[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 31, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53299-53301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21675]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9195-3]


Issuance of NPDES General Permits for Wastewater Lagoon Systems 
Located in Indian Country in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South 
Dakota, Utah and Wyoming

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of issuance of NPDES general permits.

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SUMMARY: EPA Region 8 is hereby giving notice of its reissuance of five 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permits 
for wastewater lagoon systems that are located in Indian country in the 
States of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming and the 
issuance of the NPDES general permit for wastewater lagoon systems that 
are located in Indian country in the State of Colorado and that are 
treating primarily domestic wastewater. The general permits are grouped 
geographically by State, with the permit coverage being for specified 
Indian reservations in the State; any land held in trust by the United 
States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas which are Indian 
country within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151. The permits for the 
States of MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY are being reissued and replace permits 
that were issued in 2004. Those permits expired August 16, 2009, and 
have been administratively extended. The permit for the State of 
Colorado is being issued for the first time. The effective date of 
these general permits is September 14, 2010.
    The NPDES permit number and the area covered by that general permit 
are listed below by State:
    Colorado: COG589 This permit covers the 
Southern Ute Reservation and the Ute Mountain Reservation, including 
those portions of the Ute Mountain Reservation located in New Mexico 
and Utah; any land within the State of Colorado held in trust by the 
United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas within the State 
of Colorado which are Indian country within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 
1151.
    Montana: MTG589 This permit covers the 
Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana; the Crow Indian Reservation; 
the Flathead Reservation; the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana; the 
Fort Peck Indian Reservation; the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation; 
the Rocky Boy's Reservation; any land within the State of Montana held 
in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas 
within the State of Montana which are Indian country within the meaning 
of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
    North Dakota: NDG589 This permit covers 
the Fort Berthold Reservation; the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation; the 
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation; the Turtle Mountain Reservation; any 
land within the State of North Dakota held in trust by the United 
States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas within the State of 
North Dakota which are Indian country within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 
1151.
    This permit includes that portion of the Standing Rock Sioux 
Reservation and associated Indian country located within the State of 
South Dakota. It does not include any land held in trust by the United 
States for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation 
or any other Indian country associated with that Tribe, which is 
covered under general permit SDG589.
    South Dakota: SDG589 This permit covers 
the Cheyenne River Reservation; Crow Creek Reservation; the Flandreau 
Santee Sioux Indian Reservation; the Lower Brule Reservation; the Pine 
Ridge Reservation (including the entire Reservation, which is located 
in both South Dakota and Nebraska); the Rosebud Indian Reservation; the 
Yankton Sioux Reservation; any land within the State of South Dakota 
held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other 
areas within the State of South Dakota which are Indian country within 
the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151.
    This permit includes any land in the State of North Dakota that is 
held in trust by the United States for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of 
the Lake Traverse Reservation or any other Indian country associated 
with that Tribe. It does not include the Standing Rock Sioux 
Reservation or any associated Indian country, which is covered under 
general permit NDG589.
    Utah: UTG589 This permit covers the 
Northwestern Band of Shoshoni Nation of Utah Reservation (Washakie); 
the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Reservation; the Skull Valley Indian 
Reservation; Indian country lands within the Uintah and Ouray Indian 
Reservation; any land within the State of Utah held in trust by the 
United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other

[[Page 53300]]

areas within the State of Utah which are Indian country within the 
meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151, except as provided in the following 
paragraph.
    It does not include any portions of the Navajo Nation, the Goshute 
Reservation, the Ute Mountain reservation in Utah, or any land held in 
trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe that is associated with 
those Reservations, or any other areas which are Indian country within 
the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 1151 that are associated with those 
Reservations.
    Wyoming: WYG589 This permit covers the 
Wind River Reservation; any land within the State of Wyoming held in 
trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe; and any other areas 
within the State of Wyoming which are Indian country within the meaning 
of 18 U.S.C. 1151.

