[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 115 (Thursday, June 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27769-27771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12806]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9979-12--Region 10]


Approval of the Application by the State of Idaho To Administer 
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and 
Electronic Reporting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: On June 5, 2018, the Administrator for the Environmental 
Protection Agency approved the application by the State of Idaho to 
administer and enforce the Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(IPDES) program pursuant to the Clean Water Act. Concurrent with this 
approval, EPA is also approving IPDES program for electronic reporting. 
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) will administer 
the approved IPDES program regulating discharges of pollutants into 
waters of the United States under its jurisdiction as described in the 
state's program application. EPA has approved the State's 
implementation plan that transfers the administration of specific 
program components from EPA to the State over a four-year period in 
accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement between IDEQ and EPA R10 
(MOA) and subject to EPA oversight and enforcement. EPA will suspend 
issuance of NPDES permits in Idaho in accordance with the State's 
approved schedule to transfer NPDES program authority. EPA will retain 
the authority to issue NPDES permits for facilities located on tribal 
lands and/or discharging to tribal waters.

DATES: On June 5, 2018, the Administrator approved Idaho's IPDES 
program including electronic reporting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Visit EPA's web page at https://www.epa.gov/npdes-permits/idaho-npdes-program-authorization or contact 
Karen Burgess, NPDES Permits Unit, EPA Region 10; (206) 553-1644; 
[email protected]. The State's application, supporting 
documentation and EPA's response to comments received during the public 
comment period and hearings may be viewed or downloaded from EPA's web 
page. The IDEQ contact is Mary Anne Nelson, IPDES Program Manager; 
[email protected]; (208) 373-0291. IDEQ's application, 
related documents and program development documents may be viewed or 
downloaded from the IDEQ website

[[Page 27770]]

http://www.deq.idaho.gov/water-quality/ipdes/program-application/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    Entities potentially affected by this action are: The EPA; tribal 
programs; and the regulated community and citizens within the state of 
Idaho. This table is not intended to be exhaustive; rather, it provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities that this action is likely to 
regulate.

                        Table 1--Entities Potentially Affected by This Proposed Approval
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                Examples of potentially affected
                                   Category                                                 entities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State and Indian Tribal Governments..........................................  States and Indian Tribes that
                                                                                provide certification under
                                                                                section 401 of the CWA; States
                                                                                and Indian Tribes that own or
                                                                                operate treatment works.
Municipalities...............................................................  POTWs required to apply for or
                                                                                seek coverage under an NPDES
                                                                                individual or general permit and
                                                                                to perform routine monitoring as
                                                                                a condition of an NPDES permit.
Industry.....................................................................  Facilities required to apply for
                                                                                or seek coverage under an NPDES
                                                                                individual or general permit and
                                                                                to perform routine monitoring as
                                                                                a condition of an NPDES permit.
NPDES Stakeholders...........................................................  Any party that may review and
                                                                                provide comments on NPDES
                                                                                permits.
Citizens of the state of Idaho...............................................  Any party that may review and
                                                                                provide comments on NPDES
                                                                                permits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this 
action to a particular entity, consult the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA approved the State of Idaho's IPDES program granting IDEQ the 
authority to administer the NPDES program in Idaho to regulate 
discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States under its 
jurisdiction. Concurrent with this approval, EPA is also approving 
IPDES program for electronic reporting under the NPDES and pretreatment 
programs.

C. What is EPA's authority for taking this action?

    The CWA created the NPDES program under which EPA may issue permits 
authorizing the point source discharge of pollutants to waters of the 
United States under conditions required by the Act. The CWA provides 
that EPA shall approve a State to administer its own permit program, 
upon the Governor's request, provided that EPA has determined that the 
State has adequate authority and a program sufficient to meet the Act's 
requirements. 33 U.S.C. 1342(b). The regulatory requirements for state 
program approval are set forth in 40 CFR part 123 (https://www.ecfr.gov/); subpart B provides the requirements of state program 
submissions, which IDEQ refers to as the IPDES program application. EPA 
may approve a partial and phased program under CWA section 402(n)(4). 
33 U.S.C. 1342(n)(4).
    Pursuant to CWA section 402(d), 33 U.S.C. 1342(d), EPA can object 
to draft IPDES permits proposed by IDEQ and, if the objections are not 
resolved, the authority to issue such permits transfers to EPA. EPA 
retains enforcement authorities under CWA sections 308, 309, 402(i) and 
504 and may take enforcement actions if EPA determines that the State 
has not taken timely and/or appropriate enforcement actions for IPDES 
program violations as authorized under those provisions.
    Public notice of the application: On August 11, 2017, EPA initiated 
the public comment period for the IPDES program application in the 
Federal Register (82 FR 37583) pursuant to 40 CFR 123.61. The public 
process included informational meetings and public hearings in the 
following five Idaho cities on the dates set forth:

