[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 226 (Friday, November 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70042-70043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28139]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9903-36-Region 10]


Proposed Issuance of the NPDES General Permit for Oil and Gas 
Geotechnical Surveying and Related Activities in Federal Waters of the 
Beaufort and Chukchi Seas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed issuance of general permit.

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SUMMARY: EPA Region 10 proposes to issue a National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Oil and Gas Geotechnical 
Surveying and Related Activities in Federal Waters of the Beaufort and 
Chukchi Seas (Permit No. AKG-28-4300). As proposed, the Geotechnical 
General Permit authorizes twelve types of discharges from facilities 
engaged in oil and gas geotechnical surveys to evaluate the subsurface 
characteristics of the seafloor and related activities in federal 
waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Geotechnical borings are 
collected to assess the structural properties of subsurface soil 
conditions for potential placement of oil and gas installations, which 
may include production and drilling platforms, ice islands, anchor 
structures for floating exploration drilling vessels, and potential 
buried pipeline corridors. Geotechnical surveys result in a disturbance 
of the seafloor and produce discharges consisting of soil, rock and 
cuttings materials, in addition to facility-specific waste streams 
authorized under this general permit. Geotechnical related activities 
also result in a disturbance of the seafloor and produce similar 
discharges. These activities may include feasibility testing of 
equipment that disturbs the seafloor, and testing and evaluation of 
trenching technologies.

DATES: Comments. The public comment period for the draft Geotechnical 
General Permit will be from the date of publication of this Notice 
until January 27, 2014. Comments must be received or post-marked by no 
later than midnight Pacific Standard Time on January 27, 2014.
    Public Hearings. EPA will hold public hearings on January 8, 2014, 
in Barrow, Alaska, at the Inupiat Heritage Center and via 
teleconference on January 10, 2014. The hearing in Barrow, AK will 
begin at 6:00 p.m. (Alaska Standard Time) and will continue until all 
testimony is heard or 10:00 p.m., whichever is earlier. The 
teleconference hearing will begin at 4:00 p.m. (Alaska Standard Time) 
and will continue until all testimony is heard or 7:00 p.m., whichever 
is earlier.
    See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods. EPA 
will consider all comments received during the public comment period 
prior to making its final decision.
    Mail: Send paper comments to Erin Seyfried, Office of Water and 
Watersheds, Mail Stop OWW-130, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 
98101-3140.
    Email: Send electronic comments to [email protected].
    Fax: Fax comments to the attention of Erin Seyfried at (206) 553-
0165.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Deliver comments to Erin Seyfried, Office of 
Water and Watersheds, Mail Stop OWW-130, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, 
Seattle, WA 98101-3140. Call (206) 553-0523 before delivery to verify 
business hours.
    Viewing and/or Obtaining Copies of Documents. A copy of the draft 
Geotechnical General Permit and the Fact Sheet, which explains the 
proposal in detail, may be obtained by contacting EPA at 1 (800) 424-
4372. Copies of the documents are also available for viewing and 
downloading at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/npdes+permits/DraftPermitsAK http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/npdes+permits/arctic-gp See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for other document viewing 
locations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Seyfried, Office of Water and 
Watersheds, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, Mail Stop 
OWW-130, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101-3140, (206) 553-
1448, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fact Sheet describes the types of 
facilities and the discharges proposed to be authorized by the 
Geotechnical General Permit; the proposed effluent limits and other 
conditions; maps and descriptions of the proposed Area of Coverage; and 
a summary of the supporting technical materials.
    Public Hearing Locations and Information. The locations, 
teleconference information, and general agenda for the hearings are:
    (1) January 8, 2014, Inupiat Heritage Center, 5421 North Star 
Street, Barrow, AK 99723, Teleconference number 1 (866) 299-3188, code 
9072711272; 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Open House; 6:00 p.m.-7:00 
p.m. Presentation; 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Testimony.
    (2) January 10, 2014; Teleconference Only. Teleconference number 1 
(866) 299-3188, code 9072711272; 4:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. 
Presentation; 4:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Testimony.
    Public Hearing Procedures. Public hearings will be conducted in 
accordance with 40 CFR 124.12 and will provide interested persons with 
the opportunity to give written and/or verbal comments for the official 
record. The following procedures will be used at the public hearings:
    (1) The presiding officer shall conduct the hearing in a manner 
which will allow all interested persons wishing to make verbal comments 
an opportunity to do so (however, the presiding officer may inform 
attendees of any time limits during the opening statement of the 
hearing);
    (2) Any person may submit written statements or documents for the 
hearing record;
    (3) The presiding officer may, in his or her discretion, exclude 
verbal comments if such testimony is overly repetitious of previous 
testimony or is not relevant to the draft Geotechnical General Permit;
    (4) The transcripts of the hearings, together with copies of all 
submitted statements and documents, shall become a part of the record 
submitted to the Director of the Office of Water and Watersheds;

