Notice2025-01072
Revised Designation Decision and Record of Decision in Response to a Petition by Amigos Bravos for a Determination That Stormwater Discharges in Los Alamos County Contribute to Water Quality Standards Violations and Require Clean Water Act Permit Coverage
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Published
January 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is providing notice of a Revised Designation Decision that storm water discharges from the Los Alamos Urban Area (as defined by the latest decennial Census) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) property in Los Alamos County and Santa Fe County, New Mexico are contributing to violations of New Mexico Water Quality Standards (WQS) and require National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit coverage under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This action is in response to a June 30, 2014, petition filed with EPA by Amigos Bravos entitled "A Petition by Amigos Bravos for a Determination that Storm Water Discharges in Los Alamos County Contribute to Water Quality Standards Violations and Require a Clean Water Act Permit," and revises the Agency's prior December 16, 2019, designation decision, which was remanded to EPA for reconsideration by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5880-5881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01072]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R06-OW-2023-0566; FRL-11561-02-R6]
Revised Designation Decision and Record of Decision in Response
to a Petition by Amigos Bravos for a Determination That Stormwater
Discharges in Los Alamos County Contribute to Water Quality Standards
Violations and Require Clean Water Act Permit Coverage
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is
providing notice of a Revised Designation Decision that storm water
discharges from the Los Alamos Urban Area (as defined by the latest
decennial Census) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) property in
Los Alamos County and Santa Fe County, New Mexico are contributing to
violations of New Mexico Water Quality Standards (WQS) and require
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit coverage
under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This action is in response to a June
30, 2014, petition filed with EPA by Amigos Bravos entitled ``A
Petition by Amigos Bravos for a Determination that Storm Water
Discharges in Los Alamos County Contribute to Water Quality Standards
Violations and Require a Clean Water Act Permit,'' and revises the
Agency's prior December 16, 2019, designation decision, which was
remanded to EPA for reconsideration by the United States Court of
Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
DATES: The ``Revised Designation Decision and Record of Decision in
Response to A Petition by Amigos Bravos for a Determination that
Stormwater Discharges in Los Alamos County Contribute to Water Quality
Standards Violations and Require Clean Water Act Permit Coverage'' was
signed on December 9, 2024. Please refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for additional information.
ADDRESSES: For further information contact Ms. Evelyn Rosborough via
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c0b2afb3a2afb2afb5a7a8eea5b6a5acb9ae80a5b0a1eea7afb6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1d6f726e7f726f72687a7533786b787164735d786d7c337a726b">[email protected]</span></a>, or by mail at Ms. Evelyn Rosborough,
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Water Division (6WQ-NP),
1201 Elm Street, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75270.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) operated by the
County of Los Alamos, the New Mexico Department of Transportation
(NMDOT), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), including Triad
National Security, LLC and the U.S. Department of Energy's National
Nuclear Security Administration, will be regulated as a result of this
action. To determine whether your entity is affected by this action,
you should also review the description of EPA's action in Section II.B
of this notice and the Revised Designation Decision document available
in Docket ID No. EPA-R06-OW-2023-0566 at the Federal eRulemaking
Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a> or online via the EPA Residual
Designation web page at: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/npdes/epas-residual-designation-authority">https://www.epa.gov/npdes/epas-residual-designation-authority</a>. If you have questions regarding the
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person
listed in ADDRESSES section.
B. Summary and Availability of Revised Designation Documents
The Regional Administrator of EPA Region 6 has made a revised
designation of stormwater discharges from certain MS4s for regulation
under the NPDES permitting program pursuant to Section 402(p)(2)(E) and
(6) of the CWA and EPA's implementing regulations at 40 CFR
122.26(a)(9)(i)(C)-(D). Those provisions authorize the Agency to
designate for regulation stormwater discharges that contribute to a WQS
violation or that are a significant contributor of pollutants to waters
of the United States, or where controls are needed based on wasteload
allocations that are part of total maximum daily loads. This authority
is often referred to as ``residual designation authority'' or RDA. EPA
is providing notice of its
[[Page 5881]]
Revised Designation Decision that storm water discharges from the Los
Alamos Urban Area (as defined by the latest decennial Census) and LANL
property in Los Alamos County and Santa Fe County, New Mexico are
contributing to violations of New Mexico WQS and require NPDES permit
coverage under the CWA.
This Revised Designation Decision revises EPA's prior December 16,
2019, decision designating stormwater discharges from small MS4s
operated by the County of Los Alamos, LANL, and the New Mexico
Department of Transportation for NPDES permitting. EPA has carefully
considered all record information, including stormwater discharge data
and other information submitted by Los Alamos County, NMED, LANL, and
the Buckman Direct Diversion, NMED's water quality assessments and
lists of impaired waters, and supplemental information submitted by
LANL and the County regarding EPA's previous 2019 designation decision,
as well as the public comments submitted on that decision when it was
proposed. EPA also conducted a site visit in September 2022 to examine
first-hand the effects of the discharges and waters at issue.
Upon reconsideration of the Petition on remand, EPA has determined
that stormwater discharges from small MS4s located in the Los Alamos
Urban Area as defined by the latest decennial Census and MS4s located
on LANL property within Los Alamos and Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico
require NPDES permit coverage because the discharges are contributing
to violations of NM WQS in waters of the United States. The Revised
Designation Decision plus supplementary information, including the
response to comments document, relating to it are available in Docket
ID No. EPA-R06-OW-2023-0566 at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a> or online via the EPA Residual Designation web
page at: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/npdes/epas-residual-designation-authority">https://www.epa.gov/npdes/epas-residual-designation-authority</a>.
Dated: December 19, 2024.
Troy Hill,
Director, Water Division, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2025-01072 Filed 1-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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