
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59672-59677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23660]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2012-0803; FRL-9901-52-OW]


Draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 
General Permit for Stormwater Discharges From Industrial Activities

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA's Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are today 
proposing for public comment the draft 2013 National Pollutant 
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for stormwater 
discharges from industrial activity, also referred to as the Multi-
Sector General Permit (MSGP). This draft permit, once finalized, will 
replace the existing permit covering stormwater discharges from 
industrial facilities in EPA's Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, and 10 that 
will expire September 29, 2013, and will provide coverage for 
industrial facilities in areas where EPA is the NPDES permitting 
authority in EPA's Regions 7 and 8. This draft permit is similar to the 
existing permit and will authorize the discharge of stormwater in 
accordance with the terms and conditions described therein. EPA 
proposes to issue this permit for five (5) years. EPA seeks comment on 
the draft permit and on the accompanying fact sheet.

DATES: Comments on the draft general permit must be received on or 
before November 26, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2012-0803, by one of the following methods:
    1. http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: ow-docket@epa.gov
    3. Mail to: Water Docket, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
Docket Center, Attention: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2012-0803, Mail Code: 
28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2012-
0803. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://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 http://www.regulations.gov or email. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means 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

[[Page 59673]]

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 cannot read your comment due to technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may 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.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hardcopy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at a docket facility. The Office 
of Water (OW) Docket Center is open from 8:30 until 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The OW Docket Center 
telephone number is (202) 566-2426, and the Docket address is OW 
Docket, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20004. 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the draft 
NPDES general permit, contact the appropriate EPA Regional office 
listed in Section I.F of this notice, or Bryan Rittenhouse, EPA 
Headquarters, Office of Water, Office of Wastewater Management at tel.: 
202-564-0577 or email: rittenhouse.bryan@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This supplementary information is organized 
as follows:

Table of Contents

I. General Information
    A. Does this action apply to me?
    B. How can I get copies of these documents and other related 
information?
    C. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
    D. Will public hearings be held on this action?
    E. What process will EPA follow to finalize the permit?
    F. Who are the EPA regional contacts for this permit?
II. Background of Permit
III. Scope and Applicability of the Multi-Sector General Permit
    A. Geographic Coverage
    B. Categories of Facilities Covered
    C. Summary of Significant Proposed Changes From the 2008 Multi-
Sector General Permit
IV. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
V. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments
VI. Analysis of Economic Impacts

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This draft MSGP regulates stormwater discharges from industrial 
facilities in the 30 sectors shown below:

    Sector A--Timber Products.
    Sector B--Paper and Allied Products Manufacturing.
    Sector C--Chemical and Allied Products Manufacturing.
    Sector D--Asphalt Paving and Roofing Materials Manufactures and 
Lubricant Manufacturers.
    Sector E--Glass, Clay, Cement, Concrete, and Gypsum Product 
Manufacturing.
    Sector F--Primary Metals.
    Sector G--Metal Mining (Ore Mining and Dressing).
    Sector H--Coal Mines and Coal Mining-Related Facilities.
    Sector I--Oil and Gas Extraction and Refining.
    Sector J--Mineral Mining and Dressing.
    Sector K--Hazardous Waste Treatment Storage or Disposal.
    Sector L--Landfills and Land Application Sites.
    Sector M--Automobile Salvage Yards.
    Sector N--Scrap Recycling Facilities.
    Sector O--Steam Electric Generating Facilities.
    Sector P--Land Transportation.
    Sector Q--Water Transportation.
    Sector R--Ship and Boat Building or Repairing Yards.
    Sector S--Air Transportation Facilities.
    Sector T--Treatment Works.
    Sector U--Food and Kindred Products.
    Sector V--Textile Mills, Apparel, and other Fabric Products 
Manufacturing.
    Sector W--Furniture and Fixtures.
    Sector X--Printing and Publishing.
    Sector Y--Rubber, Miscellaneous Plastic Products, and 
Miscellaneous Manufacturing Industries.
    Sector Z--Leather Tanning and Finishing.
    Sector AA--Fabricated Metal Products.
    Sector AB--Transportation Equipment, Industrial or Commercial 
Machinery.
    Sector AC--Electronic, Electrical, Photographic and Optical 
Goods.
    Sector AD--Reserved for Facilities Not Covered Under Other 
Sectors and Designated by the Director.

