[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 179 (Tuesday, September 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55472-55474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22062]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0170; FRL-9916-71-OW]
RIN 2040-ZA18
Final 2012 and Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plans
and 2012 and 2013 Annual Effluent Guidelines Review Reports
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the combined Final
2012 and Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plans and EPA's
2012 and 2013 Annual Effluent Guidelines Review Reports. This notice
solicits public comment and input on the Preliminary 2014 Plan and the
2012 and 2013 Annual Review Reports.
The Clean Water Act (``CWA'' or ``Act'') requires EPA to biennially
publish a plan for new and revised effluent guidelines, after public
notice and comment, which identifies any new or existing industrial
categories selected for effluent guidelines rulemaking and provides a
schedule for such rulemaking. EPA typically publishes a preliminary
plan upon which the public is invited to comment, and then publishes a
final plan about a year later.
DATES: Submit comments on or before November 17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments on the 2012 and 2013 Annual Reviews and
the Preliminary 2014 Plan identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2014-
0170, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OW-2014-0170 .
Fax: (202) 566--9744.
Mail: Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency,
Mailcode: 2822T, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0170, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334,
1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0170. Such deliveries are accepted only during the
Docket Center's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements
should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments on the 2012 and 2013 Annual
Reviews and Preliminary 2014 Plan to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0170.
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
public docket without change and could be made available online at
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 www.regulations.gov or email. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means that EPA will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email
comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your
email 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 and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA
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cannot read your comment because of technical difficulties and cannot
contact you for clarification, EPA might 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. For
additional instructions on submitting comments, go to the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
Submitting Confidential Business Information
Do not submit confidential business information (CBI) to EPA
through www.regulations.gov or email. Any CBI you wish to submit should
be sent via a trackable physical method, such as Federal Express or
United Parcel Service, to Mr. M. Ahmar Siddiqui, Document Control
Officer, Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T), Room 6231S EPA
West, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. A CBI
package should be double-wrapped, so that the CBI is in one package,
which is itself inside another package. 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 copy of the material that includes information claimed as CBI,
a copy of the material that does not contain the information claimed as
CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information
marked as CBI will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR Part 2.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the index at
www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information whose disclosure
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are
available either electronically at www.regulations.gov or in hard copy
at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center, 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William F. Swietlik, Engineering
and Analysis Division, Office of Water, 4303T, U. S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 566-1129; fax number: (202) 566-1053; email
address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Supporting Documents
Key documents providing additional information about EPA's 2012 and
2013 Annual Reviews and the Final 2012 and Preliminary 2014 Plans
include the 2012 and 2013 Annual Effluent Guidelines Review Reports and
the combined Final 2012 and Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines
Program Plans.
B. How can I get copies of these documents and other related
information?
1. Docket. EPA has established official public dockets for these
actions under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0170. The official public
docket is the collection of materials that is available for public
viewing at the Water Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA
West, Room 3334, 1301Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
2. Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document
electronically through the United States government online source for
Federal regulations at http://www.regulations.gov.
3. Internet access. Copies of the supporting documents are
available at http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/304m/index.cfm.
C. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
Follow directions--The agency might ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree, suggest alternatives,
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. How is this document organized?
The outline of this notice follows:
A. Legal Authority
B. Summary of the Final 2012 and Preliminary 2014 Effluent
Guidelines Program Plans
C. Public Comments
D. Requests for Public Comment and Information
A. Legal Authority
This notice is published under the authority of the CWA, 33 U.S.C.
1251, et seq., and in particular sections 301(d), 304(b), 304(g),
304(m), 306, 307(b)and 308 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311(d), 1314(b),
1314(g), 1314(m), 1316, 1317(b), and 1318.
B. Summary of the Final 2012 and Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines
Program Plans
The Final 2012 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan (``Final 2012
Plan'') and the Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan
(``Preliminary 2014 Plan'') were prepared pursuant to Clean Water Act
section 304(m). The Plans provide a summary of EPA's review of effluent
guidelines and pretreatment standards, consistent with CWA sections
301(d), 304(b), 304(g), 304(m), and 307(b) and EPA's evaluation of
indirect discharges without categorical pretreatment standards to
identify potential new categories for pretreatment standards under CWA
section 307(b). From these reviews, the Plans identify any new or
existing industrial categories selected for effluent guidelines
rulemakings, and provide a schedule for such rulemakings. In addition,
the Plans present any new or existing categories of industry selected
for further review and analysis.
