[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 442-445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-31453]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2007-1156; FRL-8760-3]
RIN 2040-2A03
Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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[[Page 443]]
SUMMARY: EPA announces the availability of the completed Cruise Ship
Discharge Assessment Report, which assesses five cruise ship waste
streams (i.e., sewage, graywater, oily bilge water, solid waste, and
hazardous waste). EPA prepared and invited public comment on the draft
Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report as part of its response to a
petition submitted by the Bluewater Network on behalf of a number of
environmental advocacy organizations. Today's action is intended to
complete this portion of EPA's response to the petition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura S. Johnson, Oceans and Coastal
Protection Division, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
(4504T), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 566-1273; fax number: (202) 566-1546; e-mail
address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Interested Entities
Entities potentially interested in today's notice are those who are
interested in or addressing cruise ship waste streams. Categories and
entities interested in today's notice include:
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Category Examples of interested entities
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Federal Government.................... U.S. Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S.
Department of Justice.
State/Local/Tribal Government......... Governments interested in or addressing cruise ship waste streams.
Industry and General Public........... Cruise industry, 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. How Can I Get Copies of This Document and Other Related Information?
1. Document Electronic Access. To obtain a copy of the report
entitled Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report, please access our Web
site at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/cruise_ships/disch_assess.html.
2. Federal Register Docket. EPA has established a public docket for
this notice under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2007-1156. The public docket
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this notice and
other information related to this notice. The public docket does not
include information claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Water Docket in the
EPA Docket Center.
3. Federal Register Electronic Access. You may access this Federal
Register document electronically through the EPA Internet under the
``Federal Register '' listings at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
II. Background
Cruise ships operate in every ocean worldwide, often in pristine
coastal waters and sensitive marine ecosystems. Cruise ship operators
provide amenities to their passengers that are similar to those of
luxury resort hotels, including pools, hair salons, restaurants, and
dry cleaners. As a result, cruise ships have the potential to generate
wastes similar in volume and character to those generated by hotels.
In March 2000, an environmental advocacy group called the Bluewater
Network, representing 53 environmental organizations, submitted a
petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requesting
that EPA identify and take regulatory action on measures to address
pollution by cruise ships. Specifically, the petition requested an in-
depth assessment of the volumes and characteristics of cruise ship
waste streams; analysis of their potential impact on water quality, the
marine environment, and human health; examination of existing federal
regulations governing cruise ship waste streams; and formulation of
recommendations on how to better control and regulate these waste
streams. The petition included specific requests related to sewage,
graywater, oily bilge water, solid wastes, and hazardous wastes, as
well as monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting. In addition, the
petition requested that EPA prepare a report of its investigations and
findings. An August 2000 addendum to the petition requested that EPA
examine and develop recommendations on how to address air pollution
from cruise ships.
EPA's full response to the petition and the addendum from Bluewater
Network was signed by EPA's Assistant Administrator for Water on
January 31, 2008, and can be accessed at the public docket established
for the Cruise Ship Discharge Assessment Report. (See Unit I.B.) As
part of this response, EPA prepared a draft Cruise Ship Discharge
Assessment Report (draft Assessment Report) assessing five primary
cruise ship waste streams, specifically, sewage, graywater, oily bilge
water, solid waste, and hazardous waste. For each waste stream, the
draft Assessment Report discusses (1) The nature and volume of the
waste stream generated; (2) existing federal regulations applicable to
the waste stream; (3) environmental management, including treatment, of
the waste stream; (4) potential adverse environmental impacts of the
waste stream; and (5) actions by the Federal Government to address the
waste stream.
On December 20, 2007, EPA published in the Federal Register a
notice of availability and request for public comment on this draft
Assessment Report (72 FR 72353). In addition to requesting comments on
the draft Assessment Report, EPA solicited input on options,
alternatives, and recommendations on how to address the waste streams
assessed in the draft Assessment Report. EPA extended the initial 45-
day comment period on the draft Assessment Report by 15 days in
response to public requests; the comment period ended on February 19,
2008. EPA received 26 comment letters during the comment period and
those letters can be accessed at the docket. (See Unit I.B. for
details.)
III. This Action
EPA announces the availability of the completed Cruise Ship
Discharge Assessment Report (Assessment Report). Today's action is
intended to complete this portion of EPA's response to the petition on
cruise ship pollution submitted by the Bluewater Network on behalf of a
number of environmental advocacy organizations.
[[Page 444]]
IV. Summary of Comments on the Draft Assessment Report
EPA received 26 comment letters on the draft Assessment Report.
Some comments related to information in the draft Assessment Report;
some comments provided options, alternatives, and recommendations on
how to address the waste streams discussed in the draft Assessment
Report. Many of the commenters expressed concern over the potential
environmental impacts of cruise ship waste streams. EPA carefully
considered all comments when completing the Assessment Report. Based on
these comments, EPA made changes to the draft Assessment Report to
clarify information and in some cases, added new information.
In particular, some commenters requested a fuller discussion of
efforts by state governments to regulate and manage cruise ship waste
streams. The completed Assessment Report includes an appendix with
relevant information regarding such efforts by state governments to
date. Other new information includes an additional section in each
chapter identifying a range of options and alternatives (regulatory or
non-regulatory) that address the five specified waste streams from
cruise ships. Inclusion of any particular option does not imply any EPA
recommendation or preference for future action, or that EPA has
determined that any of these options are necessary or feasible, or that
EPA believes a change to the status quo is warranted, or that EPA or
any other entity has the legal authority to implement that option.
