[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 215 (Monday, November 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78141-78143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26877]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9954-99-Region 10]


Washington State Department of Ecology Prohibition of Discharges 
of Vessel Sewage; Receipt of Petition and Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice--receipt of petition and preliminary affirmative 
determination.

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SUMMARY: Notice is given that, pursuant Clean Water Act Section 
312(f)(3), the Washington State Department of Ecology has determined 
that the protection and enhancement of the quality of the waters of 
Puget Sound requires greater environmental protection, and has 
petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
10, for a determination that adequate facilities for the safe and 
sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are 
reasonably available for those waters, so that the State may completely 
prohibit the discharge from all vessels of any sewage, whether treated 
or not, into such waters. Washington State has proposed to establish a 
``No-Discharge Zone'' (NDZ) for all marine waters of Washington State 
inward from the line between New Dungeness Lighthouse and the Discovery 
Island Lighthouse to the Canadian border, and fresh waters of Lake 
Washington, Lake Union, and connecting waters between and to Puget 
Sound.
    The western boundary of the NDZ would be the exit of the Strait of 
Juan de Fuca near the entrance of Admiralty Inlet. This boundary is 
known and visible to vessel operators as it is the line between New 
Dungeness Lighthouse and Discovery Island Lighthouse. The northern 
boundary would be the border with Canada and heading south including 
all marine waters down to the south end of the south Sound and Hood 
Canal. The fresh waters of Lake Washington, Union Bay, Montlake Cut, 
Portage Bay, Lake Union, Fremont Cut, the Lake Washington Ship Canal, 
and Salmon Bay (the connecting waters from Lake Washington to Puget 
Sound) would be included. For more information regarding the State's 
planned NDZ, please go to http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/nonpoint/CleanBoating/nodischargezone.html.
    Today's notice seeks public comment on EPA's tentative 
determination that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary 
removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably 
available for the waters subject to Washington's planned NDZ.

DATES: Comments regarding this tentative determination must be received 
on or before December 7, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: 
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
withdrawn. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public 
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, 
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written 
comment is considered the official comment and should include 
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not 
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary 
submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For 
additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, 
information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance 
on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Salter, Oregon Operations Office, 
Water Program Coordinator, 805 SW Broadway, Suite 500, Portland OR 
97205; telephone number: (503) 326-2653; fax number: (503) 326-3399.; 
email address: [email protected],

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is given that the Washington State 
Department of Ecology has petitioned the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), Region 10, pursuant to section 312(f)(3) of 
the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1322, for a

[[Page 78142]]

determination that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary 
removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably 
available for the waters of Puget Sound. As described in the State's 
petition, submitted to EPA on July 21, 2016, Ecology included in its 
application a certification that the protection and enhancement of the 
waters described in the petition require greater environmental 
protection than the applicable Federal standard along with pumpout 
facility information required by EPA regulations. See 40 CFR 140.4. 
Ecology also submitted supplemental information to EPA on October 14, 
2016, regarding commercial vessel pumpout availability in Puget Sound. 
EPA's role under Section 312(f)(3) of the Clean Water Act is to 
determine whether adequate pumpout facilities are reasonably available, 
and EPA is seeking comments on this determination only.

