[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 150 (Tuesday, August 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47205-47209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16866]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2020-0282; FRL-10012-44-OW]


State Formula Allocations for Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse 
Grants

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the 
proposed allotment formula for the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse 
Municipal Grants Program as required by the Clean Water Act. EPA is 
required to establish a formula to allocate proportional shares of the 
amount appropriated to state entities to fund actions that will help 
manage combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, and 
stormwater. EPA was directed to develop a formula based on the relevant 
infrastructure needs submitted in the latest Clean Watersheds Needs 
Survey along with additional information considered appropriate by the 
EPA Administrator. A summary of the formula is included in this 
document. This document announces that EPA is seeking feedback from the 
public on the formula.

DATES: Comments on these items must be received on or before September 
3, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2020-0282, by the following method:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this notification. Comments received may be posted without 
change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal 
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading of the section of this document.
    Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and our 
staff, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room are closed to public, 
with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. 
Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote customer 
service via email, phone, and webform. We encourage the public to 
submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov or email, as there may 
be a delay in processing mail and faxes. Hand deliveries and couriers 
may be received by scheduled appointment only. For further information 
on EPA Docket Center services and the current status, please visit us 
online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, please 
contact Michael Goralczyk, Office of Water (Mail Code 4204M), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-7347; or email: 
[email protected] (preferred).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Public Participation
II. Background
III. Statutory Language for the Allotment Formula
IV. Proposed Allotment Formula
V. Data Sources for the Proposed Allotment Formula
VI. Request for Public Comment

I. Public Participation

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2020-
0282, at https://www.regulations.gov/. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from the docket. 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 
Agency 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.
    EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket Center and Reading Room 
for public visitors, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of 
transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide 
remote customer service via email, phone, and webform. We encourage the 
public to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov as there may 
be a delay in processing mail and faxes. Hand deliveries or couriers 
will be

[[Page 47206]]

received by scheduled appointment only. For further information and 
updates on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us online at 
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local area health 
departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond rapidly as 
conditions change regarding COVID-19.

II. Background

    The America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018 aims to 
improve water quality, expand infrastructure investments, enhance 
public health, increase jobs, and bolster the economy. Section 4106 of 
the AWIA amended Section 221 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to re-
authorize the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants 
Program. This amended statute directs EPA to award grants to the 
states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories (collectively 
referred to as ``states'') for the purpose of providing grants to a 
municipality or municipal entity for planning, design, and construction 
of:
    1. Treatment works to intercept, transport, control, treat, or 
reuse municipal combined sewer overflows (CSOs), sanitary sewer 
overflows (SSOs), or stormwater; and
    2. any other measures to manage, reduce, treat, or recapture 
stormwater or subsurface drainage water.

III. Statutory Language for the Allotment Formula

    According to the CWA, funds appropriated for this program shall be 
allocated to the states according to their total proportional needs for 
municipal CSOs, SSOs, and stormwater as identified in the most recent 
Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS) and any other additional 
information considered appropriate by the EPA Administrator. This is 
described in Section 221(g)(2) of the CWA:

``the Administrator shall use the amounts appropriated to carry out 
this section for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter 
for making grants to States under subsection (a)(1) in accordance 
with a formula to be established by the Administrator, after 
providing notice and an opportunity for public comment, that 
allocates to each State a proportional share of such amounts based 
on the total needs of the State for municipal combined sewer 
overflow controls, sanitary sewer overflow controls, and stormwater 
identified in the most recent detailed estimate and comprehensive 
study submitted pursuant to section 516 of this title and any other 
information the Administrator considers appropriate.''

    The CWNS includes documented infrastructure needs. However, the 
most recent CWNS in 2012 did not include complete CSO, SSO, and 
stormwater infrastructure needs for every state and territory. In order 
to equitably allocate appropriated funds based on existing 
infrastructure needs, as directed in the amended Section 221 of the 
CWA, it is appropriate to include additional factors to fully 
characterize needs for CSOs, SSOs, and stormwater management. EPA 
consulted with state representatives and EPA regional coordinators 
experienced in managing EPA grants at the state level on a series of 
supplemental factors. With the feedback of these partners, EPA selected 
three additional factors based on the common availability of data 
across the states and the ability of these factors to serve as 
surrogates for CSO, SSO, and stormwater infrastructure needs. The three 
additional proposed factors are annual average precipitation, total 
population, and urban population. The rationale for these additional 
factors includes the following:
    (1) Annual average precipitation is a proposed factor because 
higher amounts of precipitation lead to greater CSO, SSO, and 
stormwater infrastructure needs to manage greater flows.
    (2) Total population is a proposed factor because the larger the 
population of a state, the more infrastructure is generally required to 
serve them.
    (3) Urban population is a proposed factor because there are 
relatively higher CSO, SSO, and stormwater infrastructure needs in 
urban environments from increased impervious surfaces, which generate 
increased wet weather flows during precipitation events.
    When combined with the needs determined in the CWNS, these three 
proposed factors improve the representation of the CSO, SSO, and 
stormwater infrastructure needs in each state. This collective approach 
for assessing CSO, SSO, and stormwater infrastructure needs is the 
basis for this proposal on how to derive an allocation formula for 
appropriating funds for this program.