    Coverage under this draft MSGP is available to operators of 
eligible facilities located in areas where EPA is the permitting 
authority and has made this general permit available for use. A list of 
eligible areas is included in Appendix C of the draft MSGP. Eligibility 
for coverage is limited to new dischargers and existing dischargers, as 
defined in Appendix A of the draft permit, and new owner/operators of 
an existing discharger. EPA notes that coverage is also available to 
facilities that have commenced discharging prior to the date this 
permit issued, but were not covered under the 2008 MSGP or another 
NPDES permit.

B. How can I get copies of these documents and other related 
information?

    1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this 
action under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2012-0803. 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) WJC West 
Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. 
Although all documents in the docket are listed in an index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Publicly available docket materials are available in hard 
copy at the EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room, 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.
    2. Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document 
electronically through the United States government on-line source for 
Federal regulations at http://www.regulations.gov. Electronic versions 
of this final permit and fact sheet are available on EPA's NPDES Web 
site at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/msgp.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through the 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may 
use EPA Dockets at http://www.regulations.gov to submit or view public 
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official 
public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that 
are available electronically. For additional information about EPA's 
public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/dockets. Although not all docket materials may be available 
electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available 
docket materials through the Docket Facility identified in Section 
I.B.1.

[[Page 59674]]

C. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark all of the information that you 
claim to be CBI. For CBI information on computer disks mailed to EPA, 
mark the surface of the disk as CBI. Also identify electronically the 
specific information contained in the disk or that you claim is CBI. In 
addition to one complete version of the specific information claimed as 
CBI, you must submit a copy that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI for inclusion in the public document. Information marked 
as CBI will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set 
forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is 
that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, 
will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public 
docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment 
contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment 
containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that 
material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's 
electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the 
copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
    Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or 
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public 
docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the docket will 
be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where 
practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph 
will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief 
description written by the docket staff.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify this permit by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date, and 
page number).
     Where possible, respond to specific questions or organize 
comments by referencing a section or part of the permit.
     Explain why you agree or disagree, suggest alternatives, 
and suggest 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.
     To ensure that EPA can read, understand, and therefore 
properly respond to comments, the Agency would prefer that commenters 
cite, where possible, the paragraph(s) or section in the fact sheet or 
permit to which each comment refers.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

D. Will public hearings be held on this action?

    EPA has not scheduled any public hearings to receive public comment 
concerning the draft permit. All persons will continue to have the 
right to provide written comments during the public comment period. 
However, interested persons may request a public hearing pursuant to 40 
CFR 124.12 concerning the draft permit. Requests for a public hearing 
must be sent or delivered in writing to the same address as provided 
above for public comments prior to the close of the comment period. 
Requests for a public hearing must state the nature of the issues 
proposed to be raised in the hearing. Pursuant to 40 CFR 124.12, EPA 
shall hold a public hearing if it finds, on the basis of requests, a 
significant degree of public interest in a public hearing on the draft 
permit. If EPA decides to hold a public hearing, a public notice of the 
date, time and place of the hearing will be made at least 30 days prior 
to the hearing. Any person may provide written or oral statements and 
data pertaining to the draft permit at the public hearing.

E. What process will EPA follow to finalize the permit?

    After the close of the public comment period, EPA intends to issue 
a final permit to replace the current 2008 MSGP, which expires 
September 29, 2013. This permit will not be issued until all 
significant comments have been considered and appropriate changes made 
to the permit. EPA's responses to public comments received will be 
included in the docket as part of the final permit issuance. Once the 
final permit becomes effective, eligible operators of industrial 
facilities may seek authorization under the new MSGP. Any industrial 
facility operator obtaining permit coverage prior to the expiration 
date of the 2008 MSGP will automatically remain covered under that 
permit until the earliest of:
     The operator is authorized for coverage under a reissued 
permit or a replacement version of the permit following the timely 
submittal of a complete and accurate NOI requesting coverage under the 
new permit; or
     The operator submits a Notice of Termination; or
     EPA issues an individual permit for the facility's 
stormwater discharges; or
     EPA formally decides not to reissue the general permit, at 
which time EPA will identify a reasonable time period for covered 
dischargers to seek coverage under an alternative general permit or an 
individual permit. Coverage under the permit will cease at the end of 
this time period.

