[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 6, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59744-59746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24066]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 228

[EPA-R04-OW-2019-0592; FRL-10001-81-Region 4]


Ocean Dumping: Cancellation of Final Designation for an Ocean 
Dredged Material Disposal Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to cancel 
the final designation of an ocean dredged material disposal site 
(ODMDS) pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries 
Act, as amended (MPRSA). The ODMDS is in the Atlantic Ocean offshore 
Wilmington, North Carolina. This proposed action is being taken because 
this site has been replaced by another permanent site. In addition, the 
EPA proposes to rename the permanent site that exists for the 
Wilmington, North Carolina area.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 23, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OW-2019-0592, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments and accessing the docket and materials related to 
this proposed rule.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Gary W. Collins, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region 4, Water Division, Oceans and Estuarine Management 
Section, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OW-
2019-0592. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit through 
www.regulations.gov or email, information that you consider to be CBI 
or otherwise protected. The www.regulations.gov website is an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means the EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an email comment directly to the EPA without 
going through www.regulations.gov, your email address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your 
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with 
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due 
to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 
EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should 
avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be 
free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about the 
EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically at www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal 
business hours from the regional library at the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4 Library, 9th Floor, 61 Forsyth Street, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303. For access to the documents at the Region 4 
Library, contact the Region 4 Library Reference Desk at (404) 562-8190, 
between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and between the hours of 
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal 
holidays, for an appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary W. Collins, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, Water Division, Oceans and Estuarine 
Management Section, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303; phone 
number (404) 562-9395; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Potentially Affected Persons

    Persons potentially affected by this proposed action include those 
who seek or might seek permits or approval to dispose of dredged 
material into ocean waters pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research, 
and Sanctuaries Act, as amended (MPRSA), 33 U.S.C. 1401 to 1445. The 
EPA's proposed action would be relevant to persons, including 
organizations and government bodies seeking to dispose of dredged 
material in ocean waters offshore of Wilmington, North Carolina. 
Currently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) would be most 
affected by this action. Potentially affected categories and persons 
include:

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                                      Examples of potentially regulated
             Category                              persons
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Federal Government................  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil
                                     Works projects, U.S. Navy and other
                                     Federal agencies.
Industry and general public.......  Port authorities, marinas and
                                     harbors, shipyards and marine
                                     repair facilities, berth owners.
State, local and tribal             Governments owning and/or
 governments.                        responsible for ports, harbors, and/
                                     or berths, government agencies
                                     requiring disposal of dredged
                                     material associated with public
                                     works projects.
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[[Page 59745]]

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding persons likely to be affected by this 
proposed action. For any questions regarding the applicability of this 
proposed action to a particular person, please refer to the contact 
person listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

II. Background

    Section 102(c) of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries 
Act (MPRSA) of 1972, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq., gives the 
Administrator of EPA the authority to designate sites where ocean 
disposal may be permitted. On October 1, 1986, the Administrator 
delegated the authority to designate ocean disposal sites to the 
Regional Administrator of the Region in which the sites are located. 
This proposed cancellation is being made pursuant to that authority.
    The EPA Ocean Dumping Regulations promulgated under MPRSA (40 CFR 
chapter I, subchapter H, Sec.  228.11) state that modifications in 
disposal site use which involve withdrawal of disposal sites from use 
will be made by promulgation in part 228. This site cancellation is 
being published as proposed rulemaking in accordance with Sec.  
228.11(a) of the Ocean Dumping Regulations, which permits the 
withdrawal of designated disposal sites from use based upon changed 
circumstances concerning use of the site.

