[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 53 (Thursday, March 19, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14370-14371]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-06365]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9923-75-Region 5]
Sole Source Aquifer Designation of the Mahomet Aquifer System in
East-Central Illinois
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final determination.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) Section 1424(e) and in response to a petition by a
coalition of cities, a town, villages, and a public university in east-
central Illinois, the Regional Administrator for Region 5 of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that a portion of
the Mahomet Aquifer System in east-central Illinois is a sole or
principal source of drinking water and if contaminated, would create a
significant hazard to public health. As a result of this action, all
projects receiving Federal financial assistance are subject to review
by EPA regarding whether such projects may contaminate the designated
aquifer system through a recharge zone so as to create a significant
hazard to public health.
DATES: This determination is effective immediately.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Spaulding, EPA Region 5, Water
Division, Ground Water and Drinking Water Branch, by mail at 77 W.
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604; by telephone at (312) 886-9262;
or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 1424(e) of the SDWA provides as follows:
If the Administrator determines, on his own initiative or upon
petition, that an area has an aquifer which is the sole or principal
drinking water source for the area and which, if contaminated, would
create a significant hazard to public health, he shall publish
notice of that determination in the Federal Register. After the
publication of any such notice, no commitment for Federal financial
assistance (through a grant, contract, loan guarantee, or otherwise)
may be entered into for any project which the Administrator
determines may contaminate such aquifer through a recharge zone so
as to create a significant hazard to public health, but a commitment
for Federal financial assistance may, if authorized under another
provision of law, be entered into to plan or design the project to
assure that it will not so contaminate the aquifer.
42 U.S.C. 300h-3(e). The authority to designate an aquifer under this
section has been delegated to the Regional Administrator.
EPA in general considers a ``sole or principal source'' or sole
source aquifer (SSA) to be an aquifer or aquifer system that is needed
to supply fifty percent or more of the drinking water ``for the aquifer
service area,'' and for which there is no reasonably available
alternative source or sources that could physically, legally, and
economically supply those dependent upon the aquifer. See U.S. EPA,
1987, Sole Source Aquifer Designation Decision Process, Petition Review
Guidance (``EPA Petition Review Guidance''). A portion of an aquifer
can be designated if it is hydrogeologically separate from the rest of
the aquifer. Id. at 6. Similarly, a system of hydrogeologically
connected aquifers can be designated as an SSA. Id.
On December 12, 2012, EPA received a petition to designate a
portion of the Mahomet Aquifer System in east-central Illinois as an
SSA from the City of Champaign and several partners, including the
Cities of Urbana, Delavan, and Gilman; the Town of Normal; the Villages
of Savoy, Mansfield, and Mahomet; and the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. Following receipt of the petition, additional
entities expressed support for the petition, including Champaign and
DeWitt Counties; the Cities of Clinton and Watseka; the Villages of
Armington and Waynesville; and the Illinois-American Water Company.
In response to the petition, EPA published a notice of its intent
to designate a portion of the Mahomet Aquifer System in east-central
Illinois as an SSA and announced two Public Hearings in Champaign,
Illinois on May 13, 2014, and in Morton, Illinois on May 14, 2014. This
notice was published in two newspapers of general circulation in the
area: The Champaign News Gazette and Peoria Journal Star, on March 12,
2014. This notice also announced the request for written comments
during the public comment period from March 13, 2014 to June 12, 2014.
The public comments received by EPA generally support designation.
EPA also received significant comments and additional scientific
studies on the geology of the Mahomet Aquifer System during the comment
period. These comments and additional studies required extensive
evaluation and consideration. EPA has responded to the public comments
in a document titled: ``Responsiveness Summary--Sole Source Aquifer
Petition for the Mahomet Aquifer System in East-Central Illinois--March
2015.'' The Responsiveness Summary and other relevant documents are
available for public inspection during normal business hours at the
following locations: Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green St.,
Champaign, Illinois; Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St.,
Bloomington, Illinois; Pekin Public Library, 301 S. Fourth St., Pekin,
Illinois; Havana Public Library, 201 W. Adams St., Havana, Illinois;
Watseka Public Library, 201 S. 4th St., Watseka, Illinois; U.S. EPA's
Region 5 Office Library, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois.
II. Description of Mahomet Aquifer System in East-Central Illinois
The Mahomet Aquifer is located in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and
possibly West Virginia. This SSA designation is for a hydraulically and
hydrogeologically distinct portion of the aquifer system in east-
central Illinois bounded in the east by the Iroquois River and the
North Fork of the Vermilion River and in the west by the Illinois
River. Within the SSA area, deposits of saturated sand or sand and
gravel found within the Quaternary
[[Page 14371]]
deposits are aquifers that provide most (approximately 94 percent) of
the water used in this region. These Quaternary deposits directly
overlie the bedrock and bury features on the bedrock surface. As a
result of geological processes that have shaped the region, the
hydrogeology is very complex.
To define the boundary of the designated Mahomet Aquifer System,
EPA verified that the 500-foot contour line and saturated thicknesses
of the Mahomet Aquifer best represent the buried valleys that contain
enough sand and gravel to be significant sources of groundwater. The
Mahomet Aquifer has been mapped by studies that used boreholes to
penetrate into the top surface of the Mahomet sand, providing greater
accuracy on the extent of the aquifer than the bedrock surface alone.