F. Who are the EPA regional contacts for this final permit?

    For EPA Region 1, contact David Gray at tel.: (617) 918-1577 or 
email at gray.davidj@epa.gov.
    For EPA Region 2, contact Sergio Bosques at tel.: (787) 977-5838 or 
email at bosques.sergio@epa.gov.
    For EPA Region 3, contact Kaitlyn Bendik at tel.: 215-814-2709 or 
email at bendik.kaitlyn@epa.gov.
    For EPA Region 5, contact Brian Bell at tel.: (312) 886-0981 or 
email at bell.brianc@epa.gov.
    For EPA Region 6, contact Nelly Smith at tel.: (214) 665-7109 or 
email at smith.nelly@epa.gov.
    For EPA Region 7, contact Mark Matthews at tel.: 913-551-7635 or 
email at matthews.mark@epa.gov.
    For EPA Region 8, contact Gregory Davis at tel.: (303) 312-6314 or 
email at davis.gregory@epa.gov.
    For EPA Region 9, contact Eugene Bromley at tel.: (415) 972-3510 or 
email at bromley.eugene@epa.gov.
    For EPA Region 10, contact Margaret McCauley at tel.: (206) 553-
1772 or email at mccauley.margaret@epa.gov.

II. Background

    Section 405 of the Water Quality Act of 1987 (WQA) added section 
402(p) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), which directed the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a phased approach to regulate 
stormwater discharges under the National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) program. EPA published a final regulation on 
the first phase on this program on November 16, 1990, establishing 
permit application requirements for ``stormwater

[[Page 59675]]

discharges associated with industrial activity.'' See 55 FR 48063. EPA 
defined the term ``stormwater discharge associated with industrial 
activity'' in a comprehensive manner to cover a wide variety of 
facilities. See 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14). EPA proposes to issue the MSGP 
under this statutory and regulatory authority. This draft permit, once 
finalized, will replace the existing permit covering stormwater 
discharges from industrial facilities in EPA's Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9 
and 10 that will expire September 29, 2013, and will provide coverage 
for industrial facilities in areas where EPA is the NPDES permitting 
authority in EPA's Regions 7 and 8.

III. Scope and Applicability of the Multi-Sector General Permit

A. Geographic Coverage

    This draft permit provides coverage for sectors of industrial point 
source discharges that occur in areas not covered by an approved state 
NPDES program. The geographic coverage of this permit is listed in 
Appendix C of the permit. EPA notes that, unlike the 2008 MSGP, 
facilities located in EPA Regions 7 and 8 will be covered by the 
permit.

B. Categories of Facilities Covered

    This permit regulates stormwater discharges from industrial 
facilities in 30 sectors, as shown above in section I.A.

