[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48147-48148]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19137]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9915-13-Region 10]


Re-Proposal of an 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 re-proposal of general permit.

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SUMMARY: Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 (EPA) re-proposes 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). On November 22, 2013, EPA released a draft NPDES general permit 
for oil and gas geotechnical surveys and related activities in federal 
waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas for public review. The public 
comment period closed on February 19, 2014. Based on the comments 
received, EPA has made revisions to the draft Geotechnical General 
Permit and re-proposes a revised draft for public review accompanied by 
a Fact Sheet describing the revisions and a revised Ocean Discharge 
Criteria Evaluation.
    EPA seeks public comment only on the following proposed changes: 
(1) Inclusion of seasonal prohibitions on wastewater discharges 
specific to the 3-25 mile lease deferral area in the Chukchi Sea; (2) 
Clarification of drilling fluid testing requirements (Discharge 001); 
(3) Clarification of Environmental Monitoring Program requirements and 
inclusion of language regarding pre-existing baseline data; (4) 
Revision of sampling frequencies for fecal coliform and total residual 
chlorine (Sanitary Wastewater, Discharge 003); and (5) Clarification of 
Notice of Intent submission requirements.
    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 re-proposed 
Geotechnical General Permit will be from the date of publication of 
this document until September 15, 2014. Comments must be received or 
post-marked by no later than midnight Pacific Standard Time on 
September 15, 2014. EPA will only consider comments on the re-proposed 
permit provisions. Comments submitted previously on the initial draft 
Geotechnical General Permit need not be resubmitted; comments 
addressing permit provisions or issues beyond the scope of this re-
proposal will not be considered.

ADDRESSES: EPA will consider comments on the re-proposed permit 
provisions before making its final decision. You may submit comments by 
any of the following methods.
    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: On November 22, 2013, EPA issued a draft 
Geotechnical General Permit for public review, and established a 
comment deadline of January 27, 2014 (78 FR 70042). In response to 
requests for an extension of the deadline from the Alaska Eskimo 
Whaling Commission and the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, EPA 
extended the comment period for an additional 23 days, from January 27, 
2014 to February 19, 2014 (79 FR 4344).
    Based on the comments received during the public review of the 
draft Geotechnical General Permit, EPA determined that certain permit

[[Page 48148]]

provisions warranted further consideration and notified interested 
parties of this determination on March 21, 2014. To further that 
process, EPA met with several commenters to clarify certain technical 
issues and obtain additional information. The public comments and 
subsequent information resulted in EPA revising several permit 
provisions, as described further in the Fact Sheet.
    Document Viewing Locations. The re-proposed 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) Z. J. Loussac Public Library, 3600 Denali Street, Anchorage, 
AK 99503; (907) 343-2975.
    (4) 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, 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. 
EPA analyzed the discharges proposed to be authorized by the draft 
Geotechnical General Permit, and their potential to adversely affect 
any of the threatened or endangered species or their designated 
critical habitat areas in the vicinity of the discharges in a 
Biological Evaluation dated December 2013. EPA completed a supplemental 
analysis evaluating the effects of interrelated and interdependent 
actions on the Pacific walrus on February 11, 2014. On January 31 and 
March 19, 2014, EPA received letters of concurrence from the USFWS and 
NMFS, respectively, agreeing with EPA's determinations of effects. On 
March 13, 2014, in response to EPA's request for a conference on the 
Pacific walrus, the USFWS confirmed that the proposed permit action 
would not jeopardize the continued existence of this species. EPA has 
reviewed the re-proposed draft permit and determined that the proposed 
changes would not alter the original conclusions that the discharges 
may affect, but are not likely to adversely affect listed, proposed, 
and candidate species or their designated critical habitat areas. The 
Fact Sheet, the re-proposed draft Geotechnical General Permit, and the 
revised Ocean Discharge Criteria Evaluation will be sent to NMFS and 
the USFWS for review during the public comment period.
    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). EPA's EFH assessment is included as Appendix A to the 
BE. The EFH assessment concluded that the discharges authorized by the 
draft Geotechnical General Permit will not adversely affect EFH. EPA 
has also concluded that the re-proposed permit changes will not 
adversely affect EFH.
    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 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 revised draft Geotechnical General 
Permit in accordance with 40 CFR 124.10.

    Dated: August 5, 2014.
Christine Psyk,
Associate Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2014-19137 Filed 8-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P