[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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