[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 90 (Thursday, May 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 21995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09508]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R06-OW-2017-0217; FRL-9961-96-Region 6]


Notice of Proposed NPDES General Permit; Proposed NPDES General 
Permit for New and Existing Sources and New Dischargers in the Offshore 
Subcategory of the Oil and Gas Extraction Category for the Western 
Portion of the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico 
(GMG290000)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Water Division Director of Region 6 today proposes to 
reissue the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 
General Permit No. GMG290000 for existing and new sources and new 
dischargers in the Offshore Subcategory of the Oil and Gas Extraction 
Point Source Category, located in and discharging to the Outer 
Continental Shelf offshore of Louisiana and Texas. The discharge of 
produced water to that portion of the Outer Continental Shelf from 
Offshore Subcategory facilities located in the territorial seas of 
Louisiana and Texas is also authorized by this permit.
    This draft permit proposes to retain, with certain modifications, 
the limitations and conditions of the existing 2012 issued permit (2012 
permit). The 2012 permit limitations conform with the Oil and Gas 
Offshore Subcategory Guidelines and contain additional requirements to 
assess impacts from the discharge of produced water to the marine 
environment, as required by section 403(c) of the Clean Water Act.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 10, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R06-
OW-2017-0217 to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. 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. 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Evelyn Rosborough, Region 6, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-
2733.Telephone: (214) 665-7515. Email: [email protected].
    A complete draft permit and a fact sheet more fully explaining the 
proposal may be obtained online from the Federal eRulemaking Portal by 
accessing the Docket listed above or from Ms. Rosborough. In addition, 
the Agency's current administrative record on the proposal is available 
for examination at the Region's Dallas offices during normal working 
hours after providing Ms. Rosborough 24 hours advance notice.

PUBLIC HEARING: Public meetings and hearings on the proposed permit 
will be held during the comment period. EPA will publish public hearing 
times and places in the following newspapers: Houston Chronicle and New 
Orleans Advocate. The meetings will include a presentation on the 
proposed permit followed by the opportunity for questions and answers. 
The public hearings will be held in accordance with the requirements of 
40 CFR 124.12. At the public hearing, any person may submit oral or 
written statements and data concerning the proposed permit. Any person 
who cannot attend one of the public hearings may still submit written 
comments, which have the same weight as comments made at the public 
hearing, through the end of the public comment period.
    Public meeting and hearing times and places could be found online 
from the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov with 
Docket ID No. listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Other statutory and regulatory requirements are discussed in the 
fact sheet that include: Oil Spill Requirement; Ocean Discharge 
Criteria Evaluation; Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act; 
National Environmental Policy Act; Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries 
Conservation and Management Act; Endangered Species Act; State Water 
Quality Standards and State Certification; Coastal Zone Management Act; 
Paperwork Reduction Act; and Regulatory Flexibility Act.

    Dated: April 7, 2017.
David F. Garcia,
Deputy Director, Water Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-09508 Filed 5-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P