[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46804-46805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19681]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9447-9]


New York State Prohibition of Discharges of Vessel Sewage; 
Receipt of Petition and Tentative Affirmative Determination

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; Receipt of Petition and Tentative Affirmative 
Determination.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to Clean Water Act, 
Section 312(f)(3) (33 U.S.C. 1322(f)(3)), the State of New York has 
determined that the protection and enhancement of the quality of the 
Jamaica Bay in the New York City metropolitan area requires greater 
environmental protection, and has petitioned the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, for a determination that 
adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of 
sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for those waters, so 
that the State may completely prohibit the discharge from all vessels 
of any sewage, whether treated or not, into such waters.
    The New York State Department of Conservation (NYSDEC) on behalf of 
the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) has 
proposed to establish a Vessel Waste No-Discharge Zone (NDZ) for the 
Jamaica Bay that covers an area of approximately 20,000 acres (17,177 
acres of open water and 2,695 acres of upland islands and salt 
marshes). It is bounded on the west and northwest by Brooklyn, on the 
north and northeast by Queens. The northeastern and southeastern 
corners of the Bay are bordered by Nassau County. The northern shore of 
the Rockaway Peninsula, a part of Queens, forms the southern boundary. 
The Bay is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Rockaway Inlet 
and has a tidal range of approximately 5 to 6 feet. It measures 
approximately 10 miles at its widest point east to west and 
approximately 4 miles at its widest point north to south. The mean 
depth of the Bay is approximately 13 feet with maximum depths reaching 
30 to 50 feet in navigation channels and borrows pit areas. Eight 
tributaries empty into Jamaica Bay--Sheepshead Bay, Paerdegat Basin, 
Fresh Creek, Hendrix Creek, Spring Creek, Shellbank Basin, Bergen 
Basin, and Thurston Basin.

DATES: Comments regarding this tentative determination are due by 
September 2, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include ``Comments on 
Tentative Affirmative Decision for NYC JAMAICA BAY NDZ'' in the subject 
line of the message.
     Fax: 212-637-3891.
     Mail and Hand Delivery/Courier: Moses Chang, U.S. EPA 
Region 2, 290 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866. Deliveries 
are only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours of 
operation (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding federal 
holidays), and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Moses Chang, (212) 637-3867, e-mail 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the State of New 
York (NYS or State) has petitioned the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 2, (EPA) pursuant to section 312(f)(3) of 
Public Law 92-500 as amended by Public Law 95-217 and Public Law 100-4, 
that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and 
treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the 
open waters and tributaries of Jamaica Bay, so that the State may 
completely prohibit the discharge from all vessels of any sewage, 
whether treated or not, into such waters. Adequate pumpout facilities 
are defined as one pumpout station for 300-600 boats under the Clean 
Vessel Act: Pumpout Station and Dump Station Technical Guidelines 
(Federal Register, Vol. 59, No. 47, March 10, 1994).
    Jamaica Bay is the largest estuarine water body in the New York 
City metropolitan area and one of the largest coastal wetland 
ecosystems in New York State. The open waters and tributaries within 
Jamaica Bay provide important natural and recreational resources for 
boating and recreational activities that contribute significantly to 
the local and regional economy. In 2005, the Jamaica Bay Watershed 
Protection Plan (JBWPP) was put into motion by the City Council of New 
York City under Local Law 71 (LL 71). The objective of LL 71 is to 
ensure a holistic watershed approach toward restoring and maintaining 
the water quality and ecological integrity of the Bay. The JBWPP 
recommends management actions for protecting and improving the health 
of the Bay, e.g, adoption of appropriate regulations to mitigate the 
impacts of boat vessel waste discharges.
    Jamaica Bay is a component of the National Park Service's (NPS) 
Gateway National Recreation Area (GNRA). A significant portion of the 
Bay, approximately 9,100 acres, has also been designated by the NPS as 
the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and is designated by the New York State 
Department of State (NYSDOS) as a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife 
Habitat. The diversity of bird species and breeding habitats within the 
Bay were important factors in these designations. The Jamaica Bay 
Wildlife Refuge was also the first site to be designated by the 
National Audubon Society as an ``Important Bird Area.'' It is clear 
that Jamaica Bay is currently functioning as a regional habitat for 
many different species of wildlife. In combination with other water 
quality improvement initiatives, the NDZ designation will further 
enhance the recreational and ecological benefits of Jamaica Bay, 
potentially attracting more visitors to the Bay.
    In order for EPA to determine that adequate facilities for the safe 
and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are 
reasonably available for the New York State areas of the Jamaica Bay, 
the State must demonstrate that the pumpout-to-vessel ratio does not 
exceed 1:600.
    In its petition, the State described the recreational vessels that 
use the Bay, and the pumpout facilities that are available for their 
use. Based on a review of NYS Department of Motor Vehicle boat 
registrations, site visits to marinas and reviewing high resolution 
orthoimagery of Jamaica Bay, NYCDEP has determined that there are 
approximately 1,200 to 1,500 boats that utilize the Bay throughout the 
boating season. This number may include a significant number of 
transient vessels and not only boats that are permanently moored in 
Jamaica Bay.
    Jamaica Bay is primarily used for recreational boating with very 
little commercial traffic. The few commercial vessels that do enter the 
bay are primarily sightseeing and fishing vessels which, pursuant to 
New York City regulations, must use private boat pumpout services to 
unload sewage within the Bay. Therefore, the boat pumpouts provided by 
NYCDEP within Jamaica Bay are utilized for recreational vessels only.

