[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24874-24875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10736]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0782; ER-FRL-8996-7]
Initiation of Scoping for an Environmental Assessment (EA)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Initiation of Scoping.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42
U.S.C. 4321-4307h), the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and EPA's regulations for
implementing NEPA (40 CFR part 6), EPA will prepare an Environmental
Assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental impacts related
to the reissuance of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) General Permit for Discharges from Construction
Activities. The EA will evaluate the potential environmental impacts
from the discharge of pollutants associated with stormwater runoff from
construction activities greater than one acre, where EPA is the
permitting authority. EPA will use the information in the EA to
determine whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
This notice initiates the scoping process by inviting comments from
Federal, State, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and the public to
help identify the environmental issues and reasonable alternatives to
be examined in the EA. The scoping process will inform the preparation
of the EA, which will be made available for public comment.
DATES: Comments must be received by May 27, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit scoping comments to the Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2010-0782 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments by clicking on ``Help'' or ``FAQs.''
Mail: Attn: CGP Scoping Comments, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Mail Code: 2252A, Washington, DC 20460.
Courier: Attn: CGP Scoping Comments, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Rm. 7241C, Washington, DC 20004, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 202-564-0072, ATTN: CGP Scoping Comments.
Comments should be received within 30 days of the date of the
publication of the Proposed Construction General Permit in the Federal
Register. 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 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 FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Trice, NEPA Compliance
Division, Office of Federal Activities, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Mail Code: 2252A, Washington, DC
20460. Telephone: (202) 564-6646.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA is seeking public comment to determine
the scope of environmental issues and
[[Page 24875]]
reasonable alternatives to be addressed in the EA on the reissuance of
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general
permit for stormwater discharges from construction activities that are
greater than one acre. EPA invites the public to submit comments
through Regulations.gov or by mail or fax to the address cited in the
ADDRESSES section during the 30-day comment period following the
publication of the Proposed Construction General Permit in the Federal
Register.
Since 1992, EPA has issued a series of NPDES Construction General
Permits (CGP) that cover areas where EPA is the permitting authority.
At present, EPA is the permitting authority in four states (Idaho,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Mexico), the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, all U.S. territories with the exception of the
Virgin Islands, federal facilities in four states (Colorado, Delaware,
Vermont, and Washington), most Indian lands and a few other
specifically designated activities in specific states (e.g., oil and
gas activities in Texas and Oklahoma). EPA's current CGP became
effective on June 30, 2008 (see 74 FR 40338) and will expire on June
30, 2011. (Note: On April 25, 2011, EPA proposed extending the
expiration of the 2008 CGP until January 31, 2012. See 76 FR 22891.) On
April 25, 2011, EPA proposed for public comment the draft National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit for stormwater
discharges from large and small construction activities. 76 FR 22882.
The proposed permit would replace the 2008 CGP, as well as the 2003 CGP
for construction sites still covered under that administratively
continued permit. EPA proposes to issue the construction general permit
for five (5) years, and to provide permit coverage to eligible existing
and new construction projects in all areas of the country where EPA is
the NPDES permitting authority.
EPA is currently planning to analyze two alternatives in the EA: No
Action, that is not issuing the CGP; and the proposed action, which is
issuing the draft CGP implementing the technology-based Effluent
Limitation Guidelines and New Source Performance Standards (C&D Rule).
The C&D Rule was issued by EPA for the construction and development
industry on December 1, 2009. These requirements include (1) non-
numeric effluent limitations that apply to all permitted discharges
from construction sites in order to minimize the discharge of
pollutants, and (2) a numeric effluent limit that applies to sites over
10 acres. The EA will analyze the potential environmental impacts of
both alternatives on threatened and endangered species, water quality,
and historic properties.
Dated: April 28, 2011.
Robert W. Hargrove,
Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 2011-10736 Filed 5-2-11; 8:45 am]
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