[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58076-58079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22830]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2021-0653; FRL-9072-01-OW]


Notification of Receipt of Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Section 
1441 Application Submissions for FY21

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
receipt of Certification of Need applications pursuant to the Safe 
Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Section 1441. Three public water systems 
(PWSs) and one publicly owned treatment works (POTW) submitted these 
applications. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document for their specific concerns about the unavailability of 
treatment chemical(s) via normal procurement channels. EPA is providing 
an opportunity for written comments from the public on these SDWA 
Section 1441 applications, from chemical producers and repackagers that 
could supply the required liquid oxygen, sulfur dioxide, clarifloc SE- 
1371, clarifloc SE 1482, gaseous chlorine, and sodium hypochlorite to 
the applicants, and from any other interested parties. The applications 
are available in the docket.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 3, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
HQ-OW-2021-0653, by any of the following methods:

[[Page 58077]]

    Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, 
Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail code: 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460.
    Hand Delivery/Courier (by scheduled appointment only): EPA Docket 
Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 
a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except federal holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OW-2021-0653 for this announcement. Comments received may be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov including any 
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending 
comments, see the ``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this announcement. Out of an abundance of 
caution for members of the public and our staff, the EPA Docket Center 
and Reading Room are closed to the 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, as there may be delay in processing mail. Hand 
deliveries and couriers may be received by scheduled appointment only. 
For further information of EPA Docket Center Services and the current 
status, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on SDWA Section 1441 
applications contact Gabrielle Minton, Office of Ground Water and 
Drinking Water, Water Security Division, at (202) 564-8284 or email 
[email protected]. For information on water utility disinfection 
products contact Steve Allgeier, Office of Ground Water and Drinking 
Water, Water Security Division, at (513) 569-7131 or email 
[email protected]. For more information, visit EPA's website at: 
https://www.epa.gov/waterutilityresponse/watersectorsupplychainchemicalshortages.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. General Information
    A. System's Report of Need
    B. Does this action impose any requirements on public water 
systems or public treatment works?
    C. Public Participation
    D. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
II. Purpose, Background, and Statutory Requirements of This Action
    A. What is the purpose of this action?
    B. Background and Statutory Requirements
    C. Summary of Applications
    D. Additional Background

I. General Information

A. System's Report of Need

    Two PWSs that submitted Certification of Need applications pursuant 
to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Section 1441 cited receipt of 
notifications of force majeure or unavailability of treatment chemicals 
via normal procurement channels. The force majeure notices were issued 
due to competing demand for liquid oxygen at hospitals for high-flow 
oxygen therapy for COVID-19 patients. Additionally, limited or non-
cost-effective transportation resources or options have hampered their 
ability to bring in liquid oxygen from production facilities outside of 
the region. The applications further stated that after receiving the 
notices, each of these utilities contacted several additional liquid 
oxygen suppliers in the region and were informed that none had product 
that was not already allocated to critical customers, primarily for 
medical use. These drinking water systems rely on liquid oxygen to 
produce ozone that is used to disinfect the water, a step necessary to 
produce safe drinking water as required under the Safe Drinking Water 
Act and its implementing regulations.
    The third PWS and the POTW, operated by the same municipality, have 
not received force majeure notices and have not been placed on reduced 
allocation at the time the application was submitted. They based their 
applications for Certifications of Need on concerns regarding limited 
supply and increased demand on the specified treatment chemicals, as 
well as ongoing transportation and logistics challenges. The chemicals 
listed in the applications from this municipality included: Sulfur 
dioxide, clarifloc SE-1371, clarifloc SE 1482, gaseous chlorine, and 
sodium hypochlorite.

B. Does this action impose any requirements on public water systems or 
public treatment works?

    This action, when published, will not impose any requirements on 
regulated entities.

C. Public Participation

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2021-
0653, at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the 
other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section of this announcement. 
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. 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.
    Due to public health concerns related to COVID-19, the EPA Docket 
Center and Reading Room are open to the public by appointment only. Our 
Docket Center staff also continues to provide remote customer service 
via email, phone, and webform. Hand deliveries or couriers will be 
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.
    The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area 
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond 
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

D. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    Explain your views as clearly as possible.
    Describe any assumptions that you used.
    Provide any technical information and/or data you used that support 
your views.
    Provide full references for any peer reviewed publication you used 
that support your views.
    Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.

