[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 175 (Wednesday, September 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53701-53702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21402]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0150; FRL-9916-37-OW]
Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Final
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Small Vessel
General Permit for Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operation of
Vessels Less Than 79 Feet
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``Final National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Small Vessel General
Permit for Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operation of Vessels
Less than 79 Feet'' (EPA ICR No. 2504.01, OMB Control No. 2040--NEW) to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, EPA
is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed
information collection as described below. This is a request for
approval of a new collection. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor and
a person is not required to respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 10, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2011-1050, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method) or
by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail
Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
public docket without change including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information
claimed to be Confidential
[[Page 53702]]
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack Faulk, Water Permits Division,
Office of Water (4203M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-
0768; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Supporting documents which explain in detail the information that
the EPA will be collecting are available in the public docket for this
ICR. The docket can be viewed online at www.regulations.gov or in
person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution
Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is
202-566-1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket,
visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), EPA is soliciting comments and information to
enable it to: (i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (iii) enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(iv) minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses. EPA will consider the comments received and
amend the ICR as appropriate. The final ICR package will then be
submitted to OMB for review and approval. At that time, EPA will issue
another Federal Register notice to announce the submission of the ICR
to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB.
Abstract: In December 2003, a long-standing exclusion of discharges
incidental to the normal operation of vessels from the NPDES program
became the subject of a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California (Northwest Envtl. Advocates et al. v.
United States EPA, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5373 (N.D. Cal. 2005). The
District Court issued a final order in September 2006 providing that
the blanket exemption for discharges incidental to the normal operation
of a vessel, contained in 40 CFR Sec. 122.3(a), shall be vacated as of
September 30, 2008. On July 23, 2008, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals upheld the District Court's decision. This meant that,
effective December 19, 2008, except for those vessels exempted from
NPDES permitting by congressional legislation, discharges incidental to
the normal operation of vessels that were excluded from NPDES
permitting by 40 CFR Sec. 122.3(a) were subject to the Clean Water Act
(CWA) section 301 prohibition against discharging, unless authorized by
an NPDES permit.
In late July 2008, Congress enacted two pieces of legislation to
exempt discharges incidental to the normal operation of certain types
of vessels from the need to obtain an NPDES permit.
The first of these, entitled the Clean Boating Act of 2008, amends
the CWA to provide that discharges incidental to the normal operation
of recreational vessels are not subject to NPDES permitting, and
instead, creates a new regulatory regime to be implemented by EPA and
the U.S. Coast Guard under the new 312(o) of the CWA. S. 2766, Pub. L.
110-188 (July 29, 2008).
The second piece of legislation provided for a temporary moratorium
on NPDES permitting for discharges, except for ballast water, subject
to the 40 CFR Sec. 122.3(a) exclusion from (1) commercial fishing
vessels (as defined in 46 U.S.C. Sec. 2101 and regardless of size) and
(2) from those other non-recreational vessels less than 79 feet in
length. S. 3298, Pub. L/10-299 (July 31, 2008). The statute's NPDES
permitting moratorium ran for a two-year period beginning on its July
31, 2008 enactment date, during which time EPA was to study the
relevant discharges and submit a report to Congress. EPA finalized this
Report to Congress, entitled ``Study of Discharges Incidental to Normal
Operation of Commercial Fishing Vessels and Other Non-Recreational
Vessels Less Than 79 Feet'' in August 2010 (EPA, 2010), a copy of which
is available on EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/vessels. The
moratorium was subsequently extended to December 18, 2013 by P.L. 111-
215 and further extended to December 18, 2014 by the Coast Guard and
Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 (H.R. 2838) signed on December 20,
2012 (Pub. L. 112-213).
On December 8, 2011, EPA published the draft permit in the Federal
Register and the Agency published the final Small Vessel General Permit
(sVGP) also in today's Federal Register to ensure that NPDES permit
coverage is available for those vessels currently excluded from
permitting by that moratorium.
This ICR calculates the burden and costs associated with the NPDES
program, identifies the types of activities regulated under the NPDES
program, and describes the roles and responsibilities of the Agency
associated with the sVGP.
Form numbers: None.
Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by
this action are owners/operators of commercial fishing vessels and non-
recreational, non-military vessels less than 79 feet in length that are
operating as a means of transportation with incidental discharges to
waters of the United States.
Respondent's obligation to respond: required for owners/operators
needing to obtain or retain the benefit of permit coverage under the
sVGP.
Estimated number of respondents: 137,739 (total).
Frequency of response: Once, annually as needed, quarterly.
Total estimated burden: 138,597 hours (per year). Burden is defined
at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).
Total estimated cost: $5,064,298 (per year), includes $0 annualized
capital or operation & maintenance costs.
Changes in estimates: This is a new information collection.
Dated: August 29, 2014.
Sheila E. Frace,
Acting Director, Office of Wastewater Management.
[FR Doc. 2014-21402 Filed 9-9-14; 8:45 am]
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