[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 82 (Thursday, April 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25260-25261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09017]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R06-OW-2022-0371; FRL-9257-01-R6]


Proposed Issuance of the NPDES General Permit for Discharges From 
Hydrostatic Testing of New and Existing Vessels in New Mexico 
(NMG270000), Oklahoma (OKG27F000), and Indian Country Within the States 
of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana (TXG27I000, OKG27I000, 
NMG27I000, & LAG27I000)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed NPDES General Permit Issuance.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 Water 
Division, is proposing for public comment the issuance of a National 
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit 
authorizing discharges resulting from the hydrostatic testing of new 
and existing vessels (e.g., pipelines, storage tanks, etc.) in New 
Mexico (NMG270000) and Oklahoma (OKG27F000). This authorization also 
covers Indian Country within the States of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, 
and Louisiana (TXG27I000, OKG27I000, NMG27I000, & LAG27I000).
    To determine whether your facility, company, business, 
organization, etc., may be affected by this action, you should 
carefully examine the applicability criteria in Part I, Section A.3 of 
the draft permit. If you have questions regarding the applicability of 
this action to a particular entity, consult the person listed for 
technical information in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing to EPA on or before June 
27, 2022.
    Proposed Documents: A copy of the proposed permit and the fact 
sheet which sets forth principal facts and the significant factual, 
legal, and policy questions considered in the development of the 
proposed general permit may be obtained via the internet at: https://www.epa.gov/publicnotices. To obtain hard copies of these documents or 
any other information in the administrative record, please contact Ms. 
Evelyn Rosborough using the contact information provided below.

Other Legal Requirements

A. State/Tribal Certification

    Under section 401(a)(1) of the CWA, EPA may not issue an NPDES 
permit until the State or Tribe in which the discharge will occur 
grants or waives certification to ensure compliance with appropriate 
requirements of the CWA and State/Tribal law. EPA will seek 
certification from the New Mexico Environment Department, Oklahoma 
Department of Environmental Quality, and the respective Tribe within 
the States of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana prior to 
issuing a final permit. EPA is the certifying authority and certifies 
the permit for areas where neither a state nor tribe has CWA 401(a)(1) 
certification authority.

B. Other Regulatory Requirements

    This is a first-time permit issuance. EPA had conducted evaluations 
required by Coastal Zone Management Act, Endangered Species Act, 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Historic 
Preservation Act, Paperwork Reduction Act, and Regulatory Flexibility 
Act. These requirements are discussed in the fact sheet.
How do I comment on this proposal?
    Comment Submittals: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID. 
No. EPA-R06-OW-2022-0371 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method).
     By Email: Send comments by email to 
[email protected]. Include Docket ID. No EPA-R06-OW-2022-0371 
in the subject line of the email.
     By Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Deliver comments to U.S. 
EPA, Attn: Evelyn Rosborough, 1201 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas 75270.
     We encourage the public to submit comments via 
www.Regulations.gov or via email as there may be a delay in processing 
mail and hand deliveries will be accepted by appointment only due to 
public health concerns related to COVID-19.
     Please submit your comments within the specified time 
period cited in the DATES section of this document. Comments received 
after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late''. The EPA 
is not required to consider these late comments. All comments received 
by the EPA in accordance with this section by the ending date of the 
comment period will be considered by the EPA before a final decision is 
made regarding permit issuance.
     Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from 
the docket. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public 
docket.
    Do not submit to EPA's docket or email 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 or multimedia submissions, and general guidance 
on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    For Technical Information Contact: Maria Okpala, NPDES Permitting 
Section (6WD-PE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1201 Elm 
Street, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75270; Telephone: (214) 665-3152; email 
address: [email protected].
    Administrative record: All documents and references used in the 
development of this permit are part of the Administrative Record for 
this permit. Although listed in the index, some information is not 
publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly 
available materials are available either electronically or in hard copy 
from Ms. Evelyn Rosborough at the address above. The Administrative 
Record may also be viewed at the EPA Region 6 Offices from 8:30 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. For more 
information on scheduling a time to view the Record or to obtain copies 
of available documents, please contact Ms. Evelyn Rosborough at 214-
665-7515 or [email protected].
Public Hearings
    All persons have the right to provide written comments during the 
public comment period. However, interested persons may request a public 
hearing pursuant to 40 CFR 124.12 concerning the proposed permit. 
Requests for a public hearing must be sent or delivered in writing to 
the same address as provided above for public comments prior to the 
close of the comment period. Requests for a public hearing must state 
the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the hearing. Pursuant 
to 40 CFR 124.12, EPA shall hold a public hearing if it finds, on the 
basis of requests, a significant degree of public interest in a public 
hearing on

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the proposed permit. If EPA decides to hold a public hearing, a public 
notice of the date, time and place of the hearing will be made at least 
30 days prior to the hearing. Any person may provide written or oral 
statements and data pertaining to the proposed permit at the public 
hearing.
    Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

Charles W. Maguire,
Director, Water Division, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2022-09017 Filed 4-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P