DATES: The general permits become effective on September 14, 2010 and 
will expire five years from that date. For appeal purposes, the 120 day 
time period for appeal to the U.S. Federal Courts will begin September 
14, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The administrative record is available by appointment for 
review and copying at the EPA Region 8 offices during the hours of 10 
a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Federal holidays excluded. To 
make an appointment to look at or copy the documents call Donna Roberts 
at 303-312-6371 or Colleen Gillespie at 303-312-6133. The Region 8 
offices are located at 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202-1129. A 
reasonable fee may be charged for copying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information concerning the 
final permits may be obtained from Colleen Gillespie, EPA Region 8, 
Wastewater Unit (8P-W-WW), 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202-1129, 
telephone 303-312-6133 or e-mail at [email protected]. The 
final general permits, the fact sheet, Response to Comments, and 
additional information may be downloaded from the EPA Region 8 Web page 
at http://www.epa.gov/region8/water/wastewater/download. Please allow 
one week after date of this publication for items to be uploaded to the 
Web page. Copies of a specific general permit, the fact sheet, and/or 
Response to Comments may also be obtained by writing Donna Roberts at 
the above address or telephone 303-312-6371.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposed reissuance of the general permits 
was published in the Federal Register on July 24, 2009, 74 FR 36705. 
The public comment period closed on August 24, 2009. A summary of each 
comment received and Region 8's response to the comments are given in a 
separate document, ``Response to Comments Received During the 2009 
Public Notice of Draft NPDES General Permits for Wastewater Lagoon 
Systems Located in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah 
and Wyoming.
    The use of wastewater lagoon systems is the most common method of 
treating municipal wastewater in Indian country in Region 8. Wastewater 
lagoon systems are also used to treat domestic wastewater from isolated 
housing developments, schools, camps, missions, and similar sources of 
domestic wastewater that are not connected to a municipal sanitary 
sewer system and do not use septic tank systems. Region 8 wants to 
continue using general permits instead of individual permits for 
permitting the discharges from such facilities in order to reduce the 
Region's administrative burden of issuing separate individual permits. 
The administrative burden for the regulated sources is expected to be 
about the same under the general permits as with individual permits, 
but it will be much quicker to obtain permit coverage with general 
permits than with individual permits. The discharge requirements would 
essentially be the same with an individual permit or under the general 
permit.
    Coverage under the general permits will be limited to those 
wastewater lagoon systems that meet the following criteria:
    1. The wastewater lagoon system is located in Indian country in EPA 
Region 8;
    2. The wastewater lagoon system treats primarily domestic 
wastewater; and
    3. The wastewater lagoon system is:
    a. A facility listed in Appendix A of the fact sheet; or
    b. A facility not listed in Appendix A that meets the requirements 
specified in Part 5 of the general permit for complete retention 
wastewater lagoon systems.

If facilities that do not meet the criteria above seek coverage under 
this general permit, EPA will notify the facility that it must apply 
for an individual permit. The eligibility criteria above are more 
restrictive than those in the draft general permit that was publicly 
noticed on July 24, 2009.
    Lagoon systems covered under the general permit will include the 
following three categories: (1) Lagoons where no prior notification is 
required before starting to discharge; (2) lagoons where prior 
notification is required before starting to discharge; and (3) lagoons 
that are required to have no discharge. The effluent limitations for 
lagoons coming under categories 1 and 2 are based on the Federal 
Secondary Treatment Regulation (40 CFR Part 133) and best professional 
judgement (BPJ). There are provisions in the general permits for 
adjusting the effluent limitations on total suspended solids (TSS) and 
pH in accordance with the provisions of the Secondary Treatment 
Regulation. If more stringent and/or additional effluent limitations 
are necessary to comply with applicable water quality standards, those 
limitations may be imposed by written notification to the permittee. 
Lagoon systems under category 3 are required to have no discharge 
except in accordance with the bypass provisions of the permit. Self-
monitoring requirements and routine inspection requirements are 
included in the permits. The permits do not authorize the discharge of 
wastewater from land application sites, but they do require that the 
land application of wastewater from the lagoon systems be done in 
accordance with a written operational plan for the land application of 
the wastewater. The objectives of the operational plan are to minimize 
the potential for the discharge of wastewater from the land application 
site and to avoid applying excessive amounts of nitrogen to the land 
application site.
    With the exception of the Flathead Reservation, the Fort Peck 
Indian Reservation, the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, and the 
Ute Mountain Reservation, where the Tribes have Clean Water Act section 
401(a)(1) certification authority, EPA will certify that the permits 
comply with the applicable provisions of the Clean Water Act as long as 
the permittees comply with all permit conditions. Certifications were 
received for the Flathead Reservation and the Northern Cheyenne Indian 
Reservation. No responses were received for the requests for 
certification for the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and the Ute Mountain 
Reservation and the 60-day response period has expired. Therefore EPA 
considers certification as being waived for those reservations in 
accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR 124.53(c)(3).

Other Legal Requirements

    Economic Impact (Executive Order 12866): EPA has determined that 
the issuance of this general permit is not a ``significant regulatory 
action'' under the terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735 (October 
4, 1993)) and is therefore not subject to formal OMB review prior to 
proposal.

[[Page 53301]]

    Paperwork Reduction Act: EPA has reviewed the requirements imposed 
on regulated facilities in these proposed general permits under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 501, et seq. The information 
collection requirements of these permits have already been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget in submissions made for the NPDES 
permit program under the provisions of the Clean Water Act.
    Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C 601, et seq., as amended 
by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA): The 
RFA requires that EPA prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for 
rules subject to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) that have a 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The 
permit proposed today, however, is not a ``rule'' subject to the 
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and is therefore not subject to the 
RFA.
    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, local 
governments and the private sector. The permit proposed today, however, 
is not a ``rule'' subject to the RFA and is therefore not subject to 
the requirements of the UMRA.

    Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.

    Dated: August 24, 2010.
Stephen S. Tuber,
Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Partnerships and Regulatory 
Assistance.
[FR Doc. 2010-21675 Filed 8-30-10; 8:45 am]
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