# Draft General NPDES Permit for Seafood Processors Within Three Nautical Miles of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska General NPDES Permit No. AK-G52-P000

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A95-25047

## Record

- **Collection:** Federal Register
- **Document type:** Notice
- **Published:** October 10, 1995
- **Citation:** 60 FR 52677

## Text

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5313-2]

Draft General NPDES Permit for Seafood Processors Within Three
Nautical Miles of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska General NPDES Permit No.
AK-G52-P000

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10.

[[Page 52678]]

ACTION: Notice of Draft General NPDES Permit, and Notice of Finding of
No Significant Impact.

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SUMMARY: The Director, Water Division, EPA Region 10, is proposing to
issue a general National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit no. AK-G52-P000 for seafood processors within three nautical
miles of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, pursuant to the provisions of
the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. The proposed general NPDES
permit will authorize discharges from facilities discharging through
stationary outfalls on St. Paul and St. George Islands, and from mobile
vessels discharging within the three nautical mile coastal zone of the
Pribilof Islands. These facilities are engaged in the processing of
fresh, frozen, canned, smoked, salted and pickled seafoods. Discharges
authorized by the proposed permit include processing wastes, process
disinfectants, sanitary wastewater and other wastewaters, including
domestic wastewater, cooling water, boiler water, gray water,
freshwater pressure relief water, refrigeration condensate, water used
to transfer seafood to a facility, and live tank water. The proposed
permit will authorize discharges to waters of the United States in and
contiguous to the State of Alaska, except for receiving waters excluded
from coverage as protected or adjacent to a designated ``seafood
processing center.''
The proposed general NPDES permit for seafood processors within the
Pribilof Island coastal zone will not authorize discharges from the
processing of fish mince, paste or meal. The proposed permit will not
authorize discharges of petroleum hydrocarbons, toxic pollutants, or
other pollutants not specified in the permit.
A draft NPDES permit, fact sheet and other documents of the
administrative record are available upon request.

PUBLIC NOTICE ISSUANCE DATE: October 10, 1995.

PUBLIC NOTICE EXPIRATION DATE: November 13, 1995.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Interested persons may submit written comments on the
draft general NPDES permit to the attention of Florence Carroll at the
address below. All comments should include the name, address, and
telephone number of the commenter and a concise statement of comment
and the relevant facts upon which it is based. Comments of either
support or concern which are directed at specific, cited permit
requirements are appreciated. Comments must be submitted to EPA on or
before the expiration date of the public notice.
After the expiration date of the public notice, the Director, Water
Division, EPA Region 10, will make a final determination with respect
to issuance of the general permit. The tentative requirements contained
in the draft general permit will become final conditions if no
substantive comments are received during the public comment period. The
permit is expected to become effective on January 15, 1996.
Persons wishing to comment on State Certification of the proposed
general NPDES permit should submit written comments within this 30-day
comment period to the State of Alaska, Alaska Department of
Environmental Conservation (ADEC), 410 Willoughby Avenue, Suite 105,
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1795. Comments should be addressed to the
attention of Alaska Water Quality Standards Consistency Review.
Persons wishing to comment on the State Determination of
Consistency with the Alaska Coastal Management Program should submit
written comments within this 30-day comment period, to the State of
Alaska, Office of Management and Budget, Division of Governmental
Coordination, P.O. Box 110030, Juneau, Alaska 99811-0030. Comments
should be addressed to the attention of Alaska Coastal Management
Program Consistency Review.
Persons wishing to comment on the EPA Finding of No Significant
Impact (FNSI), based on the environmental assessment, should submit
written comments within this 30 day period. All comments should include
the name, address and telephone number of the commenter and a concise
statement of the basis of any comment and the relevant facts upon which
it is based. Comments should be submitted to Florence Carroll at the
address below.

PUBLIC HEARING: No public hearings have been scheduled. Persons
requesting a public hearing should submit their request to Florence
Carroll at the address below. Notice of a public hearing will be
published in the Federal Register. Notices will also be mailed to all
interested persons receiving copies of the proposed permit.

APPEAL OF PERMIT: Within 120 days following the service of notice of
EPA's final permit decision under 40 CFR 124.15, any interested person
may appeal the Permit in the Federal Court of Appeal in accordance with
Section 509(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act. Persons affected by a general
permit may not challenge the conditions of the Permit as a right of
further EPA proceedings. Instead, they may either challenge the Permit
in court or apply for an individual NPDES permit and then request a
formal hearing on the issuance or denial of an individual permit.

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD: The complete administrative record for the draft
permit is available for public review at the EPA Region 10 Library,
10th Floor, at the address listed below. Copies of the draft general
NPDES permit, fact sheet, the environmental assessment, the biological
assessment, and the Pribilof Seafood Ocean Discharge Criteria
Evaluation are available upon request from the Region 10 Public
Information Center at 1-800-424-4EPA (4372).

ADDRESSES: Public comments should be sent to: Environmental Protection
Agency Region 10, NPDES Compliance Unit (WD-135), 1200 Sixth Avenue,
Seattle, Washington, 98101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Florence Carroll, of EPA Region 10, at
the address listed above or telephone (206) 553-1760.

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 general NPDES permit 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: September 21, 1995.
David Teeter,
Acting Director, Office of Water.

Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI)

To All Interested Government Agencies, Public Groups, and Individuals:

In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
procedures for complying with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), 40 CFR Part 6, Subpart F, EPA has conducted an environmental
review of the following proposed action:

Issuance of general National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) Permit, no. AK-G52-P000, to owners and operators of facilities,
both mobile and shore-based, engaged in the processing of seafood
within three nautical miles of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska

The general NPDES permit requirements, including effluent
limitations, monitoring provisions, and other conditions applicable to
the operations covered are specified in the proposed permit. The permit
Fact Sheet

[[Page 52679]]
describes the basis for the permit provisions.
An environmental assessment (EA) for this proposed action has been
prepared. Based on the EA and the proposed permit conditions, and in
accordance with the guidelines for determining the significance of
federal actions (40 CFR 1508.27) and EPA criteria for initiating an
environmental impact statement (EIS) (40 CFR 6.605), EPA has concluded
that issuance of this general NPDES permit will not result in a
significant effect on the human environment. This action will not
significantly affect land use patterns or population, wetlands or
floodplains, threatened or endangered species, farmlands, ecologically
critical areas, historic resources, air quality, water quality, noise
levels, fish and wildlife resources, nor will it conflict with approved
local, regional, or state land use plans or policies. For the above
reasons EPA has determined that an EIS will not be prepared.
The term of the proposed NPDES permit is two years only, during
which time additional field data will be collected. Another EA will be
prepared for the subsequent five-year permit based on analyses
utilizing that additional field data.
A copy of the EA evaluating the potential impacts of the proposed
action is available upon request by calling (206) 553-1214, or at the
above address, and is incorporated into this FNSI by reference.
Comments supporting or disagreeing with this FNSI may be submitted
to the following address for consideration: Rick Seaborne, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, WD-126,
Seattle, Washington 98101.
After evaluating the comments received, EPA will make a final
decision. No administrative action will be taken on the proposed permit
for at least 30 days after the release date (indicated above) of this
FNSI. EPA will fully consider all comments received during this public
notice period before taking final action.

Sincerely,
David Teeter,
Acting Director, Water Division.
[FR Doc. 95-25047 Filed 10-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A95-25047. Public record. Not legal advice.