[Federal Register: November 13, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 219)]
[Notices]
[Page 68869-68870]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13no02-86]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7407-7]
Supplemental Information and Extension of Public Comment Period
on the General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits
for Log Transfer Facilities in Alaska: AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of extension of public comment and request for
additional public comments on general NPDES permits for log transfer
facilities in Alaska.
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SUMMARY: The Director, Office of Water, EPA Region 10, is extending the
comment period on proposed modifications of the two general National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for Alaskan log
transfer facilities (LTFs), inconclusive of log storage areas: NPDES
permit numbers AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000. In addition, EPA Region 10
is providing clarification on an element in the proposed modifications
dealing with bark deposition and application of a Zone of Deposit.
Notice of a public comment period on the project area zone of deposit
for bark and woody debris, and proposed modifications of the NPDES
permits was published in the Federal Register on October 22, 2002, 67
FR 64885. Region 10 is extending the public comment period to January
13, 2002.
DATES: Interested persons may submit written comments on the proposed
modifications to general NPDES permits AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000 and
on the project area zone of deposit on or before January 13, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to the attention of Alaskan LTF Public
Comments, EPA Region 10 (OW-130), 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.
All comments should include the name of the commenter, a concise
statement of the comment, and the relevant facts upon which the comment
is based.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The NPDES Permits Unit, EPA Region 10
Office of Water, Seattle, Washington, at (206) 553-0775.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA published the public notice of its
request for comment on the ``project area zone of deposit'' for LTFs
and its proposed modification of two general permits for Alaskan log
transfer facilities on October 22, 2002 (67 FR 64885). The October 22,
2002 Federal Register Notice announced a 60-day public comment period
ending on December 23, 2002. The EPA did not, however, post the
administrative record on the internet, provide copies of the record at
its listed offices, nor distribute copies of the public notice and
draft modified general permits to permittees and other interested
parties in a timely fashion. Therefore, the EPA has determined to
extend the public comment period to provide for sixty (60) days of
comment following this present re-notice of public comment and proposed
permit modification.
In addition to extending the comment period, the EPA seeks to
clarify the October 22 Federal Register Notice (67 FR 64885) in regard
to issues associated with the regulation of continuous coverage of bark
and woody debris inside of the project area zone of deposit authorized
by the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC).
The EPA asks that commenters provide comment on the practical,
technical, economic, environmental and legal considerations regarding
one of two alternative permit conditions to address the physical and
environmental impacts associated with continuous coverage of the
seafloor by bark and woody debris that is discharged from LTFs. The two
alternatives being considered by EPA are: (1) A 1 acre threshold on
continuous bark coverage that, once exceeded, would require the
development and implementation of a remediation plan overseen by ADEC;
or (2) a 1 acre limit on continuous bark coverage in the two general
NPDES permits, which if exceeded, would be a violation of the permit.
The first alternative is to provide a threshold of 1 acre of
continuous bark coverage that would serve as an area of initiation for
the development and implementation of a remediation plan to control and
reduce the deposition of additional bark and woody debris that might
contribute to the continuous coverage of additional area of seafloor in
excess of 1 acre. The 1 acre threshold for remediation was provided by
the ADEC in its certification of reasonable assurance that the general
NPDES permits would meet the Alaska Water Quality Standards pursuant to
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The ADEC has indicated that the 1
acre threshold was established in the Timber Task Force Guidelines and
was meant to be a threshold for regulatory discretion to determine if
cleanup was required, but was not intended to be a legal limit in a
NPDES permit. Specifically, from Alaska Timber Task Force's (1985), Log
transfer facility siting, construction, operations and monitoring/
reporting guidelines (p. 11, section C6): ``Bark accumulation: The
regulatory agency(ies) will impose an interim intertidal and submarine
threshold bark accumulation level. When accumulations exceed the
threshold level, cleanup--if any--will occur at the discretion of the
permitting agency(ies). The interim threshold bark accumulation level
is described as 100% coverage exceeding both 1 acre in size and a
thickness greater than 10 cm (3.9 inches) at any point.''
The second alternative is to provide a limit of 1 acre of
continuous bark coverage no deeper than 10 centimeters at any point
that would serve as a maximum area of coverage under the NPDES permit.
The 1 acre limit of maximum continuous coverage was provided by the EPA
in its proposed modification of the two general permits on October 22,
2002, based on information developed by the Timber Task Force
Guidelines on the impacts of discharges of bark and woody debris and
previous ADEC Section 401 Certifications. Please refer to the October
22, 2002 Federal Register Notice (67 FR 64885) for a more detailed
discussion of the alternatives for controlling continuous coverage of
the seafloor by bark and woody debris from LTFs.
The EPA also draws attention to an issue of the appropriate
precision used in the term ``1 acre.'' The EPA's present October 22,
2002 Federal Register Notice uses the value ``1.0 acre,'' a more
precise definition of the exact extent of bark coverage. The EPA asks
for additional comment on which of these approaches to measurement
precision is best.
[[Page 68870]]
Administrative Record: The two draft general NPDES permit nos. AK-
G70-0000 and AK-G70-1000, the October 22, 2002, Federal Register
Notice, and this Federal Register Notice are available for inspection
and copying at six locations: (a) EPA-Juneau, 709 West 9th Street, Room
223A; (b) ADEC-Juneau, 410 Willoughby Avenue, Suite 200; (c) EPA-
Anchorage, 222 West 7th Avenue, Room 19; (d) ADEC-Anchorage, 555
Cordova Street; (e) ADEC-Ketchikan, 540 Water Street; and (f) EPA-
Seattle, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 10th Floor Library. These documents are
also available on EPA Region 10's internet site at http://www.epa.gov/
r10earth/. The administrative record for the proposed modifications
reflected in the draft general NPDES permits AK-G70-0000 and AK-G70-
1000 and the project area zone of deposit can be reviewed in the EPA's
Seattle Office, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 13th Floor.
Dated: November 1, 2002.
Randall F. Smith,
Director, Office of Water, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 02-28850 Filed 11-12-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P