[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 143 (Monday, July 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40121-40123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19831]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6129-8]
Proposed Second Modification of General NPDES Permit (GP) for
Alaskan Mechanical Placer Miners (Permit Number AKG-37-0000)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed second modification of a general permit.
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SUMMARY: This proposed modification of the GP is intended to regulate
activities of mechanical placer mining in the state of Alaska. The
proposed modifications are based on the ``Withdrawal of Federal
Regulations of the Applicability to Alaska's Waters of Human Health
Criteria'' which was published in the Federal Register on March 2, 1998
(63 FR 10140) and became effective on April 1, 1998, and other changes
as described in the Fact Sheet.
DATES: Comments must be received by August 26, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit comments on the proposed
modification of the GP to Director, Office of Water; U.S. EPA, Region
10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, OW-135; Seattle, Washington 98101.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the Proposed Second
Modification of the General Permit and Fact Sheet are available upon
request.
Requests may be made to Jeanette Carriveau at (206) 553-1214 or to
Cindi Godsey at (907) 271-6561. Requests may also be electronically
mailed to: CARRIVEAU.
[email protected] or
[email protected] Copies of the permit and fact sheet can
also be found by visiting the Region 10 website at www.epa.gov/
r10earth/offices/water/npdes.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget has exempted this action from
the review requirements of Executive Order 12866 pursuant to section 6
of that order.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
After review of the facts presented in the notice printed above, I
hereby certify pursuant to the provision of 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this
modification of the GP will not have a significant impact on a
substantial number of small entities. Moreover, the permit reduces a
significant administrative burden on regulated sources.
Dated: July 14, 1998.
Roger K. Mochnick,
Acting Director, Office of Water, Region 10.
Fact Sheet--United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region
10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, OW-130, Seattle, Washington 98101, (206)
553-1214
Permit No.: AKG-37-0000
Proposed second modification of the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit (GP) to discharge pollutants
pursuant to the provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for Alaskan
Mechanical Placer Miners.
This fact sheet includes (a) the tentative determination of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to modify the GP, (b) information
on public comment, public hearings and appeal, and (c) the conditions
and requirements contained in the modification.
Persons wishing to comment on the modifications contained in the
proposed GP may do so before the expiration date of the public
document. Only the modifications are open to public comment. All
written comments should be submitted to EPA as described in the public
comments section of the attached public document.
After the expiration date of the public document, the Director,
Office of Water, will make final determinations with respect to
issuance of the modified GP. The tentative determinations contained in
the proposed GP will become final conditions if no substantive comments
are received during the public comment period.
A General Permit follows rulemaking procedures so EPA's issuance
and promulgation activities must be conducted in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The modified GP will become
effective 30 days after publication of the final modified GP in the
Federal Register according to section 553(d) of the APA. Anyone wishing
to appeal the modifications to this GP must do so in court according to
40 CFR 124.71. Interested persons may challenge the amendments, within
120 days of issuance, in the Circuit Court of Appeals of the United
States under section 509(b)(1) of the Act.
The proposed NPDES permit and fact sheet are on file and may be
inspected and copies made at the above address any time between 8:30
a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Copies and other information
may be requested by writing to EPA at the above address to the
attention of the NPDES Permits Unit, or by calling (206) 553-1214. The
proposed GP and fact sheet are also available from the EPA Alaska
Operations Office, Room 537, Federal Building, 222 West 7th Avenue,
Anchorage, Alaska 99513-7588 or Alaska Operations Office, 410
Willoughby Avenue, Suite 100, Juneau, Alaska 99801 or the Alaska
Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), Watershed Management
Section, 610 University Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709.
Technical Information
1. Summary of Modifications
The intent of this proposed modification of the GP is to revise the
effluent limitation for arsenic based on a change to the state's Water
Quality Standards. This has been requested by a Permittee according to
the requirements of 40 CFR 124.5 for the reasons specified in 40 CFR
122.62. Also, some additions and deletions of permit language have been
made due to the water quality standard change, changes in regulation
and the correction of typographical errors. Renumbering of Permit
Parts, where necessary, has been done without being noted.
2. Coverage of Modified Permit
It is the intent of EPA to apply the final modified general permit
to all facilities previously covered by a general permit for mechanical
operations without the submission of a new Notice of Intent (NOI). Upon
issuance of the final GP, a copy of the new permit will be sent to each
permittee.
3. Description of the Industry
Placer mining involves the mining and extraction of gold or other
heavy metals and minerals primarily from alluvial deposits. These
deposits may be in existing stream beds or ancient often buried stream
deposits, i.e. paleo or fossil placers. Many Alaskan placer deposits
consist of unconsolidated clay, sand, gravel, cobble and boulders that
contain very small amounts of native gold or other precious metals.
Most are stream deposits and occur along present stream valleys or on
benches or terraces above existing streams. Beach placer deposits have
been and continue to be important producers in Alaska. These deposits,
most notable near Nome,
[[Page 40122]]
include both submerged and elevated beach placer deposits.
4. Receiving Waters
The receiving waters for the discharges are waters of the United
States including tundra wetlands which are classified in 18 AAC 70 as
Classes (1)(A), (B), and (C) for use in drinking, culinary, and food
processing, agriculture, aquaculture, and industrial water supply;
contact and secondary recreation; and growth and propagation of fish,
shellfish, other aquatic life and wildlife. Since most of these
waterbodies are protected for all uses, the most restrictive water
quality standards will be applied in this modified GP.