IV. Proposed Allotment Formula

    EPA is proposing to use the following methodology to allocate 
appropriated funds to the states for the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater 
Reuse Municipal Grant Program. A graphical depiction of the methodology 
is shown in Figure 1.

[[Page 47207]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN04AU20.000

Proposed Methodology

    1. Reserve 1% of the federal appropriation for EPA's administrative 
expenses per Section 221(h) of the CWA.
    2. Allocate 0.5% of the remaining amount (federal appropriation 
minus EPA administrative set-aside) to each state to represent the 
``minimum state allocation.''
    3. Allocate the remaining amount (federal appropriation minus EPA 
administrative set-aside and minimum state allocation) based on several 
factors to characterize the ``need allocation'' of each state. In 
addition to the most recent CWNS and as allowed by Section 221(g)(2) of 
the CWA, EPA chose additional objective factors to help characterize 
the infrastructure needs of each state. EPA assigned weights to each of 
the factors in the allocation formula. The CWNS needs are weighted at 
50% and the additional factors are weighted evenly to collectively 
account for the remaining 50%. The combination of the following factors 
forms the need allocation for each state.
    [ssquf] Clean Watersheds Needs Survey: This factor is included as 
the statute directs EPA to use the needs survey submitted pursuant to 
Section 516 of the CWA. EPA will use the latest available CWNS 
information that provides a comprehensive assessment of CSOs, SSOs, and 
stormwater infrastructure needs. This factor represents 50% of the need 
allocation as these needs were directly identified in the survey.
    [ssquf] Annual Average Precipitation: This factor is included to 
account for the volume of annual precipitation a state receives which 
suggests the amount of stormwater runoff that needs to be managed. This 
factor represents 16.67% of the need allocation.
    [ssquf] Total Population: This factor is included to represent the 
proportional need of each state's population size acknowledging that 
higher populations generally have greater infrastructure needs. This 
factor represents 16.67% of the need allocation.
    [ssquf] Urban Population: This factor is included to represent the 
needs that urban centers have for CSOs, SSOs, and stormwater management 
due to high concentrations of impervious surfaces. This factor 
represents 16.67% of the need allocation.
    4. For each state, the minimum state allocation and the need 
allocation are combined to equal the final state allocation.

V. Data Sources for the Proposed Allotment Formula

    [ssquf] Clean Watersheds Needs Survey: The CWNS includes and 
documents identified capital investment needs for Sanitary Sewer 
Overflow Correction (Categories I-IV where states have shown a 
designated SSO need), Combined Sewer Overflow Correction (Category V), 
and Stormwater Management (Category VI). Information for this factor 
will be taken from the most recent published CWNS \1\ and will be 
updated accordingly.
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    \1\ Clean Watersheds Need Survey 2012 Report to Congress, 
January 2016. https://www.epa.gov/cwns/clean-watersheds-needs-survey-cwns-2012-report-and-data.
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    [ssquf] Annual Average Precipitation: The proposed precipitation 
factor for each state is the annual average amount of precipitation 
collected from the past 10 years of data from the National 
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) National Centers for 
Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance: Statewide Time Series. 
These data will be updated annually to form a 10-year rolling 
average.\2\ Due to

[[Page 47208]]

data limitations, alternative data sources are proposed to be used for 
the following states:
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    \2\ NOAA National Centers for Environmental information, Climate 
at a Glance: Statewide Time Series, accessed April 2020, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/statewide/time-series.