Adequacy and Availability of Sewage Pumpout Facilities

    Guidelines issued pursuant to the Clean Vessel Act for recreational 
vessels recommend one pumpout station for every 300-600 boats [Clean 
Vessel Act: Pumpout Station and Dump Station Technical Guidelines, 
Federal Register, Vol. 59, No. 47, March 10, 1994]. In its petition, 
the State described the recreational vessel population in Puget Sound 
and the pumpout facilities and mobile pumpout services that are 
available for use.
    The State used two methods to develop a reasonable estimate of the 
recreational vessel population in Puget Sound. The first method was 
based on boater registration records obtained from the Washington State 
Department of Licensing (DOL). Using data from the DOL, the maximum 
estimated number of recreational vessels in each of the Washington 
State counties bordering Puget Sound that might require access to 
pumpout facilities or services under NDZ regulations (i.e., boats 
larger than 21 feet) is 43,677. Vessels under 21 feet were not included 
in the estimate because they typically do not have an installed toilet. 
Because boater registration data may include a number of small, locally 
registered, commercial vessels such as fishing boats or tug boats, the 
total may be an overestimate.
    The second method was based on the number of moorages and slips 
available to boaters, using Google Earth imagery captured during the 
summers of 2011 and 2012 to count vacant and occupied marina slips and 
moored vessels. Using this method, the State estimates a recreational 
vessel population of 23,555. The State believes that this also may be 
an overestimate, albeit less of an overestimate than the number 
calculated using the DOL boater registration data.
    The State's petition also provided information about 173 pumpout 
units at 102 locations, and 21 mobile pumpout boats available for 
recreational vessels in Puget Sound. Both the location and availability 
of these pumpout facilities and services appear to approximately track 
the overall distribution of the recreational vessel population. The 
ongoing costs for recreational vessels to pumpout is minimal, with most 
pumpouts being free or $5 per pumpout. The majority of pumped sewage is 
sent to wastewater treatment plants; however, some is sent to onsite 
septic tanks that meet federal requirements.
    The most conservative estimate of the ratio of pumpout facilities 
to recreational vessels is 1:171 boats for each pumpout facility, not 
including the mobile services. Based on DOL vessel registration data, 
there is a maximum of 43,677 recreation vessels in Puget Sound that 
could require access to pumpout facilities. As noted above, this is the 
State's most conservative (high) estimate. Using a 40 percent peak 
occupancy rate recommended by the Clean Vessel Act Technical Guidelines 
cited above, EPA has calculated that 17,471 of the 43,677 boats 
recreational vessels would require access to a pumpout facility during 
peak boating season. The State identified 102 recreational pumpout 
locations, which results in a ratio of 171 recreational vessels for 
each pumpout location, not including the mobile services. Applying the 
same 40% occupancy rate to the lower recreational vessel estimate of 
23,555 obtained from the moorage count results in a ratio of 92 
recreational vessels for each pumpout location, not including the 
mobile services.
    Based on the number of available recreational pumpouts, which well 
exceeds the recommended minimum ratio of 1:600 using the most 
conservative estimates, EPA tentatively determines that adequate 
pumpout facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of 
sewage for recreational vessels are reasonably available for the waters 
of Puget Sound.
    Puget Sound is also used by many different sizes and types of 
commercial vessels. The State used a study conducted by the Puget Sound 
Maritime Air Forum (Starcrest, 2007) to develop a reasonable estimate 
of commercial vessel use of Puget Sound. The study concluded that there 
were 2,937 entries of large oceangoing vessels into Puget Sound in 
2005, and an estimated 678 other commercial vessels that operate mostly 
within Puget Sound (e.g., escort tugs) or have Puget Sound as their 
home port (e.g., the fleet of fishing vessels that travels to Alaska 
each year). According to the State, current vessel statistics are 
estimated to be similar to the data from 2005.
    The large, oceangoing transient commercial vessels that are only in 
Puget Sound for a short period of time (e.g., large cruise ships, 
freighters and tankers) have large enough holding tanks to hold their 
waste during the time they are in Puget Sound, with some exceptions. 
All Washington State Ferries (WSDOT ferries) and U.S. military vessels 
have holding tanks and use large-scale pumpout facilities where they 
are moored. Smaller commercial vessels, such as ferries, tugboats, 
excursion vessels, and fishing vessels with installed toilets can use 
the stationary pumpouts, mobile pumpout service vessels, some of the 
recreational pumpouts, or shore-based pumper trucks, described in more 
detail below.
    The State identified eight stationary pumpouts dedicated to WSDOT 
ferries, three dedicated to U.S. Navy vessels, one dedicated to the 
Victoria Clipper vessels and one for the McNeil Island Department of 
Corrections vessels. The Port of Bellingham cruise terminal area also 
has three stationary pumpouts, one of which is used for Alaska Marine 
Highway vessels and two other pumpouts that can serve other commercial 
vessels. Although not included in this analysis, EPA notes that two 
more commercial pumpouts are being installed, one in Seattle for all 
commercial vessels and another at the Port of Bellingham mostly for 
fishing vessels. Estimated dates for completion are March and September 
2017, respectively.
    The State's supplemental information identified five companies that 
specialize in commercial marine work and that are capable of removing 
sewage from commercial vessel holding tanks. These five companies have 
a combined total of approximately 52 trucks (capacity ranging from 
2,200-7,500 gallons each) and two mobile barges (capacity of 3,000 
gallons each). These companies serve all of Puget Sound and can provide 
pumpout services at a variety of docks and ports for all types of 
commercial vessels, including tugs, fishing vessels, USCG vessels, 
smaller cruise ships, tankers, and other vessels.
    The State's petition and supplemental information also identified 
21-23 mobile pumpout vessels. These mobile pumpouts primarily service 
recreational boats, but several have serviced commercial vessels such 
as charter boats, fishing vessels, U.S. Coast Guard

