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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 177 / Thursday, September 16, 2021 / Notices
changes made in Part 1.1.2.4 of the permit.
Corrected Part 1.2.3 of the PGP by adding back the statement that Decisionmakers may submit multiple NOIs with different activities.
Clarified Part 1.6 of the PGP by adding the term as a result of a separate federal action.
Updated Part 2.2.3.b of the PGP to add cultural methods to the list of management options Decision-maker must evaluate when developing Pest Management Measures for animal pest control.
Updated Part 9.0 of the PGP to reflect state and tribal Clean Water Act Section 401 certifications.
Updated Definitions, Abbreviations, and Acronyms, Appendix A of the PGP
to:
Correct the effective date in the definition for the Decision-maker who is or will be required to submit an NOI.
update the definition for the National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS Listed Resources of Concern to include the 2021 biological opinion.
add the definition for Take.
add missing acronyms.
Updated Appendix C of the PGP, Areas Covered, to remove tribes who denied coverage under the permit, and to remove Texas oil and gas activities.
Corrected Appendix F of the PGP, Pesticide Discharge Evaluation Worksheet, by adding an introduction to the coversheet and updating the instructions to point Operators to Part 7.3 of the PGP.
Updated Appendix I of the PGP, Endangered Species Procedures, to include list of pesticides that a NMFS
biological opinion has determined the labeled use would jeopardize the continued existence of ESA-listed species and/or adversely modify designated critical habitat.
B. Summary of 2021 PGP Terms and Requirements The 2021 PGP is similar to the 2016
PGP, and is structured in the same nine parts: 1 Coverage under This Permit, 2 Technology-Based Effluent Limitations, 3 Water Quality-Based Effluent Limitations, 4 Monitoring, 5
Pesticide Discharge Management Plan, 6 Corrective Action, 7 Recordkeeping and Annual Reporting, 8 EPA Contact Information and Mailing Addresses, and 9 Permit Conditions Applicable to Specific States including Territories and Indian Country. Additionally, as with the 2016 PGP, the 2021 PGP
includes nine appendices with additional conditions and guidance for permittees: A Definitions, Abbreviations, and Acronyms, B

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Standard Permit Conditions, C Areas Covered, D Notice of Intent NOI
form, E Notice of Termination NOT
form, F Pesticide Discharge Evaluation Worksheet PDEW, G Annual Reporting Template, H Adverse Incident Report Template, and I
Endangered Species Procedures. A
summary of the 2021 PGPs requirements are provided in the 2021
PGP Fact Sheet.
C. 2021 PGP Cost Analysis and Future Cost-Benefit Considerations The cost analysis accompanying this final permit monetizes and quantifies certain incremental cost impacts of the final permit changes as compared to the 2016 PGP. EPA analyzed each change in the 2021 PGP considering the previous permits requirements. The objective of the cost analysis is to show where or to what extent the 2021 PGP requirements impose an incremental increase in administrative and compliance costs such as sampling and monitoring costs on Operators in relation to costs that are already accounted for in the 2016 PGP.
EPA expects no incremental cost impact on entities that will be covered under the 2021 PGP, including small businesses, since the requirements in the permit are substantively the same as those found in both the 2016 PGP as well as the 2011 PGP. For further discussion, see Appendix D of the fact sheet.
More broadly, EPA notes that additional unquantified costs and benefits result from this action. In developing the next PGP or another NPDES general permit, as appropriate, EPA plans to estimate the broader impacts arising from these actions, including costs and benefits. Estimates under consideration may include: 1
Assessing how costs and benefits are attributed between the PGP and applicable water quality standards including TMDLs that may be in effect;
2 developing a new modeling framework to assess how regulated entities understand and implement control measures relating to existing and new permit obligations; 3 examining whether any underlying cost and benefit assumptions need to be updated; 4
examining more broadly how EPA can analyze benefits when developing permits; 5 developing more robust approaches to assessing uncertainties associated with the analytic approaches, including how to quantitatively assess uncertainties of key assumptions; and 6 developing a framework to analyze the effort of cooperative federalism.

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IV. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
The 2021 PGP is not a significant regulatory action and was therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget OMB for review.
V. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations Executive Order 12898 59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994 establishes federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision directs federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the United States. EPA
believes that the 2021 PGP will not have disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority populations, low-income populations, and/or indigenous peoples because the requirements in the permit apply equally to all pesticide applicators in areas where EPA is the permitting authority. The provisions in the general permit increase the level of environmental protection for all affected populations.
VI. Executive Order 13175:
Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments This action does not have tribal implications as specified in E.O. 13175.
It will neither impose substantial direct compliance costs on federally recognized tribal governments, nor preempt tribal law. EPA directly implements the NPDES Program, including the 2021 PGP when it is finalized, in Indian country; therefore, in compliance with EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes, EPA consulted with tribal officials early in the process to allow tribes to have meaningful and timely input into the renewal of the PGP. In the course of this consultation, EPA
undertook the following activities:
May 8, 2020EPA emailed notification letters to tribal leaders initiating consultation and coordination on the renewal of the PGP.
June 9, 2020EPA held an informational webinar open to all tribal representatives and reserved the last part of the teleconference for official consultation comments. No official comments were received during the webinar.

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