Both Plans are supported by EPA's 2012 and 2013 Annual Reviews
(U.S. EPA, 2014a and 2014b), which also build on prior reviews,
including EPA's 2011 Annual Review (U.S. EPA, 2012a). The 2012 Annual
Review includes additional hazard data sources and
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supporting analyses aimed at identifying new pollutants of concern and
identifying wastewater discharges in industrial categories that may not
be currently regulated by effluent limitations guidelines and
standards. EPA's 2011, 2012 and 2013 Annual Review Reports are a part
of the Annual Review record and can be found at http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/304m/index.cfm.
C. Public Comments
EPA also considers public comments and information submitted by
stakeholders in response to the Effluent Limitations Guidelines Program
Plan, and submitted in response to specific solicitations made in this
Notice (see Request for Comment and Information below). A summary of
the public comments and stakeholder input on the Preliminary 2012 Plan
is provided in the Final 2012 Plan and a detailed listing of all
commenters, and the subjects upon which they commented, is provided in
the 2012 Annual Review Report. All submitted comment letters,
attachments and information are made a part of the record for the
Effluent Guidelines Plan and are publicly accessible at
www.regulations.gov.
D. Requests for Public Comment and Information
For the Preliminary 2014 Effluent Limitations Guidelines Plan, EPA
requests comments and information on the following topics:
1. Data Sources and Methodologies--In General
EPA solicits comments on whether it used the correct evaluation
factors, criteria, and data sources in conducting its 2012 and 2013
Annual Reviews and in developing the Plans. EPA also solicits comment
on other data sources EPA might use in its annual reviews and biennial
planning process.
2. The Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan
EPA solicits comments on its Preliminary 2014 Plan, including the
data and information used to support the findings, actions and
conclusions as stated in the Preliminary 2014 Plan. Specifically, EPA
solicits public comment and stakeholder input, data and information on:
(a) Study of Centralized Waste Treatment (``CWT'') facilities. EPA
has decided to conduct a study of CWT facilities accepting oil and gas
extraction wastewater. EPA solicits data and information related to the
extent to which CWT facilities accept such wastewater, available
treatment technologies (and their associated costs), discharge
characteristics, financial characteristics of CWT facilities, the
environmental impacts of discharges from CWT facilities, as well as any
other information believed to be relevant to EPA's study of this issue.
(b) Study of Petroleum Refineries. EPA plans to initiate a study of
Petroleum Refineries (40 CFR Part 419). EPA specifically solicits data
and information on the discharge of metals and dioxin from petroleum
refineries, including for example, the source(s) of these contaminants,
either in crude oil sources or in the refining process, the effects of
new air pollution controls on wastewater discharges at refineries, and
information on current and future trends in oil refining processes. EPA
also solicits data and information on current wastewater treatment
technology performance at petroleum refineries, as well as any other
information believed to be relevant to EPA's study of this issue.
(c) Preliminary Category Review of Metal Finishing. EPA plans to
continue a preliminary category review of the Metal Finishing point
source category (40 CFR Part 433). EPA solicits data and information
regarding the discharge and treatment of metals, particularly chromium,
nickel, and zinc, in addition to cadmium, copper, lead, silver and any
others, to publicly owned treatment works (``POTWs'') by metal
finishers, as well as any other information believed to be relevant to
EPA's review.
(d) Nanomaterials manufacturing and formulating. EPA is collecting
data and information on the potential industrial wastewater discharge
hazards associated with nanomaterials manufacturing and formulating.
EPA requests public comment and stakeholder input relating to any
information or data available on the wastewater hazards and discharges
associated with the manufacture of nanomaterials and their use in
manufacturing or formulating products, as well as any other information
believed to be relevant.
3. Innovation and Technology in the Effluent Guidelines Program
As it did in the Preliminary 2012 Effluent Guidelines Plan, EPA is
again requesting public comment and ideas on the subject of technology
innovation. EPA seeks public input and comment on the following
questions and related themes:
(a) Are there new, innovative pollution control or pollution
prevention technologies that can be used by any of the existing 57
categories of industry with effluent limitations guidelines?
(b) Are there innovative manufacturing approaches that can be used
by industries to reduce or prevent their wastewater discharges?
(c) How can EPA's effluent limitations guidelines program enhance
technology transfer to catalyze and harness innovation to solve
industrial wastewater problems, both now and in the future?
(d) How can EPA better foster consideration of innovative
technologies through the effluent guidelines planning process?
Dated: September 9, 2014.
Kenneth J. Kopocis,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2014-22062 Filed 9-15-14; 8:45 am]
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