94-31816. Nominations of Estuaries to the National Estuary Program

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 27, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31816]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 27, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5129-1]

 

Nominations of Estuaries to the National Estuary Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing its 
call for nominations of estuaries to the National Estuary Program 
(NEP). The Agency intends to streamline the operation of this program 
and is specifically seeking nominations which further this approach. 
The Governor of any State or trust territory may nominate an estuary 
located wholly or partly within the State to be included in the NEP. 
After evaluating the nominations received, the EPA will select 
estuaries to be included in the NEP in Fiscal Year 1995.

DATES: Nominations must be submitted to the EPA on or Before October 
27, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Governors' nominations should be addressed to The 
Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street SW., 
Washington, D.C. 20460. A copy of the nomination should also be sent to 
Darrell Brown, Oceans and Coastal Protection Division (4504F), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 20460, and to the 
appropriate regional representative listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information concerning the NEP and the 
nomination process can be obtained by contacting the following 
individuals:
    Ed Woo, Marine and Estuarine Protection Section, US Environmental 
Protection Agency Region I, JFK Federal Building One Congress Street, 
Boston, MA 02203, [phone].
    Mario Del Vicario, Marine & Wetlands Protection Branch, US 
Environmental Protection Agency Region II, Jacob K. Javitz Federal 
Building, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10278, [phone].
    Charles App, Marine and Estuarine Section, US Environmental 
Protection Agency Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 
19107, [phone].
    Stallings Howell, Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds Branch, US 
Environmental Protection Agency Region IV, 345 Courtland Street, NE, 
Atlanta, GA 30365, [phone] ext. 6576.
    Richard Hoppers, Water Quality Branch, US Environmental Protection 
Agency Region VI, First Interstate Bank Tower at Fountain Place, 1445 
Ross Avenue 12th Floor Suite 1200, Dallas, TX 75202-2733, (214) 665-
7135.
    Clancy Tenley, Environmental Assessment and Management Branch, US 
Environmental Protection Agency Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94105, [phone]. John Gabrielson, Surface Water 
Branch, US Environmental Protection Agency Region X, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Seattle, WA 98101, [phone].
    Darrell Brown, Oceans and Coastal Protection Division (4504F), 
Office of Water, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC 
20460, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The National Estuary Program (NEP) was established under section 
320 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended by the Water Quality Act 
of 1987. The purpose of the NEP is to promote long-term planning and 
management in nationally significant estuaries threatened by pollution, 
development, or overuse. This goal is achieved through the preparation 
of a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) which 
documents the problems and recommends approaches for correcting and 
preventing problems for each estuary. The NEP seeks to protect and 
improve water and sediment quality and to enhance living resources by 
helping to:
     Establish working partnerships among federal, state, 
tribal, and local governments;
     Fully utilize scientific and management experience in 
development of CCMPs;
     Increase public awareness of pollution problems and ensure 
public participation in consensus building;
     Promote basinwide planning to control pollution and manage 
living resources; and
     Oversee development and implementation of pollution 
abatement and control programs.
    Under CWA section 320(a), the Governor of any State may nominate an 
estuary located wholly or partly within the State and request that the 
Administrator of EPA convene a management conference to develop a CCMP 
for the estuary. Where Tribal lands are located within estuary 
boundaries, the nomination should also include a letter of agreement 
from the Tribal Governor or equivalent. Nominations must document the 
national significance of the estuary, the need for a management 
conference, its likelihood of success, its ability to streamline, 
commitment to implement actions and its organizational ability to 
oversee implementation. In response to a Governor's nomination or on 
his own initiative, the Administrator is authorized to determine 
whether the attainment or maintenance of a desired level of water 
quality in an estuary requires additional pollution abatement and 
control programs to supplement existing controls. Based on this 
determination, the Administrator is authorized to convene management 
conferences for such estuaries.
    EPA has determined that the addition of new estuaries to the NEP 
beyond the existing 21 will foster environmental management efforts in 
coastal areas. Based on this determination, the Administrator will 
convene additional management conferences in Fiscal Year 1995.

Preparation of Nominations

    Many of the elements of estuarine management employed in the NEP 
are being applied by public and private parties in estuaries that are 
not currently part of the National Estuary Program. Substantial 
progress towards meeting some NEP objectives has been realized in some 
of these estuaries.
    Based on these factors, and experience gained from the existing 21 
management conferences, EPA believes it will be possible to more 
quickly and economically develop CCMPs for estuaries to be designated 
in the future. Therefore, when considering management conferences to be 
convened in Fiscal Year 1995, EPA will give preference to nominations 
that describe actions underway to identify and characterize 
environmental problems and their causes, established partnerships among 
governmental and private groups with natural resource management and 
protection missions, public involvement in developing and executing 
action strategies, and the state's ability to support CCMP 
implementation. The information kit provides further details on the 
information which should be presented in the nomination to allow the 
Administrator to determine whether a candidate estuary should be 
selected for the NEP.
    Nominations should be prepared based on EPA's instruction kit 
entitled The Streamlined National Estuary Program: Instructions on the 
Preparation of a Governor's Nomination. The EPA will provide an 
instruction kit upon request to assist interested States in preparing 
their nominations. This instruction kit includes background 
information, a copy of section 320 of the CWA, and nomination content 
checklist. Requests for this instruction kit should be made to the US 
EPA Regional office that serves the interested state. Contact names, 
phone numbers and addresses are provided in the ``FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT'' section of this Federal Register notice.

    Dated: December 17, 1994.
Robert Perciasepe,
Assistant Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 94-31816 Filed 12-23-94; 8:45 am]
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