5. Regulatory Authority
A. State of Alaska Water Quality Standards and Limitations
Section 301(b)(1) of the Act requires the establishment of
limitations in permits necessary to meet water quality standards by
July 1, 1977. All discharges to state waters must comply with state and
local coastal management plans as well as with state water quality
standards, including the state's antidegradation policy. Discharges to
state waters must also comply with limitations imposed by the state as
part of its coastal management program consistency determinations, and
of its certification of NPDES permits under section 401 of the Act.
The NPDES regulations at 40 CFR 122.44(d)(1) require that permits
include water quality-based limits which ``Achieve water quality
standards established under section 303 of the CWA, including State
narrative criteria for water quality.''
B. Section 308 of the Clean Water Act
Under section 308 of the Act and 40 CFR 122.44(i), the Director
must require a discharger to conduct monitoring to determine compliance
with effluent limitations and to assist in the development of effluent
limitations.
6. Specific Permit Conditions
EPA has concluded, based on available sampling data, that arsenic
is commonly associated with placer mining wastes. Locally, it is the
most abundant toxic metal present. It is for this reason that EPA has
determined that arsenic is a pollutant of concern.
This modification of the existing Modified General Permit AKG-37-
0000 for Alaskan Mechanical Placer Miners (GP) is based on the
``Withdrawal from Federal Regulations of the Applicability to Alaska's
Waters of Human Health Criteria'' which was published in the Federal
Register on March 2, 1998 (63 FR 10140) and became effective on April
1, 1998. This rulemaking withdraws the human health criteria for
arsenic. This makes the drinking water maximum contaminant level (MCL)
of 50 g/L the applicable standard protective of the designated
uses of the receiving waters covered by the GP.
The effluent limitation proposed for arsenic is a daily maximum
limit of 50 g/L. This is based on the Primary Drinking Water
MCL applicable through 18 AAC 70.020(1)(A) for Toxic and other
Deleterious Organic and Inorganic Substances. EPA defines the MCL as
the ``maximum permissible level of a contaminant'' (40 CFR 142.2) so it
is included as an instantaneous maximum limit.
7. Removals, Changes and Additions
A. Removal of Language
In the previous permit, Permit Part II.B.4. contained language
discussing the application of the minimum level (ML) because the
effluent limitation was below the method detection level (MDL). Since
the proposed effluent limitation of 50 g/L is above the MDL
and the ML, there is no need for the permit to contain this language.
B. Additions
The Commissioner of ADEC, Michele Brown, sent a letter to Robert
Perciasepe, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Water, dated
October 8, 1997, concerning the State's regulations on using ``site
specific data to develop appropriate permit limits or site specific
criteria to further our statutory mission, which includes protection of
public health.'' Permit Part II.A.1.e. contains new language to address
site specific criteria that could be developed that are more stringent
than the proposed effluent limitation if concerns are raised to the
State by an affected community or individual. EPA is working with the
State to generate a mechanism by which a site specific criterion would
be developed and implemented.
C. Changes
Permit Part V.B. lists the administrative and civil penalties for a
violation of the permit as $10,000 and $25,000, respectively. Changes
to $11,000 and $27,500 were noticed in the Federal Register (61 FR
69360, December 31, 1996). To avoid the possibility of different levels
being listed in different places, this section has been updated to
include generic penalty language.
Permit Part IV.B. has been changed from the Enforcement Unit at
mailstop WD-135 to the NPDES Compliance Unit at mailstop OW-133.
Permit Part I.F.4. has been updated from a mailstop of WD-134 to
OW-130.
Permit Part I.F.6. contained a typographical error listing Wrangell
St. Alias instead of Wrangell St. Elias. This has been corrected.
8. Other Legal Requirements
A. Oil Spill Requirements
Section 311 of the Act prohibits the discharge of oil and hazardous
materials in harmful quantities. Routine discharges specifically
controlled by a permit are excluded from the provisions of section 311.
However, this general permit does not preclude the institution of legal
action or relieve permittees from any responsibilities, or penalties
for other, unauthorized discharges of oil and hazardous materials which
are covered by section 311 of the Act.
B. Coastal Zone Management Act
A determination that the activities allowed by this proposed GP are
consistent with the Alaska Coastal Management Plan must be made in
accordance with the Coastal Zone Management Act before a final permit
will be issued.
C. State Water Quality Standards and State Certification
Whereas state waters are involved in this proposed GP, the
provisions of section 401 of the Act will apply. Furthermore, in
accordance with 40 CFR 124.01(c)(1), public notice of the proposed GP
has been provided to the State of Alaska and Alaska state agencies
having jurisdiction over fish, shellfish, and wildlife resources, and
over coastal zone management plans.
D. Endangered Species Act
Letters were sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and
to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on April 20, 1998,
requesting information to the extent the permit modification may affect
threatened and endangered species.
References
1. Letter from John Cook to Robert R. Robichaud dated March 25,
1998, requesting that EPA modify the General Permit.
2. Letter from Steve Borell, Executive Director of the Alaska
Miners Association, Inc., to Robert R. Robichaud dated March 24,
1998, requesting that EPA modify the General Permit.
3. 63 FR 10142, March 2, 1998--Withdrawal from Federal
Regulations of the Applicability to Alaska's Waters of Human Health
Criteria.
4. Letter from Michele Brown to Robert Perciasepe dated October
8, 1997.
[[Page 40123]]
5. 61 FR 69360, December 31, 1996--Civil Monetary Penalty
Inflation Adjustment Rule.
[FR Doc. 98-19831 Filed 7-24-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
