[Federal Register: June 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 120)]
[Notices]
[Page 34464-34466]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22jn07-57]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0357; FRL-8330-5]
Review of National Dredging Policy
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: On behalf of the National Dredging Team, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting comment on the
National Dredging Policy and the National Dredging Team's 2003 Action
Agenda for Dredged Material Management. The National Dredging Policy
was developed by a Federal Interagency Working Group, which was
convened by the U.S. Department of Transportation in the early 1990s to
investigate and recommend methods to improve the dredging review
process. The Group identified the need for a unified national dredging
policy to guide in the development of recommendations and to focus
Federal agency commitments. The findings and principles described in
the National Dredging Policy have been embraced by the Group's
participating agencies. The National Dredging Team (NDT), a Federal
interagency group co-chaired by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), published its Dredged Material Management: Action
Agenda for the Next Decade in 2003. This Action Agenda lays out 22
recommended actions to guide the National Dredging Team and support
implementation of the National Dredging Policy. At the request of the
Cabinet-level Committee on the Marine Transportation System, the NDT is
currently reviewing the National Dredging Policy, as well as the NDT's
Action Agenda, to reaffirm their adequacy in support of the U.S. Marine
Transportation System.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 6, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2007-0357, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
E-mail: OW-Docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2007-0357.
Mail: Review of National Dredging Policy, Water Docket,
EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., EPA West Room 3334, Washington, DC 20460.
[[Page 34465]]
Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA Docket Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20004, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2007-0357.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2007-
0357. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in
the public docket without change and may be made available online at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov. The
http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment
directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
http://www.regulations.gov index. 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 docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Water Docket, EPA Docket
Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20004. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Water Docket
telephone number is 202-566-2426. The Public Reading Room is open from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal
holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202)
566-1744, and the telephone number for the Water Docket is 202-566-
2426.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Molly Madden, Oceans and Coastal
Protection Division, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds,
(Mailcode: 4504T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 566-1279; fax
number: (202) 566-1546; e-mail address: madden.molly@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does This Action Apply to Me?
Entities potentially interested in today's notice are those who are
involved with dredging for the purpose of navigation or are involved
with waterborne commerce, including port authorities and environmental
interest groups. Categories and examples of entities interested in
today's notice include:
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Category Examples of interested entities
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Federal Government........... U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maritime
Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S.
Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Fish and Wildlife
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
U.S. Geological Survey.
State/Local/Tribal Government Governments involved in navigational
dredging; port authorities; coastal
communities.
Industry and General Public.. Shippers, maritime interests, marinas,
waterborne commerce groups,
environmental interest groups.
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This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be interested in this
notice. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is now aware
could potentially be interested in this notice. Other types of entities
not listed in the table could also be interested.
B. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments?
1. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
Dredging is an important issue in the U.S. Marine Transportation
System. Navigational dredging plays a key role in supporting the Marine
Transportation System's effectiveness and reliability for the movement
of people and commerce. In 1993, the Secretary of Transportation
convened an Interagency Working Group on the Dredging Process to
investigate and recommend actions to improve the dredging project
review process. In December 1994, the Interagency Group delivered its
report, The Dredging Process in the United States: An Action Plan for
Improvement to the Secretary of Transportation. This report contained
18 recommendations, and proposed a National Dredging Policy and the
formation of a National Dredging Team. The Group identified the need
for a unified national dredging policy to guide in the development of
recommendations and to focus Federal agency commitments. The
Administration adopted the following findings and principles as a
statement of
[[Page 34466]]
National Dredging Policy. The findings are:
A network of ports and harbors is essential to the United
States' economy, affecting its competitiveness in world trade and
national security. Port facilities serve as a key link in the
intermodal transportation chain and can realize their full potential as
magnets for shipping and commerce only if dredging occurs in a timely
and cost-effective manner.
The nation's coastal, ocean, and freshwater resources are
critical assets which must be protected, conserved, and restored. These
resources are equally important to the United States by providing
numerous economic and environmental benefits.
Consistent and integrated application of existing
environmental statutes can protect the environment and can allow for
sustainable economic growth.
Close coordination and planning at all governmental
levels, and with all aspects of the private sector, are essential to
developing and maintaining the nation's ports and harbors in a manner
that will increase economic growth and protect, conserve, and restore
coastal resources.
