Je veux savoir à propos de…

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES

9876

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
0.35 million gallons per day of powerplant-related process water, cooling tower water, and other wastewater under terms of their current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NPDES permit No.
CA0024571, issued by the State of Californias North Coast Water Board.
The company discharges through an existing outfall into ocean waters adjacent to the Samoa Peninsula. The NPDES permit prohibits discharging wastewater in violation of effluent standards or prohibitions established under Section 307a of the Clean Water Act, and it also prohibits discharging sewage sludge. The outfall is located approximately 3.5 nautical miles 6.5
kilometers east of the HOODS.
Prevailing nearshore currents would direct discharge plumes from this outfall up or down the coast, depending of the seasonal current regime, not offshore towards the HOODS. The EPA
believes that there will be no adverse cumulative or synergistic impacts from the use of HOODS and discharges from the outfall described.
8 Interference with Shipping, Fishing, Recreation, Mineral Extraction, Desalination, Fish and Shellfish Culture, Areas of Special Scientific Importance and Other Legitimate Uses of the Ocean. 40 CFR 228.6a8.
Minor, short-term interferences with commercial and recreational boat traffic may occur within Humboldt Harbor during dredging operations. However, interference as a result of the transport and disposal of dredged material to HOODS would be even less because disposal vessels move slowly, remain in established navigation channels, and operations are announced via U.S. Coast Guard Notice to Mariners. There may be minor, temporary interferences with recreational fishing in the area during disposal operations, but HOODS is not closed to fishing or other uses. HOODS
has not been identified as an area of special scientific importance. There are no aquaculture areas near the site. The likelihood of direct interference with these activities is therefore negligible.
9 The Existing Water Quality and Ecology of the Sites as Determined by Available Data or Trend Assessment of Baseline Surveys. 40 CFR 228.6a9.
Water quality at the existing HOODS
is typical of waters offshore of the northern California coast. Monitoring conducted in the vicinity of the proposed modified HOODS and experience with past disposals in the existing HOODS have not identified any adverse water quality impacts from ocean disposal of dredged material.
Water column plumes associated with disposal events rapidly return to
VerDate Sep<11>2014

15:56 Feb 16, 2021

Jkt 253001

background, before subsequent disposal events occur. The seafloor in this area is comprised of a gently sloping, essentially featureless sedimentary plain that grades evenly from fine sand in shallower depths to silts in deeper areas. The existing HOODS supports benthic and epibenthic fauna characteristic of the region, but there are no unique or limited habitats in the vicinity. No adverse impacts to benthos outside the disposal site have been identified based on comprehensive monitoring.
10 Potentiality for the Development or Recruitment of Nuisance Species in the Disposal Site. 40 CFR 228.6a10.
Nuisance species, considered as any undesirable organism not previously existing at a location, have not been observed at, or in the vicinity of, the modified HOODS. Disposal of dredged material, as well as monitoring, has been ongoing for the past 25 years. The dredged material to be disposed at the modified site is expected to be from similar locations to those dredged previously and disposed of at the existing site; therefore, it expected that any benthic organisms transported to the site would be relatively similar in nature to those already present.
11 Existence at or in Close Proximity to the Site of any Significant Natural or Cultural Feature of Historical Importance. 40 CFR 228.6a11.
EPA extended government-togovernment consultation offers to 10
potentially affected tribes. The Tribal Historic Preservation Offices of three of those the Wiyot Tribe, the Blue Lake Rancheria, and the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria requested further discussion. Based on those discussions, the tribes determined that the offshore location of the HOODS
expansion would not affect their onshore cultural resources of concern.
EPA also evaluated state records and coordinated with the California State Lands Commission concerning historic shipwrecks near HOODS. The EA
documents that the nearest recorded shipwreck sites are close to shore and would not be affected by ongoing disposal at HOODS. In addition, USACE
conducted a survey for potential shipwrecks near the existing HOODS in 1991 prior to designation of the existing HOODS. The USACE survey identified three magnetic anomalies that could potentially be associated with unrecorded shipwrecks. None of these anomalies has been buried by the existing HOODS disposal mound. The EPA collected high-resolution multibeam echo sounder data in 2014 at the locations of each magnetic anomaly, and confirmed that no debris,
PO 00000

Frm 00040

Fmt 4700

Sfmt 4700

structures, or other material extended above the sediment surface at any of these locations. Because these anomalies do not extend above the surface now, and apparently have not since at least 1991, their exact character remains unknown. Ongoing disposal operations may effectively bury these features further but will not otherwise directly affect them.
III. Environmental Statutory Review a. National Environmental Policy Act NEPA
The EPAs primary voluntary NEPA
document for modifying the original HOODS is the Final EA, prepared by the EPA in cooperation with the USACE.
The draft EA was issued for public review simultaneously with the proposed rule on May 29, 2020. The Final EA, including all public comments received and EPAs responses to comments, is being published simultaneously with this final rule and is also available separately at https
www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/
humboldt-open-ocean-disposal-sitehoods-documents. The Final EA and its Appendices provide the threshold environmental review for modification of HOODS. It discusses in detail the purpose and need for the proposed action and examines alternatives. The EPA determined that there would be no significant adverse impacts of implementing either of the action alternatives evaluated for modifying HOODS.
The following three ocean disposal alternatives were considered in detail in the Final EA.
No Action Alternative The No Action Alternative is defined as not modifying the size of the original HOODS boundaries. This alternative would not address the need for an adequately sized ocean disposal site to accommodate an annual average of 1,000,000 cy of ongoing and future dredging. Because there is no other currently available disposal site for this material, rapid shoaling of the entrance channel would quickly render navigation unsafe, significantly affecting the economy of the greater Eureka area.
Increased wave action in the Harbor entrance would endanger commercial ships as well as fishing and recreational vessels. This situation would discourage shippers from using Humboldt Bay for commerce, because it requires additional vessel trips to accommodate light-loaded vessels, resulting in increased transportation costs, decreased vessel safety, and maneuvering problems. This would
E:FRFM17FER1.SGM

17FER1