[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 205 (Monday, October 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65723-65725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27421]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9482-4]


Proposed Reissuance of the NPDES General Permit for Facilities 
Related to Oil and Gas Extraction in the Territorial Seas of Texas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Director of the Water Quality Protection Division, EPA 
Region 6 today proposes to issue the National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for the Territorial Seas of 
Texas (No. TXG260000) for discharges from existing and new dischargers 
and New Sources in the Offshore Subcategory of the Oil and Gas 
Extraction Point Source Category as authorized by section 402 of the 
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1342. The permit will supersede the previous 
general permit (TXG260000) issued on September 6, 2005 and published in 
the Federal Register at 70 FR 171. This permit renewal authorizes 
discharges from exploration, development, and production facilities 
located in and discharging to the territorial seas off Texas.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 8, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Ms. Diane Smith (6WQ-NP), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, 
Texas 75202-2733.

[[Page 65724]]

    Comments may also be submitted via e-mail to the following address: 
[email protected].

Public Meeting Information

    EPA Region 6 will be holding an informal public meeting which will 
include a presentation on the proposed general permit and a question 
and answer session. Advance notice of the time and date for this 
meeting was provided in the Houston Chronicle, Corpus Christi Caller 
Times, and Beaumont Enterprise newspapers on September 30, 2011, and 
via EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/npdes/genpermit/index.htm. Because informal public meetings accommodate group 
discussion and question and answer sessions, public meetings have been 
used for many general permits and appear to be more valuable than 
formalized public hearings in helping the public understand a proposed 
general permit and in identifying the issues of concern. Written, but 
not oral, comments for the administrative record will be accepted at 
the public meetings. Written comments generated from what was learned 
at a public meeting may also be submitted any time up to the end of the 
comment period. The public meeting will be held at South Regional 
Branch Library, First Floor Lobby Meeting Room, 2101 Lake Robbins 
Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77380; Time: 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; and Date: 
Tuesday, November 8, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Diane Smith, Region 6, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-
2733. Telephone: (214) 665-2145.
    A complete draft permit and a fact sheet more fully explaining the 
proposal may be obtained from Ms. Smith. In addition, the Agency's 
current administrative record on the proposal is available for 
examination at the Region's Dallas offices during normal working hours 
after providing Ms. Smith 24 hours advance notice. Additionally, a copy 
of the proposed permit, fact sheet, and this Federal Register Notice 
may be found on the EPA Region 6 Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/npdes/genpermit/index.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA intends to use the proposed reissued 
permit to regulate oil and gas extraction facilities located in the 
territorial seas off Texas. To obtain discharge authorization, 
operators of such facilities must submit a new Notice of Intent (NOI). 
To determine whether your (facility, company, business, organization, 
etc.) is regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the 
applicability criteria in Part I, Section A.1 of the permit. If you 
have questions regarding the applicability of this action to a 
particular entity, consult the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section above. The proposed permit contains 
limitations conforming to EPA's Oil and Gas extraction, Offshore 
Subcategory Effluent Limitation Guidelines at 40 CFR part 435 and 
additional requirements assuring that regulated discharges will not 
cause unreasonable degradation of the marine environment, as required 
by section 403(c) of the Clean Water Act. Limitations and conditions 
are also included to ensure compliance with State Water Quality 
Standards. Specific information on the derivation of those limitations 
and conditions is contained in the fact sheet.
    Specifically, the draft permit proposes to prohibit the discharge 
of drilling fluids, drill cuttings and produced sand. Produced water 
discharges are limited for oil and grease, 7-day chronic toxicity, and 
24-hour acute end-of-pipe toxicity. In addition to limits on oil and 
grease, the proposed permit includes a prohibition of the discharge of 
priority pollutants except in trace amounts in well treatment, 
completion, and workover fluids. A limit of ``No Free Oil'' is proposed 
for miscellaneous discharges, such as non-contact cooling water and 
ballast water, and on deck drainage discharges. Discharges of seawater 
and freshwater which have been used to pressure test existing pipelines 
and piping, to which treatment chemicals have been added, are proposed 
to be subject to limitations on free oil, concentration of treatment 
chemicals, and acute toxicity. New facilities withdrawing water greater 
than 2 million gallons per day (MGD) are required to have the best 
technology available for minimizing fish/shellfish impingement 
mortality and entrainment caused by cooling water intake structures. 
EPA also proposes to require produced water effluent characteristics 
study and sediment monitoring in order to collect information on how 
produced water discharged to the Texas territorial seas may impact 
water quality and the marine environment. EPA will then evaluate the 
data with respect to further action in order to minimize potential 
adverse impacts caused by produced water on aquatic life and/or human 
health. EPA is also soliciting comments on whether or not to prohibit 
the discharge of produced water from new production wells or even to 
apply ``no discharge'' of produced water to all facilities.

Other Legal Requirements

Oil Spill Requirements

    Section 311 of the CWA, ``the Act'', prohibits the discharge of oil 
and hazardous materials in harmful quantities. Discharges that are in 
compliance with NPDES permits under normal operational conditions are 
excluded from the provisions of Section 311. However, the permit does 
not preclude the institution of legal action or relieve permittees from 
any responsibilities, liabilities, or penalties for other, unauthorized 
discharges of oil and hazardous materials which are covered by Section 
311 of the Act. This general permit does not authorize discharges 
beyond normal exploration, development, and production of oil and gas 
extraction activities. For instance, an oil spill caused by explosion, 
like the Deepwater Horizon event that extended from April 20, 2010 to 
September 19, 2010, when oil flowed from a well in the outer 
continental shelf portion of the Gulf of Mexico, or any potential gas 
spill is not covered by this general permit.

