Notice2026-04322
New Mexico Statewide 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 municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) located in urbanized areas in the State of New Mexico. 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 10604-10605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04322]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-R06-OW-2026-1289; FRL-13221-01-R6]
New Mexico Statewide 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
municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) located in urbanized
areas in the State of New Mexico. 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#1c4e2a524c58594f5c796c7d327b736a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6c3e5a223c28293f2c091c0d420b031a">[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-2026-1289; 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#e7b5d1a9b7a3a2b4a7829786c9808891"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d88aee96889c9d8b98bda8b9f6bfb7ae">[email protected]</span></a>.
Include Docket ID. No. EPA-R06-OW-2026-1289, 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#683a5e26382c2d3b280d1809460f071e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="56046018061213051633263778313920">[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#feacc8b0aebabbadbe9b8e9fd0999188"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f3a1c5bda3b7b6a0b3968392dd949c85">[email protected]</span></a>.
Purpose for This Proposal: This permit NPDES Permit NMR04B000 is
intended to replace both expired general permits NPDES Permit NMR04A000
an NMR040000 for discharges in the state of New Mexico.
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
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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 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. 2026-04322 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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