Planning for the development and maintenance of the
nation's ports and harbors should occur in the context of broad
transportation and environmental planning efforts such as the National
Transportation System and the ecosystem/watershed management approach.
The principles are:
The regulatory process must be timely, efficient, and
predictable, to the maximum extent practicable.
Advanced dredged material management planning must be
conducted on a port or regional scale by a partnership that includes
the Federal government, the port authorities, state and local
governments, natural resource agencies, public interest groups, the
maritime industry, and private citizens. To be effective, this planning
must be done prior to individual Federal or non-Federal dredging
project proponents seeking individual project approval.
Dredged material managers must become more involved in
watershed planning to emphasize the importance of point and non-point
source pollution controls to reduce harbor sediment contamination.
Dredged material is a resource, and environmentally-sound
beneficial use of dredged material for such projects as wetland
creation, beach nourishment, and development projects must be
encouraged.
The findings and principles were embraced by all of the Group's
participating agencies. The Federal agencies committed themselves to
the fulfillment of these principles.
In 2001, the National Dredging Team convened a stakeholder workshop
to assess progress on the 1994 report's 18 recommendations and identify
actions that could address issues impacting dredging and dredged
material management for the foreseeable future. The result is the
National Dredging Team's 2003 Dredged Material Management: Action
Agenda for the Next Decade (2003 Action Agenda), which supersedes the
1994 report. The 2003 Action Agenda contains the National Dredging
Policy and 22 recommendations to assist the National Dredging Team in
implementing the National Dredging Policy. The National Dredging Team
continues to be guided by the 2003 Action Agenda and is actively
addressing these recommendations, many of which require ongoing
activity. The recommendations in the 2003 Action Agenda fall into four
themes: beneficial use of dredged material, sediment management,
strengthening Regional Dredging Teams, and emerging issues. The
National Dredging Team recognizes that additional issues may have
emerged since publication of the 2003 Action Agenda.
The goals of the National Dredging Team, which is a Federal
interagency group co-chaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are to facilitate
communication, coordination, and resolution of dredging issues among
the participating Federal agencies and to serve as a forum for
promoting the implementation of the National Dredging Policy and the
recommendations in the National Dredging Team's Action Agenda. The
National Dredging Policy and the 2003 Action Agenda can be found at
http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/ndt/.
III. Today's Action
Today's notice announces the review of the National Dredging Policy
and the National Dredging Team's 2003 Action Agenda. The interagency,
Cabinet-level Committee on the Marine Transportation System requested
that the National Dredging Team review the National Dredging Policy
(and the National Dredging Team's 2003 Action Agenda) to reaffirm their
adequacy in support of the U.S. Marine Transportation System. As a key
element in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan, the Committee on the Marine
Transportation System has been directed by the President to improve
federal Marine Transportation System coordination and policies, and
recommend strategies and plans for improvement. Dredging is an
important issue in the Marine Transportation System. The Committee on
the Marine Transportation System looks upon dredging as supporting the
Marine Transportation System's effectiveness and reliability regarding
the movement of people and commerce. Therefore, the Committee on the
Marine Transportation System requested the National Dredging Team take
this action on its behalf. Implementation of the National Dredging
Policy is promoted by the National Dredging Team, which is leading this
review through its co-chairs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The National Dredging Policy
provides a national, unified policy for navigational dredging and
focuses Federal agency commitments. Reviewing this Policy and the
National Dredging Team's 2003 Action Agenda provides an opportunity to
assess our progress in addressing the issues impacting dredging and
dredged material management. As part of its review, the National
Dredging Team will consider the public comments submitted in response
to this notice. As part of the National Dredging Team's review to
reaffirm the adequacy of the Policy and 2003 Action Agenda, the
National Dredging Team will consider whether it should revise the
Policy or publish an Addendum to the 2003 Action Agenda, updating the
Action Agenda as appropriate. If the National Dredging Team develops
any revisions to the National Dredging Policy or any Addendum to the
2003 Action Agenda, EPA would intend to publish a Federal Register
notice requesting comment on such revisions or addenda.
Dated: June 14, 2007.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. E7-12157 Filed 6-21-07; 8:45 am]
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