C. Summary of Significant Proposed Changes From the 2008 Multi-Sector 
General Permit

    The proposed MSGP, once finalized, will replace the 2008 MSGP, 
which was issued for a five-year term on September 29, 2008 (see 73 FR 
56572). The draft permit is similar to the existing permit, and is 
structured in nine (9) parts: General requirements that apply to all 
facilities (e.g., eligibility of discharges, effluent limitations, 
stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) requirements, monitoring 
and reporting requirements) (Parts 1-7), industrial sector-specific 
conditions (Part 8), and specific requirements applicable to facilities 
within individual states or Indian Country (Part 9). Additionally, the 
appendices provide draft forms for the Notice of Intent (NOI), the 
Notice of Termination (NOT), the Conditional No Exposure Exclusion, 
Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR), and the annual report, as well as 
step-by-step procedures for determining eligibility with respect to 
protecting historic properties and endangered species, and for 
calculating site-specific, hardness-dependent benchmarks.
    This draft MSGP includes several new or modified requirements from 
the 2008 MSGP. These proposed changes are summarized below and are 
discussed in more detail in the draft MSGP fact sheet.
    1. NEPA Review for Dischargers Subject to any New Source 
Performance Standards (NSPS). Previous versions of the MSGP required 
those facilities constructed after the promulgation of their industry's 
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to determine and document in 
their SWPPP either ``No Significant Impact'' under the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), or to complete an Environmental Impact 
Statement in accordance with an environmental review conducted by EPA. 
For the 2013 MSGP, EPA plans to prepare an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) to analyze the potential environmental impacts of the permit. The 
EA will consider the potential environmental impacts from the discharge 
of pollutants in stormwater discharges from new sources associated with 
industrial facilities where EPA is the permitting authority to 
determine whether to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 
Therefore, under the proposed 2013 MSGP, industrial discharges subject 
to NSPS do not have to independently make such a determination.
    2. Electronic Reporting. The draft MSGP requires that all NOIs, 
NOTs, annual reports, Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs), and certain 
other reporting information be submitted electronically, unless the 
operator has received one of the following waivers from the EPA 
Regional office: (1) The operator's headquarters is physically located 
in a geographic area (i.e., zip code or census tract) that is 
identified as under-served for broadband Internet access in the most 
recent report from the Federal Communications Commission; or (2) the 
industrial owner/operator has limitations regarding available computer 
access or computer capability. An operator who wishes to use paper 
submittals must contact the appropriate EPA Region to obtain a waiver 
from submitting reports electronically. Waivers are only granted for a 
one-time use for a single information submittal, i.e., an initial 
waiver does not apply for the entire term of the permit. If information 
needs to submit information on paper after the first waiver, the 
operator must apply for a new waiver.
    3. Allowable Non-Stormwater Discharges. Previous MSGP versions 
authorized any washwater to be discharged as long as there were no 
detergents or toxic/hazardous spill material present in the discharge. 
In addition to detergents, hazardous cleaning products have been 
specifically prohibited from being discharged under the 2013 MSGP. The 
2013 draft permit also prohibits the discharge of wash waters that have 
come into contact with oil and grease deposits or any other toxic or 
hazardous materials, unless the deposits have been cleaned up using dry 
clean-up methods. Additionally, because the act of washing (especially 
power washing) by its very nature tends to mobilize particulates and 
other potential pollutants present on pavement, specific effluent 
limits have been included to ensure particulates and other potential 
pollutants mobilized by pavement washing are controlled via treatment 
controls before they are discharged, unless the pavement wash waters 
were treated by the control measures in Part 2.1.2.
    4. Endangered Species Requirements. The draft 2013 MSGP 
incorporates changes to the procedures operators are required follow to 
establish their eligibility with regard to protection of threatened and 
endangered species and critical habitat (Appendix E and Part 1.1.4.5) 
as a result of EPA's consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act. These changes are to better ensure that the criteria 
chosen are adequately protective of threatened and endangered species 
and their critical habitats and consistent with the Endangered Species 
Act. Using the same decision making process to determine the operator's 
eligibility criteria when threatened and endangered species are in 
proximity to the industrial facility (i.e., its ``action area), EPA is 
now requiring the process be documented by filling out and submitting a 
worksheet. Because the criteria and the procedures operators are 
required to follow in making their eligibility determination in 
Appendix E have changed, all operators seeking coverage under the 2013 
MSGP must make their Part 1.1.4.5 eligibility determination in 
accordance with the requirements in the new permit (i.e., operators 
cannot check the same criteria they selected in the 2008 MSGP without 
following the procedures in Appendix E).
    5. Historic Properties Preservation. The procedures for determining 
operator eligibility regarding historic properties were also revised in 
the draft 2013 MSGP Appendix F as a result of EPA's consultation under 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. EPA has included 
a more detailed set of steps to help operators more conclusively 
determine whether historic

[[Page 59676]]

