[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57019-57020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23192]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0618; FRL 10001-41-OW]
Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice of availability announces the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan
14 (Preliminary Plan 14) and solicits public comment. Section 304(m) of
the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires the EPA to biennially publish a plan
for new and revised effluent limitations guidelines, after public
review and comment. Preliminary Plan 14 identifies any new or existing
industrial categories selected for effluent guidelines or pretreatment
standards and provides a schedule for their development. The EPA
typically publishes a preliminary plan upon which the public is invited
to comment, and then publishes a final plan thereafter. The EPA
developed Preliminary Plan 14 based on its review and analysis of data
from 2016, 2017, and 2018 as part of its annual review process.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 25, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2018-0618, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://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 Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn.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 and
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective
comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Phillip Flanders, Engineering and
Analysis Division, Office of Water, 4303T, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 566-8323; fax number: (202) 566-1053; email
address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Supporting Documents--A key document providing additional
information is the Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14
document. Supporting documents providing further details are also
available for review.
B. How can I get copies of these documents and other related
information?
1. Docket. The EPA has established an official public docket for
these actions under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0618. The official
public docket is the collection of materials that are available for
public viewing at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC)
EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460.
2. Electronic Access. You can access this Federal Register document
electronically through the United States Government online source for
Federal regulations at https://www.regulations.gov.
3. Internet access. Copies of the supporting documents are
available at https://www.epa.gov/eg/effluent-guidelines-plan.
II. How is this document organized?
The outline of this document follows.
A. Legal Authority.
B. Summary of Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14.
C. Request for Public Comments and Information.
A. Legal Authority
This notice of availability is published under the authority of the
CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq., and in particular sections 301(d),
304(b), 304(g), 304(m), 306, 307(b) and 308 of the Act, 33 U.S.C.
1311(d), 1314(b), 1314(g), 1314(m), 1316, 1317(b), and 1318.
B. Summary of Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 14
The EPA prepares Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plans
pursuant to CWA section 304(m). Preliminary plans provide a summary of
the EPA's annual review of effluent guidelines and pretreatment
standards, consistent with CWA sections 301(d), 304(b), 304(g), 304(m),
and 307(b). From these reviews, preliminary plans identify any new or
existing industrial categories selected for effluent guidelines or
pretreatment standards rulemakings and provide a schedule for such
rulemakings. In addition, preliminary plans present any new or existing
categories of industry selected for further review and analysis.
Preliminary Plan 14 discusses the one ongoing rulemaking (and the
associated schedule) for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point
Source Category. The EPA has concluded that no additional categories
warrant new or revised effluent guidelines at this time. Preliminary
Plan 14 provides updates
[[Page 57020]]
on the Electrical and Electronic Components Category Detailed Study and
the Oil and Gas Extraction Wastewater Management Study and concludes
the Petroleum Refining Point Source Category Detailed Study.
Additionally, Preliminary Plan 14 introduces new analyses and tools
that the EPA is developing to improve its annual review and biennial
planning process.
Preliminary Plan 14 can be found at https://www.epa.gov/eg/effluent-guidelines-plan.
C. Request for Public Comments and Information
The EPA requests comments and information on the overall content of
Preliminary Plan 14 and specifically on the following topics.
1. Reviews of Industrial Wastewater Discharges and Treatment
Technologies
The EPA solicits comments on the reviews of industrial wastewater
discharges and treatment technologies that were conducted for the
development of Preliminary Plan 14 and described therein. The EPA
solicits comments on the new analyses and tools announced in
Preliminary Plan 14, including analyses of industrial sources and
discharges of nutrients and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),
a new methodology for proposed treatment technology reviews, and a
proposed effluent limitations guidelines database. Preliminary Plan 14
presents initial results for some new analyses (e.g., industrial
discharges of nutrients). The EPA solicits comments on the utility and
applicability of these results along with any comments or suggestions
on the methodologies used to obtain them.
2. Data Sources
The EPA solicits comment on other data sources it might use in its
annual reviews and biennial planning process.
David P. Ross,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2019-23192 Filed 10-23-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P