July 18 Final Consultation on Stormwater

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Dear Tribal Partners and EPA Regional Indian Coordinators, The EPA Office of Water would like to share some time-sensitive information on final consultation for the proposed stormwater rulemaking, an extension to the comment period for Waters of the U.S.
draft guidance, and new information on EPA's study on hydraulic
fracturing. This information and these events may be of interest to
tribes, and provide tribes an opportunity to engage with EPA on water-related topics. Please feel free to forward this information, as appropriate.

1. July 18, 2011 Teleconference: Final Consultation and Coordination on Proposed Stormwater Rulemaking.

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
Call-in Number 866-299-3188
Conference code: 202-564-1489

The Office of Water is seeking discussion with tribes and feedback on the options being considered for the stormwater rulemaking. The options that EPA is considering includes:
expanding the currently regulated areas of municipal separate
storm sewer systems (MS4s) to include rapidly developing areas
establishing specific post-construction requirements to control
stormwater discharges from newly developed (and re-developed)
sites
requiring certain regulated municipal separate storm sewer systems
to address stormwater discharges from existing development through
improved stormwater management.

All tribes are encouraged to participate. EPA is seeking comments from tribes as part of the consultation process until July 28, 2011. Tribes may submit comments to galavotti.holly@epa.gov or submit comments
on-line at http://www.epa.gov/tribal/consultation/comments.htm. EPA
Regions may conduct additional regional consultation and outreach on this proposed rulemaking during this period.

Please note that notice of this teleconference was provided in a consultation notification letter mailed in hard-copy to all federally-recognized tribal leaders last week.

2. July 31, 2011 Deadline for comments on the Waters of the U.S. Draft Guidance


WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers have extended the public comment period by 30 days for the draft guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act. In response to requests from state and local officials, as well as other stakeholders, EPA and the Corps will take additional comment until July 31, 2011 on this important draft guidance that aims to protect U.S. waters. These waters are critical for the health of the American people, the economy and ecosystems in communities across the country.

This change in the public comment period will not impact the schedule for finalizing the guidance or alter the intent to proceed with a rulemaking.

Public input received will be carefully considered as the agencies make final decisions regarding the guidance. These comments will also be very helpful as the agencies prepare a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

The original 60-day public comment period was originally set to expire on July 1, 2011. The agencies will be publishing a notice of this 30-day extension in the Federal Register.

More information:
http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/ ... waters.cfm



Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.



3. EPA Identifies Case Studies for Hydraulic Fracturing Study

Agency to conduct field work in various regions of the country starting this summer

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today, in keeping with the administration’s focus to ensure that the agency leverages domestic resources safely and responsibly, announced the next steps in its congressionally mandated hydraulic fracturing study. EPA has identified seven case studies to help inform the assessment of potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources.
The sites identified were selected following extensive input from stakeholders, including the public, local and state officials, industry, and environmental organizations. To ensure the agency maintains the current timeline for the study, the EPA will begin field work in some of the selected regions this summer.

Natural gas plays a key role in the nation’s energy future. EPA is working closely with other federal partners to ensure that this important resource can be developed safely.

“This is an important part of a process that will use the best science to help us better understand the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water,” said Paul Anastas, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “We’ve met with community members, state experts and industry and environmental leaders to choose these case studies. This is about using the best possible science to do what the American people expect the EPA to do -- ensure that the health of their communities and families are protected.”

The studies, which will take place in regions across the country, will be broken into two study groups. Two of the seven sites were selected as prospective case studies where EPA will monitor key aspects of the hydraulic fracturing process throughout the lifecycle of a well.

These areas are located in:
Haynesville Shale - DeSoto Parish, La.
Marcellus Shale - Washington County, Pa.

Five retrospective case studies were selected and will examine areas where hydraulic fracturing has occurred for any impact on drinking water resources. These are located in:

Bakken Shale - Kildeer, and Dunn Counties, N.D.
Barnett Shale - Wise and Denton Counties, Texas Marcellus Shale - Bradford and Susquehanna Counties, Pa.
Marcellus Shale - Washington County, Pa.
Raton Basin - Las Animas County, Colo.

The information gathered from these case studies will be part of an approach which includes literature review, collection of data and information from states, industry and communities, laboratory work and computer modeling. The combination of these materials will allow us to do a more comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. The study will continue to use the best available science, independent sources of information, and will be conducted using a transparent, peer-reviewed process, to better understand any impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing.

EPA invited stakeholders from across the country to participate in the identification of potential case studies through informational public meetings and the submission of electronic or written comments. Following thousands of comments, over 40 case studies were nominated for inclusion in the study. The case studies were identified, prioritized and selected based on a rigorous set of criteria. These criteria included proximity of population and drinking water supplies to activities, concerns about impaired water quality (retrospective only) and health and environmental impacts (retrospective only), and knowledge gaps that could be filled by the case study. Sites were prioritized based on geographic and geologic diversity, population at risk, site status (planned, active or completed), unique geological or hydrology features, characteristics of water resources, and land use.

The draft study plan and additional information: http://www.
epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing






Thank you.

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

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