Tag: EPA

EPA drops wage garnishment rule

Swamp Stomp

Volume 14, Issue 29

The people have spoken!

This is from the July 17, 2014 Federal Register.

Action

Withdrawal of direct final rule.

Summary

Due to the receipt of adverse comments, EPA is withdrawing the direct final rule for Administrative Wage Garnishment published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2014.

Dates

The direct final rule published at 79 FR 37644 on July 2, 2014 is withdrawn effective July 17, 2014.

For Further Information Contact

FPPS c/o Anita Jones, OCFO/OFM/FPPS, Mailcode 2733R, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-4969; fax number: (202) 565-2585; email address: jones.anita@epa.gov.

Supplementary Information

Due to the receipt of adverse comments, EPA is withdrawing the direct final rule amending EPA’s claims collection standards to include Administrative Wage Garnishment, which published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2014 (79 FR 37644). In the direct final rule, EPA stated that if adverse comments were received by August 1, 2014, the direct final rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. EPA received adverse comments on that direct final rule. EPA will address those comments in any subsequent final action, based upon the proposed rule making action, which was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2014 (79 FR 37704).

To date there were a total of 574 comments.  Some of them are quite direct.  It is nice to know that we still have a hand in our own government.  Thank to all of you who provided comments.  It did make a difference!

Redefining No Net Loss

Swamp Stomp

Volume 14, Issue 19

The EPA’s Office of Inspector General has released a report detailing the success or lack thereof of wetland mitigation programs around the country.  The central concern is whether or not “no net loss” is being achieved.  The report is entitled, “EPA Needs to Clarify Its Claim of ‘No Net Loss ‘of Wetlands.”  As the title might suggest it does not appear that this goal is being realized.

The following is from the report.

“The EPA attempts to verify that the application of the wetlands protection and restoration guidelines furthers the goal of “no net loss” by comparing the total acres of wetland impacts to the total acres planned for mitigation in the USACE’s Section 404 permits. However, this comparison is based on the EPA’s assumption that all wetlands mitigation projects will meet performance standards. Not all mitigation projects meet these standards. For example, in a 2011 report about North Carolina wetlands mitigation projects, it was reported that “… no single mitigation provider, mitigation type or geographic region achieved complete success according to the standards approved in mitigation plans.” Specifically, the report noted that 74 percent of the mitigation projects attained the mitigation goals established in the Section 404 permits. Because the EPA’s performance reporting does not inform readers of this assumption, the Office of Inspector General concluded that the EPA’s reporting of “no net loss” of wetlands hampers the public’s understanding of the EPA’s actual performance in protecting wetlands. The EPA should indicate in its wetlands measure definitions webpage and in future annual plan performance reporting that achieving “no net loss” is based upon an assumption that wetlands mitigation projects meet performance standards.”

So what is the recommendation?  It is simply to lower the bar.  This is the EPA Inspector General’s recommendation.

“Clarify on the wetlands measure definitions webpage and in future annual plan performance reporting that “no net loss” of wetlands is based upon an assumption that mitigation projects contained in CWA Section 404 permits will meet performance standards.”

This seems reasonable however, the agency response to this recommendation is a bit bizarre.

“In partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, states and tribes achieve ‘no net loss’ of wetlands each year under the Clean Water Act Section 404 regulatory program. (‘No net loss’ of wetlands is based on requirements for mitigation in CWA 404 permits and not the actual mitigation attained.).”

So no net loss is based upon the requirement of wetland mitigation.  The fact that the mitigation put into the ground that does not work does not seem to matter.  Oh well.  We tried.

Perhaps I am reading this wrong.  I invite our readers to look at this document and provide any insight they can.  This seems to me to be a major step backward in ensuring wetlands that are impacted are put back.

Have a great week!

Marc

Congress Pushes Back on New EPA WoUS Rules

Swamp Stomp

Volume 14, Issue 18

On May 1, 2014, 231 lawmakers led by U.S. Representatives Chris Collins (R-NY) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the EPA and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to retract its proposed rule to expand federal control under the Clean Water Act. They have citied technical, legal and economic concerns regarding the new rules that have been published in the Federal Register.