properties are within the industrial facility's ``area of potential 
effect''. This may include greater interaction with knowledgeable 
sources such as state or tribal historic preservation authorities or a 
qualified consultant in the historical or archeological fields. The 
eligibility criteria were also slightly revised for the proposal. All 
operators seeking coverage under the 2013 MSGP must make their Part 
1.1.4.6 eligibility determination in accordance with the requirements 
in the new permit (i.e., operators cannot check the same criteria they 
selected in the 2008 MSGP without following the procedures in Appendix 
F).
    6. SWPPP and Its Availability. To provide greater access to the 
SWPPP to the public and other stakeholders, the draft MSGP requires 
that permittees either provide a uniform resource locator (URL) for the 
SWPPP on the NOI form, or provide selected information from the SWPPP 
on the NOI form. The information from the SWPPP that would have to be 
added to the NOI includes: A description of onsite industrial 
activities exposed to stormwater, including potential spill and leak 
areas; the pollutants associated with each industrial activity exposed 
to stormwater and/or authorized non-stormwater; a description of 
control measures employed to comply with the non-numeric technology-
based effluent limits in Part 2.1.2 and Part 8, and any other measures 
taken to comply with the requirements in Part 2.2; and a schedule for 
good housekeeping and maintenance and schedule for all inspections 
required in Part 4. EPA has also identified certain effluent limit 
requirements that can be copied verbatim into the SWPPP without 
providing additional documentation because they do not involve the 
site-specific selection of a control measure or are specific activity 
requirements.
    7. Effluent Limit Clarifications. Several of the effluent limits in 
Part 2 of the draft MSGP include a greater level of specificity in 
order to make the requirements more clearly articulated, transparent, 
and enforceable. EPA believes that these clarifications will help 
permittees to better understand how to comply with the effluent limits. 
The effluent limits in Part 2 for which EPA has made clarifications 
include requirements for minimizing exposure, good housekeeping, 
maintenance, spill prevention and response procedures, and employee 
training.
    8. Corrective Action. The draft MSGP includes additional 
specificity with regard to what is considered to be an adequate 
corrective action. The corrective action deadlines in the proposed MSGP 
are similar to the corresponding deadlines in Part 3.3 of the 2008 
MSGP, but have been modified to further specify what actions must be 
taken by the deadlines. The draft permit now requires that corrective 
action steps be taken immediately (i.e., on the same day the condition 
was found) in order to ensure that pollutant discharges are minimized 
and that a permanent solution is implemented expeditiously. The draft 
MSGP also requires that subsequent action must be taken to install a 
new or modified control and make operational, or complete the repair, 
before the next storm event if possible, and within 14 calendar days 
from the discovery of the condition.
    9. Annual Reports and Routine Inspections. Annual reporting in the 
draft MSGP has been changed to submitting a summary of the past year's 
routine facility inspections and quarterly visual assessments of 
discharges, instead of a summary of the results of the single 
comprehensive site assessment, as required in the previous permit. EPA 
has eliminated the comprehensive site assessment requirement and 
instead will rely on the four required routine facility inspections, 
which are similar to the comprehensive site assessment requirements in 
the 2008 MSGP. Corrective action reporting in the draft permit remains 
unchanged from the 2008 MSGP.
    10. Benchmark Values for Saline Waters. The draft MSGP has included 
additional non-hardness dependent metals benchmarks for facilities that 
discharge into saline waters. The addition of these benchmarks was 
necessary to provide an appropriate indicator of the performance of the 
measures undertaken to meet the effluent limitations contained in the 
permit where stormwater is discharged into saline waters. Benchmark 
values in the 2008 MSGP for these metals were based on acute or chronic 
aquatic life freshwater criteria. These additional saline benchmark 
values are based on available acute ambient water quality criteria for 
arsenic, cadmium, copper, cyanide, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, 
silver and zinc.
    11. Industry Sector-specific Requirements. The draft MSGP includes 
changes to the several of the sector-specific requirements in Part 8 as 
summarized below.
     Sector G, Metal Mining; Sector H, Coal Mining; and Sector 
J, Mineral Mining and Dressing--Consistent with the 2008 MSGP, the 
draft 2013 MSGP enables operators for these sectors to include coverage 
for construction and exploration activities under this permit, instead 
of being separately covered under the Construction General Permit 
(CGP). The draft MSGP includes updated sector-specific requirements for 
these sectors that are consistent with the reissued 2012 CGP.
     Sector S, Air Transportation--The draft MSGP includes 
added sector-specific requirements for Sector S that are based on the 
final Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) for airplane and airport 
deicing operations.
    12. Discharges to a CERCLA Site. The draft MSGP makes facilities 
discharging to CERCLA sites as defined in Appendix A and listed in 
Appendix P ineligible for coverage under the permit unless the 
applicable EPA Regional Office is first notified and has determined 
that the facility is eligible for permit coverage. In determining 
eligibility for coverage, the EPA Regional Office may evaluate whether 
the facility has included appropriate controls and implementation 
procedures designed to ensure that the discharge will not lead to 
recontamination of aquatic media at the CERCLA Site.
    EPA has also included in the fact sheet a request for comment on 
potential permit requirements for certain toxic pollutants in 
industrial stormwater discharges. EPA is concerned that current 2008 
and draft 2013 Multi-Sector General Permit requirements may not 
adequately prevent certain, particularly problematic toxic pollutants 
in stormwater discharges from causing sediment contamination and 
recontamination of Superfund cleanup sites and/or presenting an 
imminent and substantial endangerment to human health or welfare or the 
environment. One approach under consideration is to identify and list 
in the permit certain toxic pollutants of concern that are especially 
problematic and to make ineligible under the MSGP any discharge of 
these pollutants above the detection limit. The industrial operator 
would have to either eliminate such discharges or apply for an 
individual permit. EPA requests comment on this approach where highly 
toxic pollutants in stormwater discharges are linked to sediment 
contamination that may recontaminate or over time create future 
Superfund sites or that present or may present an imminent and 
substantial endangerment to human health, or welfare, or the 
environment. EPA also solicits comment on what criteria should be used 
to identify the toxic pollutants that would be subject to such a 
provision. Additionally, EPA solicits comments on alternative 
approaches to address this problem.

