copyrighted materials, will be publicly available 
only in hard copy at the Docket Center.

Why Is EPA Posting These Reports and Draft Strategy for Public Comment?

    Executive Order 13508 requires the Federal Leadership Committee for 
the Chesapeake Bay to prepare and publish a set of reports and a 
coordinated strategy for protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay. 
As required by E.O. 13508 Section 202, lead agencies prepared reports 
focusing on:
    (a) Defining the next generation of tools and actions to restore 
water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and describing the changes to be 
made to regulations, programs, and policies to implement these actions;
    (b) targeting resources to better protect the Chesapeake Bay and 
its tributary waters;
    (c) strengthening storm water management practices at Federal 
facilities and on Federal lands within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and 
developing storm water best practices guidance;
    (d) assessing the impacts of a changing climate on the Chesapeake 
Bay and developing a strategy for adapting natural resources programs 
and public infrastructure to the impacts of a changing climate on water 
quality and living resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
    (e) expanding public access to waters and open spaces of the 
Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries from Federal lands and conserving 
landscapes and ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
    (f) strengthening scientific support for decision making to restore 
the Chesapeake Bay and watershed, including expanded environmental 
research; and
    (g) developing focused and coordinated habitat and research 
activities that protect and restore living resources and water quality 
of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. E.O. 13508 Section 203 
requires the Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay to 
prepare and publish a strategy for coordinated implementation of 
existing programs and projects to guide efforts to protect and restore 
the Chesapeake Bay. The strategy should to the extent permitted by law:
    (a) Define environmental goals for the Chesapeake Bay and describe 
milestones for making progress toward attainment of these goals;
    (b) Identify key measureable indicators of environmental condition 
and changes that are critical to effective Federal leadership;
    (c) Describe the specific programs and strategies to be 
implemented, including the programs and strategies described in draft 
reports developed under Section 202 of the order;
    (d) Identify the mechanisms that will assure that governmental and 
other activities, including data collection and distribution, are 
coordinated and effective, relying on existing mechanisms where 
appropriate; and
    (e) Describe a process for the implementation of adaptive 
management principles, including a periodic evaluation of protection 
and restoration.

Acknowledging the strong public interest in the future of the 
Chesapeake Bay and the actions being taken to improve conditions in the 
Bay and its watershed, the Federal Leadership Committee for the 
Chesapeake Bay looks forward to receiving comments on these documents.

What Are the Next Steps in the Process for Collecting Public Comment?

    The agencies will review public comments on the draft strategy and 
agency reports. The comments will be taken into consideration as the 
Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay develops the final 
Section 203 strategy. However, the Committee does not anticipate 
revising the Section 202 reports based upon public comments received. 
The Committee plans to use comments received on the Section 202 reports 
to help inform the development of the Section 203 final strategy. As 
such, reviewers should focus their comments on the draft 203 strategy. 
A response to comments document will be released at the same time as 
the final E.O. 13508 Section 203 strategy with anticipated release by 
May 12, 2010. The federal agencies plan to hold a series of stakeholder 
meetings throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to discuss the draft 
strategy. The details of these meetings will be announced at: http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net.

    Dated: November 25, 2009.
Peter S. Silva,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. E9-28974 Filed 12-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P