Congress is most concerned with the legal position that the EPA and the Corps have taken by more or less basing the entire rule revision on Justice Kennedy’s lone opinion in the Rapanos case. The letter states, “Contrary to your agencies’ claims, this would directly contract prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions, which imposed limits on the extent of federal CWA authority,” the lawmakers stated in the letter. It went on to say that “Based on a legally and scientifically unsound view of the “significant nexus” concept espoused by Justice Kennedy, the rule would places features such as ditches, ephemeral drainages, ponds (natural or manmade), prairie potholes, seeps, flood plains, and other occasionally or seasonally wet areas under federal control.”

The letter also raised concerns with the economic analysis on which the proposed rule is based. In the agency’s analysis, it was determined that the proposed rule would result in a 2.7 percent increase in jurisdictional determinations and would impact an additional 1,332 acres nationwide under Section 404. They applied that 2.7 percent increase across other EPA permitting programs. The agencies determined that the draft proposed rule would result in costs between $133 million and $231 million annually. Based on this, the agencies have said the rule would not have a significant economic impact. The lawmakers disagree, saying errors in the analysis “call into question the veracity of any of the conclusions in the economic analysis.”

House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) says the proposal is a massive power grab that must be stopped. “Under this plan, there’d be no body of water in America – including mud puddles and canals – that wouldn’t be at risk from job-destroying federal regulation,” he says.”

Read the full letter here.

To date the EPA has received more than 61,000 comments on the new rules. Your comments and suggestions are needed. So far a total of 789 comments have been published. Many support the new rules and a few do not. If you have any opinion on these new rules, please provide you comments by going to regulations.gov and searching for EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0880. From there you can see the entire docket and submit your comments.

Comments are due by July 21, 2014. If EPA and the Corps finalize these rules it is expected that they will be in force by the fall of this year.

Similarly Situated Waters

Swamp Stomp

Volume 14, Issue 17

One of the major tenets of the new EPA waters of the US regulations is the concept of Bright Line Rules. Bright Line Rules are a clearly defined rule or standard, generally used in law, composed of objective factors which leave little or no room for varying interpretation. The purpose of a bright-line rule is to produce predictable and consistent results in its application.

Some legal scholars, such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, have expressed a strong preference for bright-line rules, critics often argue that bright-line rules are overly-simplistic and can lead to harsh and unjust results. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer noted that there are circumstances in which the application of bright-line rules would be inappropriate, stating that “no single set of legal rules can ever capture the ever changing complexity of human life.” Over the course of the last three decades, many bright-line rules previously established in U.S. jurisprudence have been replaced with balancing tests.

The concept of similarly situated waters is a bright line rule. The EPA is attempting to designate these waters based upon their occurrence in a specific ecoregion. There are two documents you need to look at to understand this idea. The first one is found on page 29 of the newly published proposed rules (EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0880) and Map A also published (EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0880-0002) and included in the Federal Register docket.

This is from the rules:

The agencies would consider the ‘‘other waters’’ in a single point of entry watershed in these identified ecoregions as similarly situated for purposes of aggregation for a significant nexus analysis. The agencies expect that this approach would lead to all similarly situated other waters within single point of entry watersheds within an ecoregion being found jurisdictional through case specific analysis of significant nexus. Alternately, the agencies could determine that the similarly situated waters within each ecoregion have a significant nexus and are jurisdictional by rule and therefore do not require a case-specific significant nexus analysis.

These ecoregions are defined as, “an ecoregion is an area within the United States that includes generally similar ecosystems and that has similar types, qualities, and quantities of environmental resources. (J.M. Omernik, ‘‘Perspectives on the Nature and Definition of Ecological Regions,’’ Environmental Management 34(Supplement 1):S27–S38 (2004)). Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterize an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions.”

The EPA has identified vast areas of the US as similarly situated and has depicted them on the map below.

EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0880-0002

The significance of this mapping is that any wetland or water found within these ecoregions would be considered similarly situated and therefore jurisdictional by default. There would be no need for a significant nexus determination.

I think it is kind of funny that the Keystone XL pipeline R-O-W more or less corresponds to one of these Bright Line Rule areas. Coincidence?

Have a great week!

Marc

2014 EPA Water Rule Changes

The Swamp Stomp

Volume 14, Issue 10

As of the end of 2013, the US EPA has announced 134 new and modified agency rule changes.    It is a health list when compared to the 53 new rules in 2012.  They have been quite busy.  The rules are separated into major areas that include: air, chemical safety, solid waste and water.  The vast majority of these new rules are focused on greenhouse gas emissions, client change and the like.  However, water issues are quite significant.  There are 14 new water rules under consideration and include the definition of “Waters of the United States” Under the Clean Water Act.

To help you sort though all of this I have included the 14 water rule changes along with a brief summary of each one.

epa

Pre-rule Stage

RID:  2040-AF43

Title:  NPDES Regulations to Address Water Quality Impacts from Forest Road Discharges

Summary:  The EPA is exploring the use flexible non-permitting approaches under the Clean Water Act to regulate certain discharges of stormwater from forest roads, including logging roads, in order to address water quality impacts from those discharges. The EPA recognizes that effective best management practices (BMPs) exist that protect receiving waters and minimize impacts. The EPA is considering approaches that leverage effective BMP programs.

RID:  2040-AF46

Title:  Section 610 Review of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Regulation and Effluent Limitations Guidelines Standards for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Summary:  The EPA promulgated revised regulations for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) on February 12, 2003 (68 FR 7175). The “2003 CAFO Rule” expanded the number of operations covered by the CAFO regulations and included requirements to address the land application of manure from CAFOs. The 2003 CAFO Rule required all CAFOs to seek NPDES permit coverage.

Proposed Rule Stage

RID:  2040-AD39

Title:  Uniform National Discharge Standards for Vessels of the Armed Forces – Phase II

Summary:  CWA section 312(n) directs EPA and DoD to establish national discharge standards for discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel of the Armed Forces. The proposed standards will apply to approximately 6,000 vessels of the Armed Forces and are intended to reduce the adverse environmental impacts associated with the discharges, stimulate the development of improved pollution control devices, and advance the development of environmentally sound ships by the military.

RID:  2040-AF03

Title:  Development of Best Management Practices for Recreational Boats under Section 312(o) of the Clean Water Act

Summary:  The Clean Boating Act amends section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to exclude recreational vessels from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting requirements. In addition, it adds a new CWA section 312(o) directing EPA to develop regulations that identify the discharges incidental to the normal operation of recreational vessels (other than a discharge of sewage) for which it is reasonable and practicable to develop management practices to mitigate adverse impacts on waters of the United States.

RID:  22040-AF16

Title:  Water Quality Standards Regulatory Clarifications

Summary:  EPA proposed changes to the water quality standards (WQS) regulation to improve its effectiveness in helping restore and maintain the Nation’s Waters. The core of the current WQS regulation has been in place since 1983.  These revisions will allow EPA, States, and authorized tribes to better achieve program goals by providing clearer more streamlined requirements to facilitate enhanced water resource protection.

RID:  2040-AF25

Title:  National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Application and Program Updates Rule

Summary:  EPA plans to propose regulations that would update specific elements of the existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) in order to better harmonize regulations and application forms, improve permit documentation and transparency, and provide clarifications to the existing regulations. In this effort EPA plans to address application, permitting, monitoring, and reporting requirements that have become obsolete or outdated due to programmatic, technical or other changes that have occurred over the past 35 years.