--Hawaii: The past 10 years of data for annual average precipitation 
will be collected from the Hilo Area, Honolulu Area, Kahului Area, and 
Lihue Area from the Honolulu Forecast Office of NOAA.\3\ These sources 
constitute the most complete data set in the relevant timeframe and are 
considered the best available representation for Hawaii.
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    \3\ NOAA, Honolulu Forecast Office, Hilo Area, Honolulu Area, 
Kahului Area, and Lihue Area Data, https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=hnl.
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--District of Columbia: The past 10 years of data for annual average 
precipitation will be collected from the Washington Area from the 
Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office of NOAA. This is the most complete 
data set in the relevant timeframe and is considered the best available 
representation for the District of Columbia.\4\
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    \4\ NOAA, Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office, Washington Area 
Data, https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=lwx.
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--Puerto Rico: The past 10 years of data for annual average 
precipitation will be collected from the San Juan Area and Ensenada and 
Morovis weather stations from the San Juan Forecast Office of NOAA. 
These sources constitute the most complete data set in the relevant 
timeframe and are considered the best available representation for 
Puerto Rico.\5\
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    \5\ NOAA, San Juan Forecast Office, San Juan Area and Ensenada, 
and Morovis Weather Station Data. https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=sju.
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--American Samoa: The past 10 years of data for annual average 
precipitation will be collected from the Pago Pago Area from the Pago 
Pago Forecast Office of NOAA. This is the most complete data set in the 
relevant timeframe and is considered the best available representation 
for American Samoa.\6\
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    \6\ NOAA, Pago Pago Forecast Office, Pago Pago Area Data, 
https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=samoa.
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--Guam: The past 10 years of data for annual average precipitation will 
be collected from the Guam Area from the Tiyan Forecast Office of NOAA. 
This is the most complete data set in the relevant timeframe and is 
considered the best available representation for Guam.\7\
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    \7\ NOAA, Tivan Forecast Office, Guam Area Data, https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=guam.
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--Northern Mariana Islands: The past 10 years of data for the annual 
average precipitation will be collected from the Guam Area from the 
Tiyan Forecast Office of NOAA. There are no available weather stations 
in the Northern Mariana Islands. However, the Northern Mariana Islands 
are covered by the Tiyan Forecast Office and Guam is located 
approximately 130 miles away. It has been determined that data from the 
Guam Area can be considered an acceptable surrogate for precipitation 
amounts in the Northern Mariana Islands.\8\
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    \8\ Ibid.
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--U.S. Virgin Islands: The past 10 years of data for the annual average 
precipitation will be collected from the Christiansted Airport and St. 
Thomas weather stations from the San Juan Forecast Office of NOAA. 
These sources constitute the most complete data set in the relevant 
timeframe and are considered the best available representation for the 
U.S. Virgin Islands.\9\
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    \9\ NOAA, San Juan Forecast Office, Christiansted Airport and 
St. Thomas Weather Station Data, https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=sju.
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    [ssquf] Total Population: Data for the proposed total population 
factor will be from the most recent published U.S. Census Bureau 
decennial census. The initial allocation will be based on the 2010 U.S. 
Census and will be updated accordingly.

--The states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico population data 
will be taken from the U.S. Census Bureau State Population Totals and 
Components of Change.\10\
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    \10\ U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Totals and Components 
of Change 2010-2019, https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2010s-state-total.html.
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--American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin 
Islands population data will be taken from the U.S. Census Bureau 
Island Area Tables.\11\
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    \11\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Island Area Tables, https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2010/dec/2010-island-areas.html.

    [ssquf] Urban Population: The proposed urban population factor for 
each state will be based on the available data from the most recent 
U.S. Census Bureau decennial census.\12\ The initial formula will be 
based on the 2010 U.S. Census and data will be updated as future 
decennial censuses are published. Urban population estimates for 
American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands are not available through the Census. The following alternative 
data sources will be used and updated as needed.
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    \12\ U.S. Census Bureau, Census Urban and Rural Classification 
and Urban Area Criteria, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural/2010-urban-rural.html.
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--American Samoa: Data from the Central Intelligence Agency World 
Factbook will be used. The percentage of the total population 
considered to be urban (currently 87.2%) will be multiplied by the 
total population.\13\
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    \13\ Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, American 
Samoa, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aq.html.
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--Guam: Data from the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook will 
be used. The percentage of the total population considered to be urban 
(currently 94.9%) will be multiplied by the total population.\14\
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    \14\ Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Guam, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gq.html.
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--Northern Mariana Islands: Data from the Central Intelligence Agency 
World Factbook will be used. The percentage of the total population 
considered to be urban (currently 91.8%) will be multiplied by the 
total population.\15\
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    \15\ Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Northern 
Mariana Islands, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cq.html.
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--U.S. Virgin Islands: Data from the Central Intelligence Agency World 
Factbook will be used. The percentage of the total population 
considered to be urban (currently 95.9%) will be multiplied by the 
total population.\16\
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    \16\ Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, U.S. Virgin 
Islands, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vq.html.
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VI. Request for Public Comment

    It is important to EPA that its programs respond to the water 
quality needs of communities around the country. EPA seeks to ensure 
that the development of its grant programs complies with the applicable 
statutory language and legislative intent. EPA developed the proposed 
allotment formula for the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal 
Grants Program to best address CSO, SSO, and stormwater needs for each 
state as determined by the data from the latest CWNS and additional 
relevant factors. EPA is requesting comment on the methodology of this 
proposed allotment formula including the factors and data used in 
determining CSO, SSO, and stormwater infrastructure needs. Feedback on 
ways to more holistically assess CSO, SSO, and stormwater needs will be 
appreciated and evaluated for the initial and future formulas. EPA is 
also seeking input on the collection method, frequency, and source of 
the information used for the proposed allotment formula. EPA seeks to 
balance any burden the collection would impose on the public with the 
benefit the

[[Page 47209]]

information would provide to the Agency in making allocations to the 
states under the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants 
Program.

David Ross,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.

[FR Doc. 2020-16866 Filed 8-3-20; 8:45 am]
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