[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 90 (Thursday, May 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 21995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09508]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R06-OW-2017-0217; FRL-9961-96-Region 6]
Notice of Proposed NPDES General Permit; Proposed NPDES General
Permit for New and Existing Sources and New Dischargers in the Offshore
Subcategory of the Oil and Gas Extraction Category for the Western
Portion of the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico
(GMG290000)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Water Division Director of Region 6 today proposes to
reissue the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
General Permit No. GMG290000 for existing and new sources and new
dischargers in the Offshore Subcategory of the Oil and Gas Extraction
Point Source Category, located in and discharging to the Outer
Continental Shelf offshore of Louisiana and Texas. The discharge of
produced water to that portion of the Outer Continental Shelf from
Offshore Subcategory facilities located in the territorial seas of
Louisiana and Texas is also authorized by this permit.
This draft permit proposes to retain, with certain modifications,
the limitations and conditions of the existing 2012 issued permit (2012
permit). The 2012 permit limitations conform with the Oil and Gas
Offshore Subcategory Guidelines and contain additional requirements to
assess impacts from the discharge of produced water to the marine
environment, as required by section 403(c) of the Clean Water Act.
DATES: Comments must be received by July 10, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R06-
OW-2017-0217 to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. EPA
may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish
to make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents
located outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please
visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Evelyn Rosborough, Region 6, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-
2733.Telephone: (214) 665-7515. Email: [email protected].
A complete draft permit and a fact sheet more fully explaining the
proposal may be obtained online from the Federal eRulemaking Portal by
accessing the Docket listed above or from Ms. Rosborough. In addition,
the Agency's current administrative record on the proposal is available
for examination at the Region's Dallas offices during normal working
hours after providing Ms. Rosborough 24 hours advance notice.
PUBLIC HEARING: Public meetings and hearings on the proposed permit
will be held during the comment period. EPA will publish public hearing
times and places in the following newspapers: Houston Chronicle and New
Orleans Advocate. The meetings will include a presentation on the
proposed permit followed by the opportunity for questions and answers.
The public hearings will be held in accordance with the requirements of
40 CFR 124.12. At the public hearing, any person may submit oral or
written statements and data concerning the proposed permit. Any person
who cannot attend one of the public hearings may still submit written
comments, which have the same weight as comments made at the public
hearing, through the end of the public comment period.
Public meeting and hearing times and places could be found online
from the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov with
Docket ID No. listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Other statutory and regulatory requirements are discussed in the
fact sheet that include: Oil Spill Requirement; Ocean Discharge
Criteria Evaluation; Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act;
National Environmental Policy Act; Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries
Conservation and Management Act; Endangered Species Act; State Water
Quality Standards and State Certification; Coastal Zone Management Act;
Paperwork Reduction Act; and Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Dated: April 7, 2017.
David F. Garcia,
Deputy Director, Water Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-09508 Filed 5-10-17; 8:45 am]
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