Notice of Proposed General Permit Reissuance for North Slope Oil and Gas Extraction Activities Public Comment Period Open from July 2, 2009 to August 17, 2009.
Notice of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit Reissuance to Discharge to Waters of the United States for Facilities Related to Oil and Gas Extraction and Notice of State Certification
Public Notice No.: AKG-33-0000
Public Notice Issuance Date: July 2, 2009
Public Notice Expiration Date: August 17, 2009
1. Summary
The general permit, as proposed, will authorize the discharge of specific wastewaters from facilities related to oil and gas extraction. In this reissuance, EPA proposes to eliminate coverage for domestic wastewater discharges, add coverage for secondary containment water, and extend the coverage area to current and proposed pipeline corridors as described in the Fact Sheet.
2. Tentative Determination
The Region 10 Office of EPA has tentatively determined to reissue the NPDES general permit as described in the “Summary” section above.
3. State Certification
This Notice will also serve as Public Notice of the draft § 401 Certification (Appendix D of the Fact Sheet) by the State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation that the subject permit will comply with the applicable provisions of Sections 208(e), 301, 302, 303, 306 and 307 of the Clean Water Act. The NPDES general permit will not be issued until the certification requirements of Section 401 have been met.
4. Public Comments
Persons wishing to comment on the tentative determinations contained in the draft permit may do so in writing within 45 days of the date of this public notice.
EPA will consider all substantive comments before issuing a final general permit. Those wishing to comment on the draft permit or request a public hearing may do so in writing by the public notice expiration date. Please submit comments to USEPA-Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, OWW-130, Seattle, Washington 98101. Comments may be submitted by e-mail to godsey.cindi@epa.gov or faxed to (206) 553-0165. All comments should include name, address, phone number, a concise statement of basis for the comment and relevant facts upon which it is based. A request for public hearing must state the nature of the issues to be raised as well as the requester’s name, address and telephone number.
Persons wishing to comment on State Certification should submit written comments within this 30 day period to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), Division of Water, ATTN: Shawn Stokes, 555 Cordova Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.
5. Document Availability
The draft NPDES permit and Fact Sheet are on file and may be inspected 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 the EPA at the above address to the attention of the NPDES Permits Unit, or by calling (206) 553-0523. This material is also available from the EPA Alaska Operations Office, Room 537, Federal Building, 222 West 7th Avenue, #19, Anchorage, Alaska 99513. Copies of the documents may be downloaded through the internet at the following website: http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/waterpermits.htm or may be requested by e-mail from: washington.audrey@epa.gov or godsey.cindi@epa.gov.
To ensure effective communication with everyone, additional services can be made available to persons with disabilities by contacting one of the above EPA representatives. For those with impaired hearing or speech, please contact EPA's telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) at (206) 553-1598.
Draft Permit (PDF) (33 pp. 215K)
Fact Sheet (PDF) (37 pp. 334K)
ACMP Determiniation (PDF) (8 pp. 43K)
Federal Register Notice (PDF) (2 pp. 49K)