United States Office of Water EPA - 821-F-13-001 oEPA Environmental Protection Agency 4303T August 2013 Preliminary 2012 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan Summary EPA has published in the Federal Register its Preliminary 2012 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan for review and comment by the public. The public comment period will last for 60 days from publication date. Once public review and comment on the Preliminary 2012 Plan has been completed, EPA will prepare and then publish the Final 2012 Plan. Background Clean Water Act section 304(m) requires EPA to biennially publish a plan, after public notice and comment, which establishes a schedule for the annual review and revision of existing effluent guidelines and identifies any new industrial categories selected for effluent guidelines rulemaking and provides a schedule for such rulemaking. Findings of the Preliminary 2012 Plan In the Preliminary 2012 Plan, EPA is not identifying any industry categories for new or revised effluent guidelines at this time. EPA is proposing to delist from the effluent guidelines plan and discontinue the rulemaking for the Coalbed Methane Extraction industry. This is based on new information regarding the declining prevalence of this industry, due in large part to the increased extraction of natural gas from other sources, such as shale formations. EPA is also proposing to delist the Chlorine and Chlorinated Hydrocarbon manufacturing industry from the Plan and to discontinue its rulemaking on the basis of data collected voluntarily by the industry which demonstrates that discharges of dioxin are being effectively controlled. Based on a preliminary study that has been completed, EPA has concluded that an effluent guideline revision is not necessary for Regenerated Cellulose Manufacturers (previously categorized as Plastics Molding and Forming, found in title 40 Part 463 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or CFR). After completing the 2011 Annual Reviews, EPA determined that discharges from 17 of the top 20 industrial categories were not a hazard priority. However, EPA determined that additional information and analysis is still necessary before concluding the review of the three remaining industrial categories: Pulp, Paper and Paperboard (40 CFR Part 430), Petroleum Refining (40 CFR Part 419), and Meat and Poultry Products (40 CFR Part 432). Therefore, EPA is continuing to review these categories" discharges during the 2012 Annual Reviews and will report its finding in the Final 2012 Plan. Ongoing Guidelines Actions Under prior year's plans, EPA released a new guideline for Airport Deicing Discharges and is currently working to issue new or revised effluent guidelines for: Steam Electric Power Generation, plus pretreatment standards for discharges to publicly-owned treatment works from Dental Amalgam and Shale Gas Extraction. For More Information Contact Mr. William F. Swietlik by phone at (202) 566-1129, by mail at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., 20460; or by e-mail at: swietlik.william@epa.gov. You can access the Federal Register notice, the Plan and all supporting documents at http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa /304m/ ------- |