[Federal Register: September 9, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 174)]
[Notices]
[Page 53663-53664]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09se05-86]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7966-9]
Notice of Availability of Final NPDES General Permits MAG910000
and NHG910000 for Discharges From Groundwater Remediation, Contaminated
Construction De-Watering, and Miscellaneous Surface Water Discharge
Activities in the States of Massachusetts and New Hampshire and Indian
Country Lands in the State of Massachusetts: The Remediation General
Permit (RGP)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability of final NPDES general permits MAG910000
and NHG910000: The Remediation General Permit (RGP).
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SUMMARY: The Director of the Office of Ecosystem Protection at the
Environmental Protection Agency's New England Regional Office (EPA-NE),
is issuing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
general permits to cover discharges of contaminated ground and surface
waters in Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), as well as in Indian
Country lands located in MA, to surface receiving waters (waters of the
United States) related to the following: groundwater remediation
activities; construction projects where chemical contamination is
present in the water; well development or rehabilitation and aquifer
pump testing at formerly contaminated sites; clean-up of industrial
sumps; hydrostatic testing of pipelines and tanks; and short-term
testing at dredging projects not covered by a permit issued by the Army
Corps of Engineers.
The purpose of this document is to inform the public that the new
general permit in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, known as the
Remediation General Permit (RGP), is now available. The Notice of
Availability for the draft RGP was published in the Federal Register on
November 2, 2004 (69 FR 63531). In response to a number of requests, on
December 8, 2004, EPA-NE extended the comment period from December 17,
2004, to January 18, 2005.
During the public comment period, EPA-NE received 18 sets of
comments regarding the RGP. EPA-NE prepared a response-to-comments
document and made a number of corresponding changes to the RGP,
including, but not limited to: removing utility vaults and manholes
from the applicability, allowing the use of historic data in certain
circumstances, expanding the period of intermittent shutdowns from 90
to 120 days, etc. The response-to-comments document is available with
the final general permit.
The final RGP establishes notification requirements, effluent
limitations, monitoring requirements, and administrative requirements,
as well as other standards, conditions, prohibitions, and management
practices for discharges to both fresh and marine waters. The RGP does
not cover new sources as defined under 40 CFR 122.2. Also, the final
RGP does not cover discharges from utility vaults and manholes, as
proposed. Rather, EPA plans to develop a separate general permit for
that discharge category.
DATES: The general permit shall be effective September 9, 2005. See the
general permit for specific application deadlines.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information concerning the
final permit may be obtained between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from: (1) Steven Rapp (617-
918-1551) or Roger Janson (617-918-1621), Office of Ecosystem
Protection, EPA-NE, 1 Congress St., Suite 1100 (mail code: CMP),
Boston, MA 02114-2023; e-mail:
Rapp.Steve@epa.gov or Janson.Roger@epa.gov; (2) Mr. Paul Hogan or Ms. Kathleen. Keohane,
[[Page 53664]]
NPDES Permit Unit, MA DEP, 627 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608; e-
mail: Paul.Hogan@state.ma.us or Kathleen.Keohane@state.ma.us; and (3)
Mr. Jeff Andrews, NH DES, Wastewater Engineering Bureau, P.O. Box 95,
Concord, NH 03302-0095; e-mail: jandrews@des.state.nh.us. Additionally,
the Fact Sheet, response to comments, RGP, and other information, such
as the suggested notice of intent (NOI) form can be accessed on the
EPA-NE Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region1/npdes/mass.html#dgp and
http://www.epa.gov/region1/npdes/newhampshire.html#dgp.
Dated: August 31, 2005.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, Region 1.
[FR Doc. 05-17927 Filed 9-8-05; 8:45 am]
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