III. Proposed Action

    The proposed cancellation of the designation of this site is needed 
as a housekeeping measure. The ODMDS is no longer a suitable disposal 
option and has no foreseeable need. The Wilmington site has been 
replaced by a larger site due to changes in alignment of the Federal 
navigation channel, which now cuts through the original ODMDS. EPA also 
proposes to change the name of the New Wilmington ODMDS to the 
Wilmington ODMDS.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    This proposed action complies with applicable executive orders and 
statutory provisions as follows:

a. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This proposed action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' 
under the terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) 
and is therefore not subject to review under Executive Orders 12866 and 
13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011).

b. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed action does not impose an information collection 
burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq. Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). This proposed action 
does not require persons to obtain, maintain, retain, report, or 
publicly disclose information to or for a Federal agency.

c. Regulatory Flexibility

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires Federal 
agencies to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule 
subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the 
Administrative Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency 
certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities. Small entities include small 
businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. 
For purposes of assessing the impacts of this rule on small entities, 
small entity is defined as: (1) A small business defined by the Small 
Business Administration's size regulations at 13 CFR 121.201; (2) a 
small governmental jurisdiction that is a government of a city, county, 
town, school district, or special district with a population of less 
than 50,000; and (3) a small organization that is any not-for-profit 
enterprise which is independently owned and operated and is not 
dominant in its field. The EPA determined that this proposed action 
will not have a significant economic impact on small entities. After 
considering the economic impacts of this proposed rule, EPA certifies 
that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. This proposed rule will not 
impose any requirements on small entities.

d. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This proposed action contains no Federal mandates under the 
provisions of Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) of 
1995, 2 U.S.C. 1531 to 1538, for State, local, or tribal governments or 
the private sector. This action imposes no new enforceable duty on any 
State, local or tribal governments or the private sector. Therefore, 
this action is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 or 205 
of the UMRA. This action is also not subject to the requirements of 
section 203 of the UMRA because it contains no regulatory requirements 
that might significantly or uniquely affect small government entities.

e. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This proposed action does not have federalism implications. It does 
not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national Government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among various levels of government, as 
specified in Executive Order 13132. Thus, Executive Order 13132 does 
not apply to this action. The EPA specifically solicits comment on this 
proposed action from State and local officials.

f. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This proposed action does not have tribal implications, as 
specified in Executive Order 13175 because the proposed action will not 
have a direct effect on Indian Tribes, on the relationship between the 
Federal Government and Indian Tribes, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian Tribes. 
Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action. The EPA 
specifically solicits additional comments on this proposed action from 
tribal officials.

g. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those 
regulatory actions that concern health or safety risks, such that the 
analysis required under Section 5-501 of the Executive Order has the 
potential to influence the regulation. This proposed action is not 
subject to Executive Order 13045 because it does not establish an 
environmental standard intended to mitigate health or safety risks.

h. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This proposed action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355) because it is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' as defined under Executive Order 
12866.

i. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Public Law

[[Page 59746]]

104-113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272), directs the EPA to use voluntary 
consensus standards in its regulatory activities unless to do so would 
be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary 
consensus standards are technical standards (e.g., materials 
specifications, test methods, sampling procedures, and business 
practices) that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus bodies. 
The NTTAA directs the EPA to provide Congress, through OMB, 
explanations when the Agency decides not to use available and 
applicable voluntary consensus standards. This proposed action does not 
involve technical standards. Therefore, the EPA is not considering the 
use of any voluntary consensus standards.

j. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629) establishes Federal executive 
policy on environmental justice. Its main provision directs Federal 
agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, to 
make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and 
addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human 
health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and 
activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the 
United States. The EPA determined that this proposed rule will not have 
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects on minority or low-income populations because it does not 
affect the level of protection provided to human health or the 
environment. This proposed action is only cancelling the designation of 
an ODMDS which is no longer viable.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 228

    Environmental protection, Water pollution control.

    Authority: This proposed action is issued under the authority of 
Section 102 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, 
as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1401, 1411, 1412.

    Dated: August 27, 2019.
Mary S. Walker,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the EPA proposes to amend 
chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Register as follows:

PART 228--CRITERIA FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF DISPOSAL SITES FOR OCEAN 
DUMPING

0
1. The authority citation for part 228 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1412 and 1418.

0
2. Section 228.15 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (h)(2) 
and revising paragraph (h)(20) introductory text to read as follows:


Sec.  228.15   Dumping sites designated on a final basis.

* * * * *
    (h) * * *
    (20) Wilmington, North Carolina; Ocean Dredged Material Disposal 
Site.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2019-24066 Filed 11-5-19; 8:45 am]
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