[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58774-58776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23262]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9917-31-Region-1]


Notice of Availability of Draft NPDES General Permit for 
Stormwater Discharges From Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems 
in Massachusetts

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft NPDES general permit.

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SUMMARY: The Director of the Office of Ecosystem Protection, 
Environmental Protection Agency--Region 1 (EPA), is providing this 
Notice of Availability of a draft National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for stormwater discharges 
from small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) to certain 
waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The draft NPDES general 
permit establishes Notice of Intent (NOI) requirements, prohibitions, 
and management practices for stormwater discharges from small MS4s. EPA 
has substantially modified the previous two draft general permits 
released on February 4, 2010 and March 18, 2010 and is issuing a new 
draft general permit for all eligible MS4s in Massachusetts.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 29, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by one of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]
     Mail: Newton Tedder, US EPA--Region 1, 5 Post Office 
Square--Suite 100, Mail Code--OEP06-4, Boston, MA 02109-3912.
    No facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted.
    The draft permit is based on an administrative record available for 
public review at EPA--Region 1, Office of Ecosystem Protection, 5 Post 
Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts 02109-3912. A 
reasonable fee may be charged for copying requests. The fact sheet for 
the draft permit sets forth principal facts and the significant 
factual, legal, methodological and policy questions considered in the 
development of the draft permit and is available upon request. A brief 
summary is provided as SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information concerning the 
draft permit may be obtained between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 
p.m. Monday through Friday excluding legal holidays from: Newton 
Tedder, Office of Ecosystem Protection, Environmental Protection 
Agency, 5 Post Office Square--Suite 100, Boston, MA 02109-3912; 
telephone: 617-918-1038; email: [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Comment Information

    Public Hearing Information: EPA will hold a public hearing in 
accordance with 40 CFR 124.12 and will provide interested parties with 
the opportunity to provide written and/or oral comments for the 
official draft permit record. The public hearing will be held 
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 from at 1:00 p.m. at the following 
location: Leominster Public Library (Community Room), 30 West Street, 
Leominster, Massachusetts 01453. An Alternate date in case of 
cancelation due to inclement weather or other emergency is Wednesday, 
December 3, 2014 at the same location.
    The public comment process and the public hearing will be conducted 
in accordance with 40 CFR 124, EPA's Procedures for Decision making. 
EPA will consider and respond to all significant comments before taking 
final action. The general permit shall be effective on the date 
specified in the Federal Register publication of the Notice of 
Availability of the final general permit. The final general permit will 
expire five years from the effective date.
    All persons, including applicants, who believe any condition of the 
draft permit is inappropriate must raise all reasonably ascertainable 
issues and submit all reasonably available arguments supporting their 
position by the close of the public comment period, either by 
submitting written comments to the EPA New England Regional Office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this Federal Register, or by 
submitting written or oral comments at the public hearing. Any 
supporting materials which are submitted shall be included in full and 
may not be incorporated by reference, unless they are already part of 
the administrative record in this proceeding, or consist of State or 
Federal statutes and regulations, EPA documents of general 
applicability, or other generally available reference materials.

Background of Proposed Permit

    EPA is proposing to reissue three draft NPDES general permits for 
the discharge of stormwater from small MS4s to certain waters within 
the commonwealth of Massachusetts. The three permits are:

MAR041000--Traditional cities and towns
MAR042000--Non-traditional state, federal, county and other publicly 
owned systems
MAR043000--Non-traditional transportation systems

    While these are technically distinct permits, for convenience we 
have grouped them together in a single document and have provided a 
single fact sheet for all three of them, and this document refers to 
the draft general ``permit'' in the singular. The draft general permit, 
appendices, and fact sheet are available at: http://www.epa.gov/region1/npdes/stormwater/MS4_MA.html.
    The conditions in the draft permit are established pursuant to 
Clean Water Act (CWA) section 402(p)(3)(iii) to ensure that pollutant 
discharges from small MS4s are reduced to the Maximum Extent 
Practicable (MEP), protect water quality, and satisfy the appropriate 
requirements of the CWA. The regulations at 40 CFR 122.26(b)(16)