[[Page 46805]]

    There are four vessel pumpout facilities available in the Jamaica 
Bay. Three of those are land-based pumpout facilities operated by 
NYCDEP, and the fourth is a 24-foot sewage pumpout vessel operated by 
New York/New Jersey Baykeeper, that serves vessels docked or anchored 
throughout the Bay. All four facilities provide the pumpout services 
free of charge. Given that approximately 1,500 recreational vessels use 
the Bay, the pumpout-to-vessel ratio for those vessels is 1:375 (i.e., 
4 facilities for 1,500 boats). Therefore, the pumpout facilities in 
Jamaica Bay satisfy the Clean Vessel Act criterion of 1 pumpout per 
300-600 vessels.
    A list of the facilities, phone numbers, locations, hours of 
operation, water depth and fee is provided as follows:

            List of Pumpouts in the Jamaica Bay NDZ Proposed Area Available for Recreational Vessels
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                                                                 Dates/days/
  Number          Name           Location         Contact          hours of       Water depth         Cost
                                                information       operation         (feet)
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1.........  Hudson River     Paerdegat Basin  718-251-9791;    May 1-Oct 31;             10-14  Free.
             Yacht Club.                       Channel 71.      daily, 10 AM-5
                                                                PM.
2.........  Coney Island     Shellbank Creek  718-743-0990;    May 1-Oct 31               8-10  Free.
             WWTP.                             Channel 13.      15; 24 hrs a
                                                                day.
3.........  Rockaway WWTP..  Jamaica Bay....  718-474-3663;    May 1-Oct 31              10-14  Free.
                                               Channel 68.      15; 24 hrs a
                                                                day.
4.........  NY/NJ            Jamaica Bay....  732-337-9262;    Memorial Day to             N/A  Free.
             Baykeeper's 24                    Channel 9.       Labor Day;
             foot sewage-                                       Sunrise to
             pumpout vessel.                                    sunset.
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    Based on the above, EPA hereby proposes to make an affirmative 
determination that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary 
removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are available for the 
open waters and tributaries of the Jamaica Bay of the New York City 
metropolitan area.
    A 30-day period for public comment has been established on this 
matter, and EPA invites any comments relevant to its proposed 
determination.

    Dated: July 21, 2011.
Judith A. Enck,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2011-19681 Filed 8-2-11; 8:45 am]
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