[[Page 59677]]

IV. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    Under Executive Order (EO) 12866 (58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993)) 
this action is a ``significant regulatory action.'' Accordingly, EPA 
submitted this action to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 and any changes made in 
response to OMB recommendations have been documented in the docket for 
this action.

V. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    In compliance with Executive Order 13175, EPA has consulted with 
tribal officials to gain an understanding of and, where necessary, to 
address tribal implications of the draft MSGP. In the course of this 
consultation, EPA undertook the following activities:
     December 11, 2012--EPA presented an overview of the 
current MSGP and potential changes in the draft 2013 MSGP to the 
National Tribal Caucus.
     December 12, 2012--EPA presented an overview of the 
current MSGP and potential changes in the draft 2013 MSGP to the 
National Tribal Water Council.
     December 12, 2012--EPA mailed out notification letters out 
to Tribal Leaders initiating consultation and coordination on the 
renewal of the MSGP. The initiation letter was posted on the tribal 
portal Web site at http://www.epa.gov/tribal/consultation.
     January 15, 2013--EPA held an informational teleconference 
open to all tribal representatives, and reserved the last part of the 
teleconference for official consultation comments. EPA also invited 
tribes to submit written comments on the permit renewal. The 
presentation was posted on the tribal portal Web site at http://www.epa.gov/tribal/consultation.
    EPA also encourages tribes to participate in the public review 
process by submitting comments through regulations.gov.

VI. Analysis of Economic Impacts

    EPA expects the economic impact on entities covered under this 
permit, including small businesses, to be minimal. A copy of EPA's 
economic analysis, titled, ``Cost Impact Analysis for the Multi-Sector 
General Permit (MSGP)'' is available in the docket for this permit. The 
economic impact analysis indicates that while there will be some 
incremental increase in the costs of complying with the new permit, 
these costs will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

    Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.

    Dated: September 17, 2013.
Michael Kenyon,
Acting Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1.
    Dated: September 17, 2013.
Jose C. Font,
Director, Caribbean Environmental Protection Division, EPA Region 2.
    Dated: September 17, 2013.
Jon M. Capacasa,
Director, Water Protection Division, EPA Region 3.
    Dated: September 17, 2013.
Tinka G. Hyde,
Director, Water Division, EPA Region 5.
    Dated: September 16, 2013.
William K. Honker,
Director, Water Quality Protection Division, EPA Region 6.
    Dated: September 16, 2013.
Karen Flournoy,
Director, Water, Wetlands, and Pesticides Division, EPA Region 7.
    Dated: September 16, 2013.
Derrith R. Watchman-Moore,
Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Partnerships and Regulatory 
Assistance, EPA Region 8.
    Dated: September 13, 2013.
John Kemmerer,
Acting Director, Water Division, EPA Region 9.
    Dated: September 17, 2013.
Daniel D. Opalski,
Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, EPA Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2013-23660 Filed 9-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


