[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11980-11983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4989]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Chapter I
[Docket EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0119; FRL-9275-4]
Stakeholder Input: Listening Session to Provide Information and
Solicit Suggestions for Regulations Forthcoming Under the Clean Water
Act
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of listening sessions.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is today announcing plans to hold ``listening
sessions'' on March 18 and April 29, 2011, to provide information about
the Clean Boating Act (CBA), and to gather recommendations from the
public for forthcoming regulation of recreational vessels under the
Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 312(o). The listening sessions will be
held in Annapolis, MD. EPA may hold additional listening sessions in
other locations if there is sufficient interest. The CBA, which was
passed by
[[Page 11981]]
Congress and signed into law in 2008, directs EPA to promulgate
regulations to establish management practices and associated standards
of performance for discharges incidental to the normal operation of
recreational vessels (e.g., bilgewater, ballast water, and graywater).
Because these regulations will affect the owners and operators of
approximately 17 million recreational vessels, EPA seeks to inform the
general public and regulated community of its plans for development of
the regulations, and to hear the views of the general public, the
recreational boating community, State agencies, and other interested
stakeholders.
DATES: The listening sessions will be held at 210 Holiday Court,
Annapolis, Maryland 21401, on March 18 and April 29, 2011, at 7 p.m.
EST. Any additional listening sessions that are scheduled will be
published in a forthcoming Federal Register document. If you would
prefer to provide written comments, EPA is asking for comments or
relevant information from the interested public to be submitted to the
docket on or before June 2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your statements or input, identified by Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0119 by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected]. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2011-0119.
Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail
Code: 2822-1T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460,
Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0119.
Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA Docket Center, EPA West
Building Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460,
ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0119. Such deliveries are only accepted during
the Docket's normal hours of operation (see below), and special
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2011-
0119. 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 or e-mail. 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, as well as 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/
DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC.
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.
Public Listening Session: EPA intends to hold public listening
sessions to provide information to and gather information from the
public to assist EPA in the development of regulations for recreational
vessels. Written and oral statements will be accepted at the public
listening sessions. Input generated from the public listening sessions
will be compiled and archived in Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0119,
found at http://www.regulations.gov. The public listening session will
include an EPA discussion of the background of the CBA, a discussion of
the intent of the proposed regulation, and EPA's general approach to
the regulatory process.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the CBA
or on the listening sessions, contact Brian Rappoli at 202-566-1548, or
e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
Today's document does not contain or establish any regulatory
requirements. Rather, it announces public listening sessions and seeks
public input for use in developing proposed regulations under the CWA
Section 312(o).
Today's document will be of interest to the general public, State
regulatory agencies, other Federal agencies, environmental groups, and
owners or operators of recreational vessels.
B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of
the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on a disk
or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM
as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the document by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date, and
page number).
Follow directions.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide
reasons to support your views.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline
identified. You may submit your comments electronically, by mail,
through hand delivery/courier, or in person by
[[Page 11982]]
attending the public listening sessions being held on March 18 and
April 22, 2011.
II. Background
The potential environmental impacts from discharges incidental to
the normal operation of recreational vessels are broad. Recreational
boating activities can introduce non-indigenous invasive species to new
aquatic environments through the discharge of encrusting organisms from
boat hulls, boat trailers, fishing gear, and through water retained by
live wells and fishing buckets, recreational gear, ballast water, and
bilge water. Boating activities can also introduce toxic chemicals and
other pollutants. For example, graywater discharges from the vessel
galley, sinks, or showers can contribute to eutrophication, enhanced
turbidity, and introduce pathogenic organisms to the surrounding water.
Coatings used to deter organism growth on vessel hulls can release
heavy metals and/or other biocides, which can lead to acute or chronic
toxicity in non-targeted organisms. Bilgewater can contain oils,
dissolved heavy metals, and other chemical constituents that can result
in toxic effects on aquatic organisms, contribute to eutrophication,
and have negative aesthetic impacts.
The CBA creates a new section 402(r) of the CWA to exclude
recreational vessels from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System permitting requirements. In addition, it adds a new CWA section
312(o) directing EPA to develop regulations that identify the
discharges incidental to the normal operation of recreational vessels
(other than a discharge of sewage), for which it is reasonable and
practicable to develop management practices to mitigate adverse impacts
on waters of the United States. Those regulations need to include
management practices, as well as performance standards for each such
practice. Following promulgation of the EPA performance standards, new
CWA section 312(o) directs the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to
promulgate regulations governing the design, construction,
installation, and use of the management practices. Following
promulgation of the USCG regulations, new CWA section 312(o)(6)
prohibits the operation of a recreational vessel or any discharge
incidental to their normal operation in waters of the United States and
waters of the contiguous zone (i.e., 12 miles into the ocean), unless
the vessel owner or operator is using an applicable management practice
meeting the EPA-developed performance standards.
