[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31881-31882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11247]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9795-01-OECA]
NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule Implementation: Notice of Initial
Recipient Designation for Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of approval.
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SUMMARY: This Federal Register document provides notice of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) approval of the Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality as the initial recipient for
electronic data reporting under the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule
(``NPDES eRule''), effective December 6, 2021, for all National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) data groups except for
``No. 4--Sewage Sludge/Biosolids Annual Program Reports.'' Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality cannot be the initial recipient for
this data group as EPA is the authorized NPDES program for the Federal
biosolids program.
DATES: This approval was effective December 6, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, please
contact Mr. Carey A. Johnston, Office of Compliance (mail code 2222A),
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC, 20460; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) promulgated the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule (``NPDES eRule'')
in 2015 to modernize Clean Water Act reporting for municipalities,
industries, and other facilities by converting to an electronic data
reporting system (see 22 October 2015; 80 FR 64064). The NPDES eRule
requires regulated entities and state and Federal regulators to use
existing, available information technology to electronically report
data required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit program instead of filing written paper reports. EPA
amended this rule in 2020 to provide itself and states with more time
to develop and deploy electronic reporting tools (see 2 November 2020;
85 FR 69189).
This switch from paper to electronic reporting saves time and
resources for permittees, states, tribes, territories, and the U.S.
Government while increasing data accuracy, improving compliance, and
supporting EPA's goal of providing better protection of the Nation's
waters. The NPDES eRule helps provide greater clarity on who is and who
is not in compliance and enhances transparency by providing a timelier,
complete, more accurate, and nationally-consistent set of data about
the NPDES program.
The NPDES eRule requires each authorized NPDES program to decide
whether to use EPA's electronic reporting tools or to use their own
electronic reporting tools.\1\ Authorized states can make this decision
or defer this decision to EPA. The governmental entity, either the
state or EPA, that makes this decision is the ``initial recipient.''
The NPDES eRule requires EPA to publish on its website and in the
Federal Register a listing of the initial recipients for electronic
NPDES information from NPDES-regulated facilities by state, tribe, and
territory and by NPDES data group. EPA published this initial listing
on September 9, 2016 (see 81 FR 62395). The NPDES eRule also requires
EPA to publish on its website and in the Federal Register a revised
listing of initial recipients upon specified changes to the list of
initial recipients (see 40 CFR 127.27(c)-(f)).
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\1\ EPA authorized Oregon to administer the NPDES program on
September 26, 1973. See EPA website, ``NPDES State Program
Authority,'' at https://www.epa.gov/npdes/npdes-state-program-authority.
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The NPDES eRule allows an authorized NPDES program to seek EPA
approval to change the initial recipient status for one or all of the
NPDES data groups from EPA to the authorized NPDES program. 40 CFR
127.27(e). To make this switch, the authorized NPDES program must send
a request to EPA. This request must identify the specific NPDES data
groups for which the authorized NPDES program would like to be the
initial recipient of electronic NPDES information, a description of how
its data system will be compliant with the NPDES eRule and the Cross-
Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR) (40 CFR part 3), and the date
or dates when the authorized NPDES program will be ready to start
receiving this information. The Oregon
[[Page 31882]]
Department of Environmental Quality (hereinafter Oregon DEQ) sent EPA
such a request on September 23, 2020.\2\
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\2\ Oregon DEQ Letter to EPA, 2020. ``Request to Designate
Oregon DEQ as eRule `Initial Recipient' for All NPDES Data Groups,''
Signed by Justin Green, Water Quality Administrator, Oregon DEQ,
September 23, 2020.
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Oregon DEQ noted in its letter to EPA that it will be using an
Environmental Data Management System, which is produced by enfoTech,
Inc., for all of its NPDES program data. Oregon DEQ plans to start
using this new system in 2022 and will only put this system into full
operation after it receives EPA's CROMERR approval.\3\ Oregon DEQ
stated that this new system will be implemented in stages and that each
stage will include rigorous testing. Finally, Oregon DEQ confirmed that
its new system will collect and share the minimum set of NPDES program
data in accordance with the NPDES eRule data sharing standards (see
subpart B, 40 CFR part 127).
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\3\ See EPA website, ``CROMERR Overview for State, Tribal and
Local Governments,'' at https://www.epa.gov/cromerr/cromerr-overview-state-tribal-and-local-governments.
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EPA has completed its review of Oregon DEQ's request and, on
December 6, 2021, approved Oregon DEQ as the ``Initial Recipient'' for
all NPDES data groups except for ``No. 4--Sewage Sludge/Biosolids
Annual Program Reports'' (see Table 1, appendix A to 40 CFR part 127).
Oregon DEQ cannot be the initial recipient for this data group as EPA
is the authorized NPDES program for the Federal biosolids program (40
CFR part 503). The effective date for this new status is December 6,
2021.\4\ In accordance with the NPDES eRule, EPA is publishing the
notice of this switch on its website and in the Federal Register. The
following is the updated list of states that have elected for EPA to be
the initial recipient for one or more NPDES data groups.
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\4\ U.S. EPA Memorandum to Oregon DEQ, 2021. ``U.S. EPA Approval
of Oregon as Initial Recipient for NPDES Electronic Reporting,''
Signed by John Dombrowski, Director, Office of Compliance, Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, December 6, 2021.
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State elected for EPA State elected for EPA
State elected for EPA to be initial to be initial
to be initial recipient for recipient for program
State recipient for general discharge monitoring reports (NPDES data
permit reports (NPDES reports (DMRs) (NPDES group Nos. 4 through
data group No. 2) data group No. 3) 10)
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Georgia.............................. Yes (All).............. Yes.................... Yes (All).
Nebraska............................. Yes (All).............. Yes.................... Yes (All).
New Jersey........................... No..................... No..................... Yes (only for
Concentrated Animal
Feeding Operation
(CAFO) Annual Program
Report).
North Carolina....................... Yes (only for Low No..................... No.
Erosivity Waivers and
No Exposure
Certifications).
Rhode Island......................... Yes (All).............. Yes.................... Yes (All).
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Dated: May 19, 2022.
John Dombrowski,
Director, Office of Compliance, Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Assurance.
[FR Doc. 2022-11247 Filed 5-24-22; 8:45 am]
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