Endangered Species Act

    The Environmental Protection Agency evaluated the potential effects 
of issuance of this permit reissuance upon listed threatened or 
endangered species. Based on that evaluation, EPA has determined that 
authorization of the discharges is not likely to adversely affect any 
listed threatened or endangered species. EPA has initiated section 7 
consultations in accordance with the Endangered Species Act with the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS). The FWS concurred with EPA's determination 
(Consultation No. 21410-2004-I-0051) on July 15, 2011. EPA is still 
working with the NMFS on its concurrence.

National Environmental Policy Act

    EPA issued a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which was 
published in the Federal Register at 69 FR 15829 on March 26, 2004, to 
evaluate the potential environmental consequences of this Federal 
(general permit) action, pursuant to its responsibilities under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). EPA responded to all 
issues raised on the Final EIS and issued a Record of Decision on 
January 11, 2005. EPA has prepared a Supplemental Information Report 
(SIR) to the 2005 issued final EIS. The SIR is posted on the Internet 
at: http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/npdes/genpermit/index.htm.

[[Page 65725]]

Ocean Discharge Criteria Evaluation

    For discharges into waters of the territorial sea, contiguous zone, 
or oceans, CWA section 403 requires EPA to consider guidelines for 
determining potential degradation of the marine environment in issuance 
of NPDES permits. These Ocean Discharge Criteria (40 CFR 125, Subpart 
M) are intended to ``prevent unreasonable degradation of the marine 
environment and to authorize imposition of effluent limitations, 
including a prohibition of discharge, if necessary, to ensure this 
goal'' (45 FR 65942, October 3, 1980). EPA prepared a report on ``Ocean 
Discharge Criteria Evaluation for the NPDES General Permit for the 
Territorial Seas of the State of Texas'' dated October 25, 2002, when 
EPA proposed the reissuance of the general permit in 2004, and 
concluded that reissuance of the Oil and Gas General Permit for the 
Territorial Seas of Texas would not result in unreasonable degradation 
of the marine environment. EPA has reevaluated the ten (10) criteria in 
the SIR mentioned above.

Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act

    The Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) of 1972 
regulates the dumping of all types of materials into ocean waters and 
establishes a permit program for ocean dumping. In addition the MPRSA 
establishes the Marine Sanctuaries Program, implemented by the National 
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which requires 
NOAA to designate ocean waters as marine sanctuaries for the purpose of 
preserving or restoring their conservation, recreational, ecological or 
aesthetic values. Pursuant to the Marine Protection and Sanctuaries 
Act, NOAA has not designated any marine sanctuaries within the area 
covered under the permit. The proposed permit also prohibits discharges 
to marine sanctuary areas.

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act

    EPA has determined that reissuance of this general permit is not 
likely to adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat established under the 
1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and 
Conservation Act. In the letter of June 17, 2011, National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) concurred with the determination that issuance 
of the permit has no adverse effect to Essential Fish Habitat.

Coastal Zone Management Act

    EPA has determined that the activities which are proposed to be 
authorized by this permit are consistent with the local and state 
Coastal Zone Management Plans. The proposed permit and consistency 
determination will be submitted to the State of Texas for interagency 
review during the comment period of the public notice. It should be 
noted that decisions to allow oil and gas exploration and production in 
the territorial seas are made by the State of Texas and not the EPA.

State Certification

    Under section 401(a)(1) of the Act, EPA may not issue an NPDES 
permit until the State in which the discharge will originate grants or 
waives certification to ensure compliance with appropriate requirements 
of the Act and State law. Section 301(b)(1)(C) of the Act requires that 
NPDES permits contain conditions that ensure compliance with applicable 
state water quality standards or limitations. The proposed permit 
contains limitations intended to ensure compliance with state water 
quality standards and has been determined by EPA Region 6 to be 
consistent with Texas Water Quality Standards and the corresponding 
implementation guidance. The Region will solicit the 401 certification 
from the Texas Railroad Commission.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection required by this permit has been 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., in 
submission made for the NPDES permit program and assigned OMB control 
numbers 2040-0086 (NPDES permit application) and 2040-0004 (discharge 
monitoring reports).
    This reissued permit requires reporting and application 
requirements for new facilities to comply with cooling water intake 
structure requirements and therefore it requires more reporting burdens 
for new facilities from those under the previous general permit. Since 
this permit is very similar in reporting and application requirements 
in discharges which are required to be monitored as the Western Gulf of 
Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) general permit (GMG290000) which 
also has cooling water intake structure requirements, the paperwork 
burdens are expected to be nearly identical. EPA estimated it would 
take an affected facility 3 hours to prepare the request for coverage 
and 3 hours per month to prepare discharge monitoring reports. It is 
estimated that the time required to prepare the request for coverage 
and discharge monitoring reports for this permit will be the same. A 
new facility may need more time to prepare information for cooling 
water intake structure requirements. This proposal requires electronic 
reporting for discharge monitoring reports, and it will save some 
reporting time.
    However, the alternative to obtaining authorization to discharge 
under this general permit is to obtain an individual permit. The burden 
of obtaining authorization to discharge under the general permit is 
expected to be significantly less than the burden of obtaining an 
individual permit.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., requires that 
EPA prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for regulations that have 
a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The 
permit renewal proposed today is not a ``rule'' subject to the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act. EPA prepared a regulatory flexibility 
analysis, however, on the promulgation of the Offshore Subcategory 
guidelines on which many of the permit's effluent limitations are 
based. That analysis has shown that issuance of this permit would not 
have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.

    Dated: October 14, 2011.
William K. Honker,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2011-27421 Filed 10-21-11; 8:45 am]
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