[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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