To be successful, the management practices and performance
standards to be developed under the Act will need to be technically
effective in reducing or controlling discharges, but also will need to
be readily implemented by the recreational boat owner.
To help the public prepare for the listening session, the following
background information is provided. Please note that the information
presented in this section is in summary form; for more detail, please
refer to the information available at http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/vessel/CBA/about.cfm.
A. Why is EPA developing proposed regulations for operational
discharges from recreational vessels?
In July of 2008, Congress passed the Clean Boating Act of 2008
(Pub. L. 110-288). The CBA directs EPA to promulgate regulations to
establish management practices and associated standards of performance
for discharges incidental to the normal operation of recreational
vessels.
B. What vessels are subject to the CBA?
The CBA defines recreational vessels as vessels: (1) Manufactured
primarily for pleasure, (2) used primarily for pleasure, or (3) vessels
leased, rented, or chartered for pleasure (CWA section 502(25)). The
definition specifically excludes vessels that are subject to USCG
inspection and either engaged in commercial use or carry paying
passengers. EPA anticipates that the proposed regulation will apply to
recreational vessels including, but not limited to: personal
watercraft, canoes, kayaks, recreational fishing boats, sail boats, ski
boats, power boats and large yachts.
C. What are ``Management Practices'' (MPs) and who will they apply to?
EPA anticipates the proposed regulation will consist of a number of
MPs that will describe practices to reduce environmental pollution from
recreational vessels. Each vessel owner/operator would be responsible
for implementing the MPs applicable to the types of discharges their
vessel creates. The owner/operator is not responsible for those MPs for
discharges that their vessel does not create (for example, a sailboat
owner is not responsible for the engine maintenance MPs if the sailboat
does not have an engine).
D. If I own a recreational vessel, what will I need to do?
At this time, we are only seeking public input to assist us in
developing the regulations. Under the CBA, the regulations are to be
developed in three phases: Phase 1, EPA develops MPs for incidental
discharges from recreational vessels; Phase 2, EPA develops performance
standards for the MPs; and Phase 3, USCG develops regulations requiring
use of the MPs. Following promulgation of the USCG Phase 3 regulations,
discharges incidental to the normal operation of recreational vessels
into waters of the United States or the contiguous zone that are not in
accordance with the management practices and performance standards will
be prohibited. Violations of the CWA section 312(o) regulations will be
subject to fines under the CWA.
E. When will this regulation be enforced and who will be enforcing it?
The regulations will be enforceable upon finalization of the Phase
3 regulations by the USCG. The USCG will be the Federal agency
enforcing MPs and performance standards. Relevant State agencies can,
at their discretion, also enforce these practices and standards under
CWA section 312(j) and 312(k).
III. Request for Public Input and Comment
Today's document is being issued to inform the public that EPA is
in the process of developing regulations under the CWA section 312(o)
and to solicit input from the public. EPA is accepting information
during the listening sessions scheduled for March 18 and April 29,
2011, and/or by submission of written comments or relevant information
to gain early public input on development of the MPs. Additionally, EPA
will be conducting a series of weekly ``webinars'' to facilitate public
participation. More information about the webinar series can be found
at http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/vessel/CBA/. EPA is
also seeking input from the public on whether to hold additional
listening sessions in other locations (e.g., Gulf of Mexico, Great
Lakes region, and West Coast).
In addition to requesting recommendations for MPs that should be
considered for inclusion in the forthcoming proposed rule, EPA is
specifically requesting comment on the following:
(1) Are there any guidances, supporting documentation, or
communication strategies that you would recommend EPA develop to help
vessel owner/operators better understand and comply with the MPs being
developed by EPA? If so, please suggest your approaches.
[[Page 11983]]
(2) Are there specific discharges (e.g., ballast water) or broad
categories of discharges (e.g., oily wastes) for which EPA should
consider developing MPs?
(3) Are there specific effluent limitations or best management
practices that EPA should consider incorporating into the forthcoming
regulations? If so, please provide the recommendation and any
supporting information.
(4) Are there relevant Federal, State, or international permits,
rules, or guidances EPA should consider using to inform decisions being
made for the CWA section 312(o)? If so, please identify the specific
sections of the permits, rules, or guidances you believe EPA should
consider.
Dated: February 24, 2011.
Denise Keehner,
Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds.
[FR Doc. 2011-4989 Filed 3-3-11; 8:45 am]
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