    September 11, 2017 at Central Public Library in Idaho Falls.
    September 12, 2017 at Twin Falls Public Library.
    September 13, 2017 at Boise Public Library.
    September 14, 2017 at Lewiston Community Center.
    September 15, 2017 at Coeur d'Alene Public Library.

    These meetings included an overview of both the federal and state 
programs and provided an opportunity for question and answer. Each 
informational meeting was immediately followed by a public hearing in 
accordance with 40 CFR 124.12 and provided interested parties with the 
opportunity to give written and/or oral testimony into the official 
record. All comments received by EPA were considered and responded to 
by EPA with the final IPDES program approval. Information about the 
IPDES Program Application is available in the Federal Register document 
for the application and the response to comments is available from 
EPA's web page https://www.epa.gov/npdes-permits/idaho-npdes-program-authorization.
    IPDES program summary: As required under section 402(b) of the CWA, 
33 U.S.C. 1342(b), and 40 CFR 123.22, the IPDES program description 
specifies how IDEQ will administer the NPDES program. IDEQ will issue 
IPDES permits under their jurisdiction; conduct compliance and 
enforcement activities; gather and maintain NPDES records and report to 
EPA; and oversee the regulated activities of all IPDES-permitted 
facilities. EPA will retain the authority to issue NPDES permits for 
facilities located on tribal lands and/or discharging to tribal waters. 
The scope of IDEQ permitting authority includes individual and general 
permits for discharges to waters of the United States from facilities 
or activities, including industrial (e.g., commercial, mining, oil and 
gas, and silviculture discharges; animal feeding operations; and 
aquatic animal production facilities) and municipal wastewater 
treatment facilities (e.g., publicly and privately owned treatment 
works); discharges to waters of the United States from federal 
facilities; storm water discharges, including municipal separate storm 
sewer systems, construction and industrial storm water general permits, 
and individual permits for storm water discharges; sewage sludge 
(biosolids) program under 40 CFR part 503; and the pretreatment program 
under 40 CFR part 403. IDEQ will not have authority to regulate 
discharges incidental to the normal operation of a non-military, non-
recreational vessel operating in a capacity as a means of 
transportation. Instead, EPA has the authority under CWA section 402, 
33 U.S.C. 1342, to regulate those discharges from non-military, non-
recreational vessels and all ballast water discharges.
    IDEQ will assume permitting and compliance authority for the NPDES 
program in four phases. EPA will retain full permitting and compliance 
authority for the relevant major component(s) until that authority is 
transferred to IDEQ in accordance with

[[Page 27771]]

the following schedule of anticipated transfer dates:

    Phase I--Individual Municipal Permits and Pretreatment on July 
1, 2018.
    Phase II--Individual Industrial Permits on July 1, 2019.
    Phase III--General Permits (Aquaculture, Pesticide, CAFO, 
Suction Dredge, Remediation) on July 1, 2020.
    Phase IV--Federal Facilities, General and Individual Stormwater 
Permits and Biosolids on July 1, 2021.