In the completed Assessment Report, the options and alternatives
listed to address the specified cruise ship waste streams are based on
the public comments received, as well as other information gathered. A
number of commenters recommended changes to discharge standards and/or
geographic restrictions on discharges. Commenters also recommended
increased monitoring, reporting, inspections, and enforcement of cruise
ship waste stream discharges and management. Some commenters
recommended a careful evaluation of cumulative impacts of multiple
vessels discharging in one location. Other commenters recommended
careful consideration and/or identification of sensitive or at-risk
habitats when evaluating the potential impacts of discharges. These
recommendations have been incorporated into the options and
alternatives sections found at the end of each waste stream chapter of
the completed Assessment Report.
While some commenters requested regulatory action to implement
their recommendations for addressing cruise ship waste streams, EPA
does not commit, through the completed Assessment Report, to the
formulation of any Agency recommendations on whether, and if so how,
any existing regulations should be revised. Though the completed
Assessment Report identifies possible options and alternatives
representing a wide range of actions that could be taken to address the
five specific waste streams from cruise ships, EPA did not conduct an
analysis for each such discharge to determine if changes to the current
regulatory scheme are warranted. However, EPA is completing its
analysis of Alaska cruise ship sewage and graywater standards in a
separate assessment of the adequacy of those legislative standards
(which apply under special legislation only to those ships and to those
discharges).
As a part of a separate effort, recent legislation (Pub. L. 110-
299) directs EPA to conduct a study to evaluate the impacts of
discharges incidental to the normal operation of commercial fishing
vessels (regardless of size) and other non-recreational vessels less
than 79 feet in length. Except for ballast water, the incidental
discharges from those vessels are subject to a moratorium on National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting that expires
July 31, 2010.
Some commenters questioned the draft Assessment Report's focus on
Alaska and requested that similar assessments be conducted in other
geographic regions. While much of the information about the treatment
and discharge of sewage and graywater presented in the draft and
completed Assessment Reports was collected in Alaska, the Assessment
Report is not solely focused on conditions or impacts in Alaska. For
example, the sections on potential environmental impacts in the sewage
and graywater chapters compare these waste streams to national
standards and criteria. The information provided in the completed
Assessment Report should be helpful to stakeholders interested in
evaluating potential impacts on a regional or waterbody basis.
A number of commenters suggested that dilution should not be
considered in evaluating potential impacts of sewage and graywater
discharges from cruise ships. Other commenters suggested that dilution
is a very important part of such assessments, particularly when
discharges are from ships underway, and therefore should be discussed
earlier and more frequently in the sewage and graywater chapters. The
Assessment Report discussed dilution because it is relevant to
assessments of potential toxicity, and in some locations dilution is
relevant to a determination of whether receiving waters are attaining
concentration-based water quality standards. The Assessment Report's
discussion of dilution does not express any conclusion and should not
be read to imply that dilution addresses all potential environmental
impacts from these discharges.
Related to this, one commenter suggested that the evaluation of
Type II Marine Sanitation Devices for vessel sewage should always
include a discussion of dilution while ships are underway. While a
number of cruise lines have voluntarily agreed to discharge from a Type
II Marine Sanitation Device only when the vessel is underway and
offshore, as a practical matter, such restrictions are not required,
either as a matter of circumstance or by law.
Some commenters requested more information on potential treatment
technologies for sewage and graywater treatment, such as cost, space,
and safety information. More information on these technology options
will be made available at EPA's Web site (http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/cruise_ships/) upon completion of EPA's analysis of cruise ship
sewage and graywater discharges in Alaska waters.
One commenter noted that other waste streams and contaminants, such
as hull coating leachate, deck runoff, ballast water, viruses, and
pharmaceuticals, were not addressed in the draft Assessment Report. The
Bluewater Network petition made specific requests related to certain
identified cruise ship waste streams for which EPA was to conduct an
assessment and produce a report of the investigations and findings.
Those same five specified cruise ship waste streams from the petition
(sewage, graywater, oily bilge water, solid waste, and hazardous waste)
are assessed in the completed Assessment Report. There are a number of
other waste streams that may be generated onboard cruise ships, some of
which may be considered incidental to the normal operation of a vessel
(e.g., ballast water, deck runoff, hull coat leachate). In responding
to the petition, EPA did not attempt to assess such other waste
streams, and therefore, the completed Assessment Report does not
present an assessment of these other waste streams. There are EPA
efforts
[[Page 445]]
underway, however, that reach beyond the scope of this Assessment
Report. For information regarding EPA efforts relating to the
occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, visit EPA's
Web site at http://www.epa.gov.ppcp.
In a separate effort, EPA developed a Clean Water Act (CWA) general
permit that addresses a range of discharges incidental to the normal
operation of commercial vessels, including some of the additional
wastes identified by the preceding comment. By virtue of a court
decision, which vacated the EPA regulation that had excluded these
discharges from NPDES permitting, these discharges will become subject
to CWA permitting requirements as of February 6, 2009. Except for
ballast water, subsequent legislation (Pub. L. 110-299) exempts
commercial vessels shorter than 79 feet and commercial fishing vessels
(regardless of their size) from NPDES permitting requirements for these
discharges for a period of two years (during which time EPA has been
directed to conduct further study and analysis).
One commenter urged EPA and other federal agencies to work at the
international level on issues directly associated with discharges from
cruise ships and other ocean-going vessels. Numerous federal agencies
are presently working cooperatively through forums, such as the
International Maritime Organization, to enhance international
environmental protection standards. At present, the U.S. government is
simultaneously supporting efforts to enhance international standards
related to discharges of machinery space wastes, sewage, and garbage.
In addition, among other efforts, the U.S. government is also working
diligently to enhance and implement international standards relating to
air emissions from ships, including measures to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. This work is ongoing and extensive.
Dated: December 30, 2008.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. E8-31453 Filed 1-5-09; 8:45 am]
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