[[Page 58078]]

    Offer alternatives.
    Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline. 
To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate docket 
identification number in the subject line on the first page of your 
response. It would also be helpful if you provided the name, date, and 
Federal Register citation related to your comments.

II. Purpose, Background, and Statutory Requirements of This Action

    This section briefly summarizes the purpose of this action and the 
statutory requirements.

A. What is the purpose of this action?

    The purpose of this action is to provide notification of the 
applications received under SDWA Section 1441 and to allow the public 
to comment on them.

B. Background and Statutory Requirements

    Pursuant to SDWA Section 1441, a PWS or POTW may submit an 
application to the EPA Administrator for a Certification of Need when 
the amount of a ``chemical or substance necessary to effectively treat 
water is not reasonably available'' or ``will not be so available when 
required.'' 42 U.S.C. 300j(a). Upon receipt of the application, EPA 
must publish an announcement in the Federal Register, notify in writing 
all individuals who could be subject to an order based on the 
Certification of Need, and provide time for written comment. EPA may 
waive such requirements when EPA finds for good cause that a waiver is 
necessary to protect public health. Id. at (b)(2). Within 30 days after 
publishing the announcement in the Federal Register or after receipt of 
the application, if publication is waived, EPA will either issue or 
deny the Certification of Need. Id. at (b)(3). The EPA Administrator 
has delegated the authority to receive applications for Certifications 
of Need, issue such certifications, and take other actions under SDWA 
Section 1441 to the EPA Assistant Administrator for Water.
    If EPA issues the certification, the agency will forward it to the 
Department of Commerce for implementation. 42 U.S.C. 300j(c)(1). Within 
seven days of EPA issuing the certification, the Department of Commerce 
will issue an order requiring the manufacturers, producers, processors, 
distributors, or repackagers of the chemical or substance identified, 
in the amount and form, per the Certification of Need, that the 
Department determines to be necessary and appropriate. Id. Persons or 
companies subject to the order will be given a reasonable opportunity 
to consult with the Department of Commerce with respect to 
implementation of the order. Id.

C. Summary of Applications

    EPA has received applications for Certifications of Need, under 
SDWA Section 1441 authority, from the following public water systems 
and publicly owned treatment works: Tampa Bay Water (PWSID FL6296139), 
Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant submitted an application for 
99.9% liquid oxygen, 487 tons per month with 5 deliveries per week; 
City of Tampa (PWSID FL6290327), David L. Tippin Water Treatment 
Facility submitted an application for 99.9% liquid oxygen, 620 tons per 
month with daily deliveries; Pinellas County, South Cross Bayou 
Advanced Water Reclamation Facility (POTW ID FL0040436) submitted an 
application for Clarifloc SE-1371, 1,100 gallons per month, Clarifloc 
SE-1482, 11,000 pounds per month, 12.5% Sodium Hypochlorite, 835 
gallons per month, Sulfur Dioxide Liquified Gas, 8 tons per month, 100% 
Gaseous Chlorine, 34 one-ton cylinders per month; and Pinellas County, 
S.K. Keller Water Treatment Facility (PWSID FL6521405), 12.5% Sodium 
Hypochlorite, 70,500 gallons per month.
    Submitted applications were reviewed by EPA for accuracy, 
completeness, and basis for need. After the comment period, EPA will 
determine whether to issue Certifications of Need for each distinct 
application. If issued, EPA will transmit the certifications to the 
Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security to implement the 
certification by issuing an order to contracted suppliers. The orders 
will require repackagers and/or suppliers to provide the fully 
contracted chemical allocations to the applicants listed in this 
Federal Register announcement. EPA requests comment on the application 
submittals as well as feedback from repackagers or suppliers who may be 
able to assist.
    Tampa Bay Water indicates that if they do not have adequate supply 
of liquid oxygen to operate their ozonation process, they will need to 
shut down their surface water treatment plant. They can partially 
offset the loss of the surface water treatment plant production with 
increased production from groundwater sources. However, the system 
seeks to resume operation of its normal disinfection process as soon as 
possible.
    The City of Tampa has temporarily switched their primary 
disinfection from ozonation to chlorination, using sodium hypochlorite. 
However, according to the City of Tampa, this alteration in treatment 
makes it challenging to meet other water quality objectives, 
potentially including compliance with other drinking water standards. 
Furthermore, the supply of chlorine and sodium hypochlorite is strained 
in multiple regions of the country, making this emergency solution 
tenuous.
    Upon receipt of the applications from City of Tampa and Tampa Bay 
Water for Certifications of Need regarding liquid oxygen, EPA contacted 
their supplier, Matheson Tri-Gas, and was informed by the supplier that 
the increased demand on liquid oxygen is largely due to the increase in 
COVID-related hospitalizations and limited and non-cost-effective 
transportation options, which were the primary factors leading to 
issuance of force majeure. On August 27, 2021, EPA met with 
representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the Sector 
Risk Management Agency for the Chemical Sector, and representatives 
from several major producers of liquid oxygen to discuss the risk of 
cascading impacts should water systems, which depend on a reliable 
supply of liquid oxygen to produce safe drinking water or treat 
wastewater, not receive the necessary allocations. As a result, the 
Chemical Sector Coordinating Council sent a notice to all major 
domestic liquid oxygen producers requesting that they coordinate with 
their water sector customers to ensure that adequate supplies of liquid 
oxygen are delivered to those water sector customers to maintain 
production of safe drinking water and treatment of wastewater.