[[Page 70043]]

    (5) The hearing record shall be left open until the deadline for 
receipt of comments, specified at the beginning of this Notice, to 
allow any person enough time to submit additional written statements or 
to present views or evidence tending to rebut or support testimony 
presented at the public hearing;
    (6) Hearing testimony may be provided orally or in written format. 
Commenters providing verbal comments are encouraged to provide written 
comments to ensure accuracy of the record and for use of EPA and other 
interested persons. Persons wishing to make verbal comments supporting 
their written statements are encouraged to give a summary of their 
points rather than reading lengthy written comments verbatim into the 
record.
    All comments related to the draft Geotechnical General Permit and 
Fact Sheet received by EPA Region 10 by the deadline for receipt of 
comments, or presented at the public hearing, will be considered by EPA 
before taking final action on the General Permit.
    Document Viewing Locations. The draft Geotechnical General Permit 
and Fact Sheet may also be viewed at the following locations:
    (1) EPA Region 10 Library, Park Place Building, 1200 6th Avenue, 
Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101; (206) 553-1289.
    (2) EPA Region 10, Alaska Operations Office, 222 W 7th Avenue, 
19, Room 537, Anchorage, AK 99513; (907) 271-5083.
    (3) DEC Anchorage office, 555 Cordova Street, Anchorage, AK 99501; 
(907) 269-7235.
    (4) Z. J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage, AK 
99503; (907) 343-2975.
    (5) North Slope Borough School District Library/Media Center, Pouch 
169, 829 Aivak Street, Barrow, AK 99723; (907) 852-5311.
    EPA's current administrative record for the draft Geotechnical 
General Permit is available for review at the EPA Region 10 Office, 
Park Place Building, 1200 6th Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101, 
between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Contact Erin 
Seyfried at [email protected] or (206) 553-1448.
    Oil Spill Requirements. Section 311 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321, 
prohibits the discharge of oil and hazardous materials in harmful 
quantities. Discharges authorized under the Geotechnical General Permit 
are excluded from the provisions of CWA Section 311, 33 U.S.C. 1321. 
However, the Geotechnical General Permit will not preclude the 
institution of legal action, or relieve the permittees from any 
responsibilities, liabilities, or penalties for other unauthorized 
discharges of oil and hazardous materials, which are covered by Section 
311.
    Endangered Species Act. Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA), 16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, requires federal agencies to consult with 
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS) if their actions have the potential to either 
beneficially or adversely affect any threatened or endangered species. 
In accordance with ESA requirements, EPA has initiated consultation 
with NMFS and USFWS, and has prepared a Biological Evaluation (BE) for 
the Geotechnical General Permit, which concludes that the General 
Permit is not likely to adversely affect any threatened or endangered 
species or their designated critical habitat areas. The BE has been 
submitted to NMFS and USFWS for review and concurrence during the 
public comment period. EPA will obtain a determination from NMFS and 
USFWS prior to issuing the Geotechnical General Permit.
    Essential Fish Habitat. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act requires EPA to consult with NMFS when a proposed 
permit action has the potential to adversely affect Essential Fish 
Habitat (EFH). An EFH Assessment has been prepared for the Geotechnical 
General Permit.
    Coastal Zone Management Act. As of July 1, 2011, there is no longer 
a Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) program in Alaska. Consequently, 
federal agencies are no longer required to provide the State of Alaska 
with CZMA consistency determinations.
    Executive Order 12866. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
exempts this action from the review requirements of Executive Order 
12866 pursuant to Section 6 of that order.
    Paperwork Reduction Act. EPA has reviewed the requirements imposed 
on regulated facilities in the Geotechnical General Permit and finds 
them consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.
    Regulatory Flexibility Act. Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., a federal agency must prepare an initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis ``for any proposed rule'' for which the 
agency ``is required by section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act 
(APA), or any other law, to publish general notice of proposed 
rulemaking.'' The RFA exempts from this requirement any rule that the 
issuing agency certifies ``will not, if promulgated, have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.'' EPA has 
concluded that NPDES general permits are permits, not rulemakings, 
under the APA and thus not subject to APA rulemaking requirements or 
the FRA. Notwithstanding that general permits are not subject to the 
RFA, EPA has determined that the Geotechnical General Permit will not 
have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
This determination is based on the fact that the regulated companies 
are not classified as small businesses under the Small Business 
Administration regulations established at 49 FR 5023 et seq. (February 
9, 1984). These facilities are classified as Major Group 13--Oil as Gas 
Extraction SIC 1311 Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas.

    Authority:  This action is taken under the authority of Section 
402 of the Clean Water Act as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1342. I hereby 
provide public notice of the draft Geotechnical General Permit in 
accordance with 40 CFR 124.10.

    Dated: November 14, 2013.
Daniel D. Opalski
Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2013-28139 Filed 11-21-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P