EPA NPDES permits and Fed Reg Notice for comments

[NaepcA1]

Good morning everyone,
The NPDS permits information was sent out yesterday, a few tribes have voiced concern on the comment period.

Below is the response I received from EPA, should you have any other questions regarding this issue please contact Felicia Wright.

Thanks

Corn

From: Laura Ebbert [mailto:Ebbert.Laura@epamail.epa.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 8:40 AM
To: Cornelius Antone
Cc: wright.felicia@epa.gov; lau.nate@epa.gov; pasqua.gilbert@epa.gov; gullatt.kristin@epa.gov; ksloan@yuroktribe.nsn.us; gomes.janis@epa.gov
Subject: Fw: EPA NPDES permits and Fed Reg Notice for comments

Corn:

Please see response from Felicia Wright, below. The Office of Water plans consultation in Phase II, as well as what sounds like an informational national call and specific interaction with one Region 9 Tribe (Yurok) at this point, during Phase I. Felicia, cc'd here, is the lead for consultation at the Office of Water in Headquarters. She doesn't specify if an extension on the June 22 Federal Register comment period is possible, but does indicate that this (Phase I) may be in connection with a court case, and I infer that there may therefore be concrete deadlines. She indicates they will extend the deadline under Phase II beyond July 9. I've copied Kate Sloan since this response mentions the Tribe specifically.

Please feel free to reach out to Felicia (cc'd here) if there are further questions she can help answer.

Hope this is helpful,

Laura (Mayo) Ebbert
Manager
Tribal Program Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 947-3561
ebbert.laura@epa.gov
**Please note my new email address and update your contact list as needed**
----- Forwarded by Laura Ebbert/R9/USEPA/US on 06/06/2012 07:27 AM -----

From: Felicia Wright/DC/USEPA/US
To: Laura Ebbert/R9/USEPA/US@EPA,
Date: 06/05/2012 05:01 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: EPA NPDES permits and Fed Reg Notice for comments
________________________________________



This FR notice is generating a lot of confusion--there has been limited public discussion, stakeholder outreach and no consultation processes associated with this action. However, our program has been in discussions with the Intertribal Timber Council Consortium on this action. The FR is the first public notice of intent for this action. According to our program, the purpose of the Phase I rulemaking effort is to codify a long-standing practice of EPA, clarifying what we have interpreted all along in our program implementation. The timing is in relation to a court case.

The Phase II effort, which is focused on how to manage logging roads under 402(p)(6) will have a full tribal consultation process. This consultation process will include seeking tribal input and perspectives on potential measures for addressing stormwater discharges from logging roads and will likely have high tribal interest. I'm working to ensure the consultation process will extend well beyond the July 9 comment timeframe.

I spoke with the manager and lead staff responsible for this effort, and we are setting up a national call with tribes ASAP, as well as a separate consultation with the Yurok Tribe, to let them know what we are crafting, provide technical information, and what our schedule is for both actions, including our plan to consult on the Phase II action. There will be opportunity for tribes to provide input on the call for either action.




Felicia Wright, Tribal Coordinator
EPA Office of Water (OW)
Phone: 202-566-1886

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Mailcode 4101M
Washington, DC 20460


-----Laura Ebbert/R9/USEPA/US wrote: -----
To: Kristin Gullatt/R9/USEPA/US@EPA, Felicia Wright/DC/USEPA/US@EPA
From: Laura Ebbert/R9/USEPA/US
Subject: Fw: EPA NPDES permits and Fed Reg Notice for comments

We received an inquiry from our Tribal Caucus about consultation on a NPDES process, pasted below. The current deadline for comment on the Federal Register notice is June 22, but some Tribes in R9 who may be affected just became aware of this Register notice. Can one of you help me identify:

How did the Region or OW do outreach on this opportunity for comment?
Can OW or the Region issue an extension on the comment period upon request? Who can issue, if so?
Any other messages for Regions or Tribes on this process?

I can't find this one in TCOTS...I'm hoping one of you will have some insight!

Many thanks,

Laura (Mayo) Ebbert
Manager
Tribal Program Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 947-3561
ebbert.laura@epa.gov



EPA is seeking comment on approaches for addressing water quality impacts associated with discharges of stormwater from forest roads.” EPA is seeking comments by June 22. Among other things, the notice states that “EPA is aware that a Congressional moratorium on NPDES permitting of some logging roads is set to expire on September 30, 2012, and intends to move expeditiously to complete this revision.” Also, “the Agency will seek input again prior to taking additional action.”

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05 ... -12524.pdf


For more background on this issue:

The Ninth Circuit recently reissued its decision in denying rehearing in Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. Brown, regarding NPDES permits required for logging roads. In the reissued decision, the court kept all the prior analysis but added a new section II explaining why there is subject matter jurisdiction over the case notwithstanding the 120-day limit on Clean Water Act regulatory challenges. The court now specifies that there is such jurisdiction because the US supposedly first adopted the view that the regulation at issue does not require permits for silvicultural stormwater runoff only in its first amicus brief in this case, even though that apparently had been the longstanding interpretation by the EPA. See the decision here: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/o ... -35266.pdf.