D. Additional Background

    EPA is also aware that several other water systems that have not 
submitted applications for a Certification of Need as of the date of 
this announcement have received force majeure notices and have been 
placed on reduced allocations, in some cases 0% of the contracted 
amount. Furthermore, EPA has been informed by suppliers that all non-
critical customers of liquid oxygen have been issued force majeure 
notices and placed on reduced allocation in order to preserve available 
supplies for medical use and critical infrastructure customers. In some 
cases, these industrial customers include manufacturers of other 
treatment chemicals, such as ferric sulfate, and thus, could result in 
shortages of other water treatment chemicals critical to the provision 
of safe drinking water and treatment of wastewater. All suppliers

[[Page 58079]]

have reported significant challenges due to an inadequate number of 
qualified drivers with the necessary endorsements and experience to 
transport and offload liquified oxygen, as well as a limited fleet of 
cryogenic trucks that are necessary to transport liquid oxygen. EPA 
continues to work with our federal partners and suppliers to identify 
actions that can be taken to increase the availability of liquid oxygen 
to all critical customers.
    Pinellas County indicated that if they do not receive a sufficient 
and reliable supply of the required treatment chemicals used at their 
drinking water treatment facility, they would not be able to ensure 
safe drinking water to the communities they serve and may need to shut 
down their water treatment plant. Under normal circumstances, they 
could rely on other sources of water from Tampa Bay Water, such as 
Tampa Bay Water's wellfield. However, Tampa Bay Water is currently in 
the process of assessing and potentially utilizing their backup 
sources, which, in turn, would make them unavailable to Pinellas County 
Utilities. Pinellas County also indicated that if they did not receive 
a sufficient and reliable supply of the required treatment chemicals to 
their reclamation facility, they would not have the ability to 
disinfect the effluent. Pinellas County asserts that this scenario 
would force the facility to discontinue reclaimed uses of the effluent 
for irrigation and to discharge water that has not been properly 
disinfected, leading to a violation of their discharge permit. 
Additionally, the lack of available irrigation water would put 
additional burden on the drinking water supply for irrigation purposes. 
According to Penallas County, exhausting its supplies of sulfur 
dioxide, specifically, would render the facility unable to dechlorinate 
plant effluent. In order to discharge plant effluent to local 
waterbodies, effluent must be properly dechlorinated or the facility 
will be in violation of their discharge permit. This scenario is of 
concern particularly during the rainy season and at times with heavy 
influent. Further, if Pinellas County were to exhaust its supplies of 
Clarifloc SE-1482 and Clarifloc SE-1371, the facility asserts that it 
would not have the proper polymers needed for effective sludge 
thickening and dewatering, causing a backup of solids and treatment and 
potentially leading to septic conditions with subsequent sludge storage 
overflow, which could harm the surrounding environment.
    At the time of application, Pinellas County had not received a 
force majeure notice or been placed on reduced allocation. However, 
given the shortage of related treatment chemicals in the region and the 
vulnerability in the system's backup supplies, Pinellas County is 
concerned that there is a risk that they could face a shortage of one 
or more of the listed chemicals.

Radhika Fox,
Assistant Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021-22830 Filed 10-19-21; 8:45 am]
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