[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8855-8856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3584]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9632-2]


Final 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 Final NPDES General Permit.

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SUMMARY: The Director of the Water Quality Protection Division, EPA 
Region 6 today announces issuance of the final 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 (CWA). The permit supersedes the 
previous general permit (TXG260000) which expired on November 4, 2010. 
This permit renewal authorizes discharges from exploration, 
development, and production facilities located in and discharging to 
the territorial seas off Texas.
    EPA proposed the draft permit in the Federal Register on October 
24, 2011. EPA Region 6 has considered all comments received and makes 
one significant change to the proposed permit. A copy of the Region's 
responses to comments and the final permit may be obtained from the EPA 
Region 6 Internet site: http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/npdes/genpermit/index.htm.

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.

DATES: This permit was issued and effective on February 8, 2012, and 
expires February 7, 2017. In accordance with 40 CFR part 23, this 
permit shall be considered issued for the purpose of judicial review on 
February 29, 2012. Under section 509(b) of the CWA, judicial review of 
this general permit can be held by filing a petition for review in the 
United States Court of Appeals within 120 days after the permit is 
considered issued for judicial review. Under section 509(b)(2) of the 
CWA, the requirements in this permit may not be challenged later in 
civil or criminal proceedings to enforce these requirements. In 
addition, this permit may not be challenged in other agency 
proceedings. Deadlines for submittal of notices of intent are provided 
in Part I.A.2 of the permit.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA intends to use the reissued permit to 
regulate discharges from oil and gas extraction facilities located in 
the territorial seas off Texas under the CWA. 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.

Other Legal Requirements

    Oil Spill Requirements. Section 311 of the CWA 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 CWA. 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 authorized by this 
general permit.
    Endangered Species Act. EPA evaluated the potential effects of 
issuance of this permit 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 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), and received 
the concurrence letter dated July 15, 2011, from FWS (Consultation No. 
21410-2004-I-0051), and a letter dated January 3, 2012, from NMFS (Ref. 
No. I/SER/2011/00705).
    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) dated September 2011 to the 2005 
issued final EIS. The SIR is posted on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/npdes/genpermit/index.htm.
    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 part 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

[[Page 8856]]

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 by the 
permit. The 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 a letter dated 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 authorized by this permit are consistent with the local and 
state Coastal Zone Management Plans. The State of Texas issued a letter 
of consistency on January 26, 2012. 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 CWA. 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 CWA requires that NPDES permits contain conditions that ensure 
compliance with applicable state water quality standards or 
limitations. The permit contains limitations intended to ensure 
compliance with Texas Water Quality Standards and the corresponding 
implementation guidance. The Texas Railroad Commission issued the 401 
certification on January 26, 2012.
    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., 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 three 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 permit 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 issued 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.

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

    Dated: February 8, 2012.
William K. Honker,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2012-3584 Filed 2-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P