[[Page 58775]]

define a small municipal separate storm sewer system as ``all separate 
storm sewers that are:
    (1) Owned or operated by the United States, a State, city, town, 
borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body 
(created by or pursuant to State law) having jurisdiction over disposal 
of sewage, industrial wastes, stormwater, or other wastes, including 
special districts under State law such as a sewer district, flood 
control district or drainage district, or similar entity, or an Indian 
tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization, or a designated and 
approved management agency under section 208 of the CWA that discharges 
to waters of the United States.
    (2) Not defined as `large' or `medium' municipal separate storm 
sewer systems pursuant to paragraphs (b)(4) or (b)(7) or designated 
under paragraph (a)(1)(v) of this section [40 CFR 122.26].
    (3) This term includes systems similar to separate storm sewer 
systems in municipalities such as systems at military bases, large 
hospital or prison complexes, and highways or other thoroughfares. The 
term does not include separate storm sewers in very discrete areas, 
such as individual buildings.''
    EPA issued a final general permit to address stormwater discharges 
from small MS4s on May 1, 2003. The 2003 general permit required small 
MS4s to develop and implement a Stormwater Management Program (SWMP) 
designed to control pollutants to the maximum extent practicable and 
protect water quality. This draft permit builds on the requirements of 
the previous general permit.
    During 2010 EPA issued two separate draft Small MS4 General permits 
to replace the 2003 Small MS4 permit for eligible Operators located 
Massachusetts; one for Operators located in the North Coastal watershed 
and the other for those located in the Interstate, Merrimack and South 
Coastal watersheds. Based on comments and information gathered while 
developing responses, EPA has modified the initial draft general 
permits and is issuing a single new draft permit covering all eligible 
operators in Massachusetts pursuant to 40 CFR 124.6. The changes to the 
draft general permit include, but are not limited to: Provisions 
addressing discharges to impaired waters with and without an approved 
Total Maximum Daily Load and illicit discharge detection elimination 
and monitoring provisions. The draft general permit has also been 
revised to provide for coverage to MS4s that became subject to NPDES 
permit requirements with the issuance of updated urbanized area 
delineations based on the results of the 2010 Census.
    Please note that the new Draft Permit completely supersedes both 
2010 draft permits, and EPA is providing an entirely new comment period 
under 40 CFR 124.10. Consequently, all persons who believe any 
condition of the new Draft Permit is inappropriate must raise all 
reasonably ascertainable issues and submit all reasonably available 
arguments supporting their position during this public comment period, 
which includes the public hearing.

Obtaining Authorization

    In order for a small MS4 to obtain authorization to discharge, it 
must submit a complete and accurate NOI containing the information in 
Appendix E of the draft general permit. The NOI must be submitted 
within 90 days of the effective date of the final permit. The effective 
date of the final permit will be specified in the Federal Register 
publication of the Notice of Availability of the final permit. A small 
MS4 must meet the eligibility requirements of the general permit found 
in Part 1.2 and Part 1.9 prior to submission of its NOI. A small MS4 
will be authorized to discharge under the permit upon receipt of 
written notice from EPA following a public notice of the submitted NOI. 
EPA will authorize the discharge, request additional information, or 
require the small MS4 to apply for an alternative permit or an 
individual permit.

