98-2876. Additional Stakeholder Meeting on Revisions to the Underground Injection Control Regulations for Class V Injection Wells

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 24 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 5907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2876]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 144 and 146

[FRL-5962-7]


Additional Stakeholder Meeting on Revisions to the Underground 
Injection Control Regulations for Class V Injection Wells

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Announcement of additional stakeholder meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public 
meeting on February 19, 1998 in San Francisco, CA. The purpose of this 
meeting is to gather information and collect opinions from parties who 
will be affected by or are otherwise interested in the Revisions to the 
Underground Injection Control (UIC) Regulations for Class V Injection 
Wells. Typically, Class V wells are shallow wells which inject a 
variety of fluids directly below the land surface. The Class V wells 
under consideration for new requirements include motor vehicle waste 
disposal wells, cesspools, and industrial waste disposal wells in 
ground water-based source water protection areas. EPA will consider the 
comments and views expressed in these meetings in developing the 
proposed regulation. EPA encourages the full participation of all 
stakeholders throughout this process.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting regarding the Revisions to the 
Underground Injection Control Regulations for Class V Injection Wells 
will be held on February 19, 1998, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. PST in San 
Francisco, CA.

ADDRESSES: To register for the meeting, please contact the EPA Safe 
Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791, or Jennifer Greenamoyer of 
EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water at [phone]. 
Participants registering in advance will be mailed a packet of 
materials before the meeting. Interested parties who cannot attend the 
meeting in person may participate via conference call and should 
register with the Safe Drinking Water Hotline. Conference lines will be 
allocated on the basis of first-reserved, first served. The stakeholder 
meeting will be held in the following location: Second Floor, Room C, 
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on meeting 
logistics, please contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-
4791. For information on the activities related to this rulemaking, 
contact: Jennifer Greenamoyer, U.S. EPA at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Environmental Protection Agency is 
developing revisions to the Underground Injection Control Regulations 
for Class V Injection Wells (40 CFR parts 144 and 146) to address the 
risk posed by Class V injection wells to drinking water supplies. EPA 
is considering changes to the Class V Underground Injection Control 
regulations that would add new requirements for relatively high-risk 
Class V wells in areas near drinking water supplies. Under 
consideration is a ban on Class V motor vehicle waste disposal wells 
and large-capacity cesspools located in ground water-based source water 
protection areas being delineated by States under the 1996 Amendments 
to the Safe Drinking Water Act. In addition, fluids released in Class V 
industrial waste disposal wells in ground water-based source water 
protection areas could be required to meet certain standards of 
quality.
    EPA is considering proposing these new requirements because 
available information shows that Class V motor vehicle waste disposal 
wells, cesspools, and industrial waste disposal wells pose a high risk 
of ground water contamination. Targeting the requirements to those 
wells near ground water-based drinking water supplies would achieve 
substantial protection of underground sources of drinking water. The 
rule addressed in this notification is being developed in response to a 
January 28, 1997 consent decree with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund 
and has a court deadline of June 18, 1998 for proposal and July 31, 
1999 for final.
Cynthia C. Dougherty,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
[FR Doc. 98-2876 Filed 2-4-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P