    Public process and tribal consultation: EPA opened a 60-day public 
comment period that ended on October 10, 2017. In addition, EPA held 
public hearings during the week of September 11, 2017, to accept 
comments on the IPDES program application. The Response to Comments and 
Testimony compiles all comments and testimony submitted to EPA during 
the public comment period and provides EPA's response to those comments 
available at EPA's website.
    A total of 18 comment letters and testimonials were received during 
the comment period. Of those 18, 10 commenters expressed support for 
the transfer of NPDES authority to IDEQ. One commenter expressed a 
general concern about IDEQ's ability to adequately run a program that 
sufficiently protects the environment. The remaining 7 commenters 
provided specific comments about the IPDES program application or IPDES 
program. EPA provided responses to all comments. No comments resulted 
in changes to the IPDES program application as provided with the 
Federal Register document for the IPDES program application.
    EPA engaged with all five federally-recognized Idaho tribes 
(Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, Shoshone-Paiute Tribe, Nez Perce Tribe 
Council, Coeur d'Alene Tribe and the Kootenai Tribe) and two federally-
recognized Eastern Washington tribes (Kalispell Tribe and Spokane 
Tribes). EPA participated in several meetings with the Tribes that were 
held before and after the public comment period. The primary outcome of 
the tribal meetings was the development of IDEQ's IPDES Tribal 
Participation Process. This document establishes the process by which 
IDEQ will provide early notification of and participation in permit 
issuance activities with interested tribes, available at IDEQ's website 
http://www.deq.idaho.gov/media/60181337/ipdes-tribal-participation-process.pdf.
    CROMERR: On October 13, 2005, the final Cross-Media Electronic 
Reporting Rule (CROMERR) was published in the Federal Register (70 FR 
59848) and codified under 40 CFR part 3. CROMERR establishes electronic 
reporting as an acceptable regulatory alternative to paper reporting 
and establishes requirements to assure that electronic documents are as 
legally dependable as their paper counterparts. Per the requirements of 
40 CFR 3.2(b)(2), ``A state, tribe, or local government that is 
applying for initial delegation, authorization, or approval to 
administer a federal program or a program in lieu of the federal 
program, and that will allow document submission requirements under the 
program to be satisfied with an electronic document, must use the 
procedures for obtaining delegation, authorization, or approval under 
the relevant part of Title 40 and may not use the procedures set forth 
in 40 CFR 3.1000; but the application must contain the information 
required by 40 CFR 3.1000(b)(1) and the state, tribe, or local 
government must meet the requirements of 40 CFR 3.2000.''
    IDEQ will implement the National Network Discharge Monitoring 
Report System (National NetDMR) and Shared CROMERR Services (SCS) 
electronic document receiving system in accordance with the application 
submitted by IDEQ to EPA on March 26, 2018. The application anticipated 
concurrent approval with the State's 40 CFR part 123 (NPDES State 
Program Requirements) and part 403 (General Pretreatment Regulations 
for Existing and New Source of Pollution) programs to allow electronic 
reporting under 40 CFR parts 122, 125, and 403-471. EPA has reviewed 
IDEQ's application and determined both that the application contains 
the information required 40 CFR 3.1000(b)(1) and that IDEQ's National 
NetDMR and SCS systems comply with the requirements for electronic 
document receiving systems in 40 CFR 3.2000. This approval is effective 
upon the date of this publication in the Federal Register.
    Decision process: The State of Idaho submitted the IPDES program 
application to EPA on August 31, 2016. EPA reviewed the application 
pursuant to 40 CFR part 123, subpart B and the application was deemed 
complete by EPA on September 30, 2016. In accordance with 40 CFR 
123.21(d), IDEQ requested and EPA agreed to extend the statutory review 
period for the application until June 30, 2018. Pursuant to 40 CFR 
123.61, on August 11, 2017, EPA initiated the 60-day public comment 
period as noticed in the Federal Register (82 FR 37583). After the 
close of the public comment period, completion of the required tribal 
consultation and responding to comments, the EPA Administrator approved 
the IPDES program based on the requirements of section 402 of the CWA, 
33 U.S.C. 1342, and 40 CFR part 123. IDEQ and the Regional 
Administrator signed the MOA prior to final IPDES program approval on 
June 5, 2018. Upon approval, the Administrator notified the State of 
Idaho.
    Authority: This action is taken under the authority of section 402 
of the Clean Water Act as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1342. I hereby provide 
public notice of EPA's final action authorizing the State of Idaho 
through IDEQ to administer the approval IPDES program regulating 
discharges of pollutants to waters of the U.S. under its jurisdiction.

    Dated: June 5, 2018.
E. Scott Pruitt,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-12806 Filed 6-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P