RID:  2040-AF30

Title:  Definition of “Waters of the United States” Under the Clean Water Act

Summary:  After U.S. Supreme Court decisions in SWANCC and Rapanos, the scope of “waters of the US” protected under all CWA programs has been an issue of considerable debate and uncertainty. The Act has a single definition for “waters of the United States.” As a result, these decisions affect the geographic scope of all CWA programs. SWANCC and Rapanos did not invalidate the current regulatory definition of “waters of the United States.” However, the decisions established important considerations for how those regulations should be interpreted, and experience implementing the regulations has identified several areas that could benefit from additional clarification through rulemaking. U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are developing a proposed rule for determining whether a water is protected by the Clean Water Act. This rule would make clear which waterbodies are protected under the Clean Water Act.

RID:  2040-AF48

Title:  Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants Under the Clean Water Act; Analysis and Sampling Procedures

Summary:  This regulatory action would amend “Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants” at 40 CFR part 136 to approve test procedures (analytical methods) for use by testing laboratories for water monitoring. These test procedures are used to implement the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program unless an alternate procedure is approved by a Regional Administrator. The regulation would also revise, clarify, and correct errors and ambiguities in existing methods and the water monitoring regulations.

Final Rule Stage

RID:  2040-AC84

Title:  National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): Use of Sufficiently Sensitive Test Methods for Permit Applications and Reporting

Summary:  EPA is launching an effort to update specific elements of the existing NPDES regulations in order to provide clarifications related to the NPDES permit application and NPDES permit monitoring analytical detection level requirements.

RID:  2040-AE95

Title:  Criteria and Standards for Cooling Water Intake Structures

Summary:  Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires EPA to ensure that the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impacts. Under a consent decree with environmental organizations, EPA divided the 316(b) rulemaking into three phases. All new facilities except offshore oil and gas exploration facilities were addressed in Phase I in December 2001. In July, 2004, EPA promulgated Phase II which covered large existing electric generating plants. In July 2007, EPA suspended the Phase II rule following the Second Circuit decision.  In light of the Supreme Court 2009 decision and its recognition that EPA has broad discretion in its 316(b) regulations, EPA initiated consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. EPA and the Services began informal consultation in 2012, but concluded in 2013 that formal consultation was necessary. In order to accommodate the regulatory 135-day time frame for formal consultation, plaintiffs agreed to a modification to the settlement agreement, extending final rule deadline to November 4, 2013.

RID:  2040-AF14

Title:  Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category

Summary:  EPA establishes national technology-based regulations, called effluent limitations guidelines and standards, to reduce discharges of pollutants from industries to waters of the U.S. These requirements are incorporated into National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permits issued by EPA and States and through the national pretreatment program.

RID:  2040-AF21

Title:  Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida’s Estuaries and Coastal Waters

Summary:  EPA is under a Consent Decree deadline to sign a notice of final rulemaking for numeric nutrient water quality criteria (which are elements of water quality standards) for the State of Florida’s estuaries and coastal waters by September 30, 2013. Pursuant to a judicial order, EPA’s obligation to sign a notice of final rulemaking for numeric nutrient water quality criteria for flowing waters in south Florida (including canals), tidally influence segments, and the downstream protection values for flowing waters into estuaries by September 30, 2013 has been stayed until 30 days after the court rules on EPA’s motion to modify the Consent Decree to relieve EPA of its obligation to finalize criteria for those waters.

RID:  2040-AF39

Title:  Water Quality Standards for the State of Florida’s Streams and Downstream Protection of Lakes: Remanded Provisions

Summary:  This final rule addresses an order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida from February 18, 2012, which remanded to the EPA two portions of its numeric water quality standards for nutrients in Florida that were promulgated and published on December 6, 2010. This rule promulgates criteria for the remanded provisions and provides additional explanation: the flowing waters criteria derived using the reference condition approach for Florida streams and for the derivation of the downstream protective values (DPVs) for unimpaired lakes. Per the terms of the Consent Decree, EPA signed for publication in the Federal Register proposed criteria on November 30, 2012.

RID:  2040-AF44

Title:  Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Construction and Development Point Source Category

Summary:  This action will address revisions to the effluent guidelines and standards for the construction and development (C & D) point source category 40 CFR 450. The C&D rule was issued on December 1, 2009 and became effective on February 1, 2010. This action would revise several of the non-numeric portions of the rule in response to litigation.