Non-Numeric Effluent Limitations

    When EPA has not promulgated effluent limitation guidelines for a 
category of discharges, or if an operator is discharging a pollutant 
not covered by an effluent limitation guideline, permit limitations may 
be based on the best professional judgment (BPJ) of the agency or 
permit writer. For this permit, effluent limits are based on BPJ. The 
BPJ limits in this permit are in the form of non-numeric control 
measures, commonly referred to as best management practices (BMPs). 
Non-numeric limits are employed under limited circumstances, as 
described in 40 CFR Sec.  122.44(k). EPA has interpreted the CWA to 
allow BMPs to take the place of numeric effluent limitations under 
certain circumstances. 40 CFR Sec.  122.44(k), provides that permits 
may include BMPs to control or abate the discharge of pollutants when: 
``(1) [A]uthorized under section 304(e) of the CWA for the control of 
toxic pollutants and hazardous substances from ancillary industrial 
activities; (2) [a]uthorized under section 402(p) of the CWA for the 
control of stormwater discharges; (3) [n]umeric effluent limitations 
are infeasible; or (4) [t]he practices are reasonable to achieve 
effluent limitations and standards or to carry out the purpose of the 
CWA.'' The permit regulates stormwater discharges with BMPs. Due to the 
variability associated with stormwater, EPA believes the use of BMPs is 
currently the most appropriate method to regulate discharges of 
stormwater from municipal systems in accordance with the above 
referenced regulation.
    Water Quality Based Effluent Limitations: Section 402(p)(3)(B)(iii) 
of CWA authorizes EPA to include in an MS4 permit ``such other 
provisions as [EPA] determine[s] appropriate for control of . . . 
pollutants.'' The draft permit includes provisions to ensure that 
discharges do not cause or contribute to exceedances of water quality 
standards. The provisions in Parts 2.1 and 2.2 of the draft general 
permit constitute the water quality-based effluent limitations of the 
permit. The purpose of these parts of the permit is to establish the 
broad inclusion of water quality-based effluent limitations for those 
discharges requiring additional controls in order to achieve water 
quality standards and other water quality related objectives. This 
specifically includes discharges to impaired waterbodies with and 
without an approved TMDL. These non-numeric effluent limitation 
requirements of this permit are expressed in the form of additional 
control measures and BMPs beyond what is required in the MEP section of 
the draft general permit (Part 2.3).
    Requirements To Reduce Pollutant to the Maximum Extent Practicable: 
The draft general permit sets forth the requirements for the small MS4 
to ``reduce the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent 
practicable (MEP), including management practices, control techniques, 
and system, design and engineering methods'' (See section 
402(p)(3)(B)(iii) of the CWA). EPA believes that implementation of best 
management practices (BMPs) designed to control stormwater runoff from 
the MS4 is generally the most appropriate approach for reducing 
pollutants to satisfy the MEP standard. Pursuant to 40 CFR 122.44(k), 
the draft permit contains BMPs, including development and 
implementation of a comprehensive stormwater management program (SWMP) 
as the mechanism to achieve the required pollutant reductions. The 
small MS4s are required to implement a SWMP that includes the following 
control measures: public education and outreach; public participation; 
illicit discharge detection and elimination;

[[Page 58776]]

construction stormwater management; stormwater management in new 
development and redevelopment; and good housekeeping in municipal 
operations. Implementation of the SWMP involves the identification of 
BMPs and measurable goals for BMPs. The draft permit identifies an 
objective for each minimum control measure. EPA views the MEP standard 
in the CWA as an iterative process. MEP should continually adapt to 
current conditions and BMP effectiveness. Compliance with the 
requirements of this general permit will meet the MEP standard. The 
iterative process of MEP consists of a permittee developing a program 
consistent with specific permit requirements, implementing the program, 
evaluating the effectiveness of the BMPs included as part of the 
program, then revising those parts of the program that are not 
effective at controlling pollutants, then implementing the revisions, 
and evaluating again. The changes contained in the draft general permit 
reflect the iterative process of MEP. Accordingly, the draft general 
permit contains more specific tasks and details than the 2003 general 
permit.

    Authority:  This action is being taken under the Clean Water 
Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

    Dated: September 23, 2014.
H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, Region 1.
[FR Doc. 2014-23262 Filed 9-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P