[[Page 78143]]

vessels, and passenger vessels. The mobile pumpout boats have a 
capacity between 40 and 450 gallons and cover vast areas geographically 
as they are able to move to vessels, although some stay within their 
own marina or harbor area. In addition to the pumpouts described above, 
there are approximately 140 licensed or certified pumper truck 
companies in Puget Sound that primarily pump out septic tanks, but that 
can also pump out vessel sewage. The number of trucks in each company 
ranges from 1-13, and approximately half of these companies contacted 
by the State are currently, or are willing to, pump out commercial 
vessel sewage.
    The State indicates that the number of commercial vessels that are 
likely to be in regular need of pumpout facilities with a NDZ would 
include the non-ocean going vessels that include tugboats, commercial 
fishing vessels, small passenger vessels, NOAA research and survey 
vessels, WSDOT Ferries, military and other government vessels, 
excursion and other commercial vessels. Given that the WSDOT Ferries, 
military vessels, and Victoria Clipper vessels all have dedicated 
stationary pumpouts, this leaves an approximate 600 vessels that would 
be in need of other pumpout facilities. With the two stationary 
commercial pumpouts, at least 52 Sound-wide commercial pumper trucks, 
and the two Sound-wide mobile commercial pumpout barges described 
above, this amounts to at least 56 pumpouts available for commercial 
vessels which results in an approximate ratio of 11:1. This estimated 
ratio may be conservative, given that a number of the mobile pumpout 
boats and pumper trucks described above may also provide commercial 
pumpout services. Based on this information, EPA tentatively determines 
that adequate pumpout facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and 
treatment of sewage for commercial vessels are reasonably available for 
the waters of Puget Sound.

Table of Facilities

    A list of pumpout facilities, phone numbers, locations, hours of 
operation, water depth and fees is provided at this link to the 
Washington Dept. of Ecology Web site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/nonpoint/CleanBoating/VesselPumpoutTables.pdf.
    Based on the information above, EPA proposes to make an affirmative 
determination that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary 
removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably 
available for the waters of Puget Sound. A 30-day period for public 
comment has been opened on this matter, and EPA invites any comments 
relevant to this proposed determination. As noted above, EPA's 
authority under Clean Water Act section 312(f)(3) is to determine 
whether adequate pumpout facilities are reasonably available and EPA is 
therefore seeking comments on this determination only. If, after the 
public comment period ends, EPA makes a final affirmative determination 
that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and 
treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the 
waters of Puget Sound, the State may, in accordance with CWA section 
312(f)(3), completely prohibit the discharge from all vessels of any 
sewage, whether treated or not, into those waters.

    Dated: October 27, 2016.
Dennis McLerran,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2016-26877 Filed 11-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P