Recharge of the Mahomet Aquifer occurs throughout the designated SSA
area. While much of the eastern portion of the SSA area is confined by
low-permeability glacial till, studies demonstrate that recharge of the
principal aquifer is occurring in this area, even though it may be
occurring at a low rate. Recharge of the Mahomet Aquifer occurs at a
much greater rate in the western portion of the SSA area. In addition,
there are studies documenting connections between the aquifer zones in
the shallower formations, namely the Glasford Formation, and the
Mahomet Aquifer within the SSA area. For these reasons and those
explained in more detail in the Responsiveness Summary, EPA is
designating the entire aquifer system within the SSA area.
III. Basis for Determination
In accordance with Section 1424(e) of the SDWA, 42 U.S.C. 300h-
3(e), the Regional Administrator considered the following factors to
determine whether the petition should be granted: (1) Whether the
Mahomet Aquifer System in east-central Illinois is the area's sole or
principal source of drinking water; and (2) whether contamination of
the aquifer system would create a significant hazard to public health.
Based on information available to EPA, the Regional Administrator makes
the following findings \1\ in favor of designating the Mahomet Aquifer
System in east-central Illinois as an SSA:
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\1\ The findings that support designation are set out more fully
in an EPA publication titled: ``Support Document for Proposed
Designation of the Mahomet Aquifer System as a Sole Source.'' This
document is available to the public at the locations identified
above.
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(1) The Mahomet Aquifer System provides approximately 94 percent of
the drinking water to the service area today. This exceeds the 50
percent usage criteria for SSA designation in EPA's guidance. EPA
Petition Review Guidance at 8. Moreover, demand on this aquifer system
is expected to increase in the future. The Mahomet Aquifer System
currently provides an estimated 53 million gallons per day (mgd) of
drinking water to approximately 120 public water supplies and thousands
of rural wells, together serving over 500,000 people. There currently
are no intakes from surface waters for public water supplies within the
aquifer service area.
(2) Over 50 percent of the population in the Mahomet Aquifer System
service area would be unable to find either a physically available or
economically feasible alternative source of drinking water should the
aquifer system become contaminated. Potential alternative sources of
drinking water near the proposed aquifer service area include: (1) Sand
and gravel aquifers outside the SSA area; (2) bedrock aquifers; (3)
reservoirs; and (4) free-flowing streams and rivers. Due to low
potential yields and poor water quality, bedrock aquifers are not a
viable alternative source of drinking water. Similarly, nearby water
supply reservoirs lack enough additional capacity to serve as viable
alternative drinking water sources. Finally, for over 70 percent of the
communities that are near enough to use sand and gravel aquifers
outside the SSA area or free-flowing streams and rivers to deliver
drinking water of the same or better quality, it would be economically
infeasible to do so.
(3) Contamination of the Mahomet Aquifer System would create a
significant hazard to public health for east-central Illinois. The
Mahomet Aquifer System is a significant water resource that is
critically important to the safety and economic development of the
area. It is the primary source of drinking water for over 100
communities and tens of thousands of rural homeowners located within 14
Illinois counties. In addition, the Mahomet Aquifer System furnishes
water to many self-supplied agricultural, industrial, institutional,
and commercial users that rely upon it for cooling, process water, and
row-crop irrigation, providing an estimated 170 mgd to these users.
IV. Information Relevant to the Designation
The information referenced to make this designation is available to
the public and may be inspected during normal business hours at EPA
Region 5 Library, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
In addition, documents related to this designation are available at
area public libraries listed above.
V. Project Review
Following publication of this determination, ``no commitment for
Federal financial assistance (through a grant, contract, loan
guarantee, or otherwise) may be entered into for any project which the
Administrator determines may contaminate such aquifer through a
recharge zone so as to create a significant hazard to public health,
but a commitment for Federal financial assistance may, if authorized
under another provision of law, be entered into to plan or design the
project to assure that it will not so contaminate the aquifer.'' 42
U.S.C. 300h-3(e). EPA may review any such proposed projects and, where
possible, make suggestions or recommendations to plan or design the
project to ensure it will not contaminate the aquifer system so as to
create a significant hazard to public health. Proposed projects that
are funded entirely by state, local, or private concerns are not
subject to SSA review by EPA.
The project review area for this SSA consists of the designated SSA
area plus three watersheds adjacent to the designated SSA area that
provide recharge to the Mahomet Aquifer System. These watersheds are
the Sugar Creek, the Sangamon River near Fisher, and the Tributary to
the Middle Fork Vermilion River. A map of both the SSA area and the
project review area can be found at the locations listed above.
VI. Conclusion
Today's action designates the Mahomet Aquifer System in east-
central Illinois as an SSA. The designated SSA area and project review
area are located in the following counties in Illinois: Cass,
Champaign, DeWitt, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Mason,
McLean, Menard, Piatt, Tazewell, Vermilion, and Woodford. Maps
depicting the designated SSA and project review areas are available to
the public at the locations listed above.
Dated: March 11, 2015.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2015-06365 Filed 3-18-15; 8:45 am]
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