Notice2026-04319
New Mexico and Oklahoma Statewide Tribal Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General Permit Proposal
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 4, 2026
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is providing notice of a proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) statewide general permit for storm water discharges from Tribal municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) located in urbanized areas in the states of New Mexico and Oklahoma. This permit offers discharge authorization to regulated MS4s within the boundaries of the Bureau of the Census-designated 2000, 2010, and 2020 urbanized area and any other MS4s designated by the Director as needing a MS4 permit.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 42 (Wednesday, March 4, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 4, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10602-10603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04319]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R06-OW-2026-1288; FRL-13220-01-R6]
New Mexico and Oklahoma Statewide Tribal Municipal Separate Storm
Sewer System (MS4) General Permit Proposal
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed NPDES general permit and
request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is
providing notice of a proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) statewide general permit for storm water discharges from
Tribal municipal
[[Page 10603]]
separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) located in urbanized areas in the
states of New Mexico and Oklahoma. This permit offers discharge
authorization to regulated MS4s within the boundaries of the Bureau of
the Census-designated 2000, 2010, and 2020 urbanized area and any other
MS4s designated by the Director as needing a MS4 permit.
DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing to EPA on or before May 4,
2026. A virtual public hearing will be held. More information on the
date and how to participate will be posted on the EPA public notices
web page at <a href="https://www.epa.gov/publicnotices">https://www.epa.gov/publicnotices</a> at least 30 days prior to
the virtual public hearing.
Proposed Documents: A draft permit, fact sheet, and other
supporting documents are available online via the docket for this
action at: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or on EPA public notices web
pages at: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/publicnotices/notices-search">https://www.epa.gov/publicnotices/notices-search</a>.
To obtain hard copies of these documents or any other information
in the administrative record, please email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d280e49c8296978192b7a2b3fcb5bda4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4416720a14000117042134256a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
How do I comment on this proposal?
Comment Submittals: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID.
No. EPA-R06-OW-2026-1288; by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a>
(our preferred method).
<bullet> By Email: Send comments by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6331552d33272630230613024d040c15"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2c7e1a627c68697f6c495c4d024b435a">[email protected]</span></a>.
Include Docket ID. No. EPA-R06-OW-2026-1288, in the subject line of the
email.
<bullet> By Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Deliver comments to U.S.
EPA, Attn: 6WDPE, 1201 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas 75270.
<bullet> We encourage the public to submit comments via
<a href="http://www.Regulations.gov">www.Regulations.gov</a> or via email.
<bullet> Please submit your comments within the specified time
period cited in the DATES section of this document. Comments received
after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late''. The EPA
is not required to consider these late comments. All comments received
by the EPA in accordance with this section by the ending date of the
comment period will be considered by the EPA before a final decision is
made regarding permit issuance.
<bullet> Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
the docket. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public
docket.
Do not submit to EPA's docket or email any information you consider
to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions
(audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The
written comment is considered the official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance
on making effective comments, please visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
Administrative record: All documents and references used in the
development of this permit are part of the Administrative Record for
this permit. Although listed in the index, some information is not
publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted
material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly
available materials are available either electronically or in hard copy
from <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bfed89f1effbfaecffdacfde91d8d0c9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3260047c62767761725742531c555d44">[email protected]</span></a>. The Administrative Record may also be viewed at
the EPA Region 6 Offices from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. For more information on scheduling a
time to view the Record or to obtain copies of available documents,
please email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1240245c42565741527762733c757d64"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c89afe86988c8d9b88adb8a9e6afa7be">[email protected]</span></a>.
Purpose of This Proposal: This permit NPDES Permit NMR04I000/
OKR04I000 is intended to replace both expired general permits NPDES
Permit NMR04000I/OKR040001 for discharges in the state of New Mexico
and Oklahoma. The discharge control conditions established by this
permit are based on the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 402(p)(3)(B),
which mandates that a permit for discharges from MS4s must effectively
prohibit the discharge of non-stormwater to the MS4; and require
controls to reduce pollutants in discharges from the MS4 to the maximum
extent practicable (MEP) including best management practices (BMPs),
control techniques, and system, design and engineering methods, and
such other provisions as the Administrator deems appropriate for the
control of pollutants. The MEP is the statutory standard that
established the level of pollutant reductions that MS4 operators must
achieve. The MEP is the statutory standard that established the level
of pollutant reductions that both Phase I and Phase II MS4 operators
must achieve. This MS4 permit requires implementation of BMPs
addressing the six minimum control measures in 40 CFR 122.34(b), that
are generally deemed to be an appropriate means of meeting the MEP
standard. The overall intent of the permit conditions is to support the
statutory goals of section 101 of the CWA to restore and maintain the
chemical, physical and biological integrity for the Nations waters. The
1987 Water Quality Act (WQA) amended the Clean Water Act by adding
section 402(p) which requires that NPDES permits be issued for various
categories of storm water discharges. Section 402(p)(2) of the CWA
requires permits for five categories of storm water discharges,
commonly referred to as Phase I of the NPDES Storm Water Program.
Included in Phase I are discharges from large MS4s (systems serving a
population of 250,000 or more and medium MS4s (systems serving a
population of 100,000 to 250,000). Phase I regulations (40 CFR 122.26)
published November 16, 1990 (55 FR 47990) addressed discharges from
large and medium MS4s. Section 402(p)(6) of the CWA requires permitting
for certain additional storm water discharges (Phase II of the storm
water program) to protect water quality. EPA promulgated final Phase II
storm water regulations on December 8, 1999 (64 FR 68722). These
regulations set forth the additional categories of discharges to be
permitted and the requirements of the program. The additional
discharges to be permitted included small MS4s located in Urbanized
Areas designated by the Bureau of the Census and those designated by
the Director on a case-by-case basis to protect water quality. This
permit combines coverage for both Phase I and Phase II regulated MS4s
in a single general permit. As authorized by 40 CFR 122.44(k), the
permit utilizes controls in the form of a comprehensive Stormwater
Management Program (SWMP), as the mechanism to implement the statutory
requirements.
Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.
Curry Jones,
Deputy Director, Water Division, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2026-04319 Filed 3-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 4, 2026.
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