67 FR 55 pgs. 13144-13145 - Clean Water Act Section 303(d): Final Agency Action on 27 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and Final Agency Action on 6 Determinations That TMDLs Are Not Needed

Type: NOTICEVolume: 67Number: 55Pages: 13144 - 13145
Docket number: [FRL-7161-3]
FR document: [FR Doc. 02-6845 Filed 3-20-02; 8:45 am]
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Official PDF Version:  PDF Version

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7161-3]

Clean Water Act Section 303(d): Final Agency Action on 27 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and Final Agency Action on 6 Determinations That TMDLs Are Not Needed

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of availability.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces final agency action on 27 TMDLs prepared by EPA Region 6 for waters listed in Louisiana's Mermentau and Vermilion/Teche river basins, under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). This notice also announces final agency action removing 6 waterbody/pollutant combinations from the Louisiana 303(d) list because TMDLs are not needed. EPA evaluated these waters and prepared the 27 TMDLs needed in response to a partial consent decree entered in the lawsuit Sierra Club, et al. v. Clifford et al. , No. 96-0527, (E.D. La.). Documents from the administrative record files for the 6 determinations that TMDLs are not needed and for 27 TMDLs, including TMDL calculations and responses to comments may be viewed at www.epa.gov/region6/water/tmdl.htm. The administrative record files may be obtained by calling or writing Ms. Caldwell at the above address. Please contact Ms. Caldwell to schedule an inspection.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ellen Caldwell at (214) 665-7513.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In 1996, two Louisiana environmental groups, the Sierra Club and Louisiana Environmental Action Network (plaintiffs), filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), styled Sierra Club, et al. v. Clifford et al. , No. 96-0527, (E.D. La.). Among other claims, plaintiffs alleged that EPA failed to establish Louisiana TMDLs in a timely manner.

EPA Takes Final Agency Action on 27 TMDLs

By this notice EPA is taking final agency action on the following 27 TMDLs for waters located within the Mermentau and Vermilion/Teche basins:

Subsegment Waterbody name Pollutant
050101 Bayou Des Cannes-Headwaters to Mermentau River Pesticides (carbofuran fipronil).
050701 Grand Lake Pesticides (carbofuran).
050702 Intracoastal Waterway Pesticides (carbofuran).
050901 Bays and Gulf Waters to State 3-mile Limit Pesticides (carbofuran).
060205 Bayou Teche-Headwaters at Bayou Courtableau to I-10 Pesticides (carbofuran).
060207 Bayou des Glaises Diversion Canal Pesticides (carbofuran).
060301 Bayou Teche-I-10 to Keystone Locks and Dam Pesticides (carbofuran).
060401 Bayou Teche-Keystone Locks and Dam to Charenton Canal Pesticides (carbofuran).
060701 Tete Bayou Pesticides (carbofuran).
060801 Vermilion River-Headwaters at Bayou Fusilier-Bourbeaux Junction to New Flanders (Ambassador Caffery Bridge at Hwy 3073). Pesticides (carbofuran).
060802 Vermilion River-From New Flanders (Ambassador Caffery Bridge) at Hwy 3073 to Intracoastal Waterway. Pesticides (carbofuran).
060803 Vermilion River Cutoff Pesticides (carbofuran).
060901 Bayou Petite Anse Pesticides (carbofuran).
060902 Bayou Carlin (Delcambre Canal)-Lake Peigneur to Bayou Petite Anse (Estuarine). Pesticides (carbofuran).
060903 Bayou Tigre Pesticides (carbofuran).
060904 Vermilion River B890 Basin New Iberia Southern Drainage Canal Pesticides (carbofuran).
060906 Intracoastal Waterway Pesticides (carbofuran).
060907 Franklin Canal Pesticides (carbofuran).
060910 Boston Canal and Associated Canals (Estuarine) Pesticides (carbofuran).
060911 Vermilion-Teche River Basin Pesticides (carbofuran).
061101 Bayou Petite Anse Pesticides (carbofuran).
061102 Intracoastal Waterway Pesticides (carbofuran).
050201 Bayou Plaquemine Brule-headwaters to Bayou Des Cannes Pesticides (fipronil).
050401 Mermentau River-origin to Lake Arthur Pesticides (fipronil).
050501 Bayou Queue de Tortue-headwaters to Mermentau River Pesticides (fipronil).
050603 Bayou Chene-includes Bayou Grand Marais Pesticides (fipronil).

EPA requested the public to provide EPA with any significant data or information that may impact the 27 TMDLs in 66 FR 47673 (September 13, 2001). The comments received and EPA's response to comments may be found at www.epa.gov/region6/water/tmdl.htm.

Final Agency Action Removing 6 Waterbody/Pollutant Combinations for waters located within the Mermentau and Vermilion/Teche basins from the Louisiana 303(d) List Because TMDLs are not Needed:

Subsegment Waterbody name Pollutant
050102 Bayou Joe Marcel Ammonia, nutrients, and organic enrichment/low DO.
060906 Intracoastal Waterway Nutrients.
061101 Bayou Petite Anse Nutrients.
060204 Bayou Courtableau-origin to Oil and grease.

EPA requested the public to provide to EPA any significant data or information that may impact the determinations that 6 TMDLs are not needed in 66 FR 52403 (October 15, 2001). No comments were received.

Dated: March 13, 2002

Sam Becker,

Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division, Region 6.

[FR Doc. 02-6845 Filed 3-20-02; 8:45 am]

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