33 U.S.C. § 1343 — Ocean discharge criteria

Page 570 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 1343 eral Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1342(p)(2)(A), (E)]. ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall issue final regulations with respect to general permits for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activ- ity on or before February 1, 1992.’’ PHOSPHATE FERTILIZER EFFLUENT LIMITATION Pub. L. 100–4, title III, § 306(c), Feb. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 36, provided that: ‘‘(1) ISSUANCE OF PERMIT.—As soon as possible after the date of the enactment of this Act [Feb. 4, 1987], but not later than 180 days after such date of enactment, the Administrator shall issue permits under section 402(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1342(a)(1)(B)] with respect to facilities— ‘‘(A) which were under construction on or before April 8, 1974, and ‘‘(B) for which the Administrator is proposing to re- vise the applicability of the effluent limitation estab- lished under section 301(b) of such Act [33 U.S.C. 1311(b)] for phosphate subcategory of the fertilizer manufacturing point source category to exclude such facilities. ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Noth- ing in this section [amending section 1311 of this title and enacting this note] shall be construed— ‘‘(A) to require the Administrator to permit the dis- charge of gypsum or gypsum waste into the navigable waters, ‘‘(B) to affect the procedures and standards applica- ble to the Administrator in issuing permits under section 402(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1342(a)(1)(B)], and ‘‘(C) to affect the authority of any State to deny or condition certification under section 401 of such Act [33 U.S.C. 1341] with respect to the issuance of per- mits under section 402(a)(1)(B) of such Act.’’ LOG TRANSFER FACILITIES Pub. L. 100–4, title IV, § 407, Feb. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 74, provided that: ‘‘(a) AGREEMENT.—The Administrator and Secretary of the Army shall enter into an agreement regarding coordination of permitting for log transfer facilities to designate a lead agency and to process permits required under sections 402 and 404 of the Federal Water Pollu- tion Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1342, 1344], where both such sections apply, for discharges associated with the con- struction and operation of log transfer facilities. The Administrator and Secretary are authorized to act in accordance with the terms of such agreement to assure that, to the maximum extent practicable, duplication, needless paperwork and delay in the issuance of per- mits, and inequitable enforcement between and among facilities in different States, shall be eliminated. ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS AND PERMITS BEFORE OCTOBER 22, 1985.—Where both of sections 402 and 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1342, 1344] apply, log transfer facilities which have received a permit under section 404 of such Act before October 22, 1985, shall not be required to submit a new application for a permit under section 402 of such Act. If the Adminis- trator determines that the terms of a permit issued on or before October 22, 1985, under section 404 of such Act satisfies the applicable requirements of sections 301, 302, 306, 307, 308, and 403 of such Act [33 U.S.C. 1311, 1312, 1316, 1317, 1318, and 1343], a separate application for a permit under section 402 of such Act shall not there- after be required. In any case where the Administrator demonstrates, after an opportunity for a hearing, that the terms of a permit issued on or before October 22, 1985, under section 404 of such Act do not satisfy the ap- plicable requirements of sections 301, 302, 306, 307, 308, and 403 of such Act, modifications to the existing per- mit under section 404 of such Act to incorporate such applicable requirements shall be issued by the Adminis- trator as an alternative to issuance of a separate new permit under section 402 of such Act. ‘‘(c) LOG TRANSFER FACILITY DEFINED.—For the pur- poses of this section, the term ‘log transfer facility’ means a facility which is constructed in whole or in part in waters of the United States and which is uti- lized for the purpose of transferring commercially har- vested logs to or from a vessel or log raft, including the formation of a log raft.’’ ALLOWABLE DELAY IN MODIFYING EXISTING APPROVED STATE PERMIT PROGRAMS TO CONFORM TO 1977 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 95–217, § 54(c)(2), Dec. 27, 1977, 91 Stat. 1591, provided that any State permit program approved under this section before Dec. 27, 1977, which required modification to conform to the amendment made by section 54(c)(1) of Pub. L. 95–217, which amended subsec. (b)(8) of this section, not be required to be modified be- fore the end of the one year period which began on Dec. 27, 1977, unless in order to make the required modifica- tion a State must amend or enact a law in which case such modification not be required for such State before the end of the two year period which began on Dec. 27, 1977. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Enforcement functions of Administrator or other offi- cial of the Environmental Protection Agency under this section relating to compliance with national pol- lutant discharge elimination system permits with re- spect to pre-construction, construction, and initial op- eration of transportation system for Canadian and Alaskan natural gas were transferred to the Federal In- spector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Nat- ural Gas Transportation System, until the first anni- versary of the date of initial operation of the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, see Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1979, §§ 102(a), 203(a), 44 F.R. 33663, 33666, 93 Stat. 1373, 1376, effective July 1, 1979, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System abolished and functions and au- thority vested in Inspector transferred to Secretary of Energy by section 3012(b) of Pub. L. 102–486, set out as an Abolition of Office of Federal Inspector note under section 719e of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. Func- tions and authority vested in Secretary of Energy sub- sequently transferred to Federal Coordinator for Alas- ka Natural Gas Transportation Projects by section 720d(f) of Title 15. § 1343. Ocean discharge criteria (a) Issuance of permits No permit under section 1342 of this title for a discharge into the territorial sea, the waters of the contiguous zone, or the oceans shall be issued, after promulgation of guidelines estab- lished under subsection (c) of this section, ex- cept in compliance with such guidelines. Prior to the promulgation of such guidelines, a permit may be issued under such section 1342 of this title if the Administrator determines it to be in the public interest. (b) Waiver The requirements of subsection (d) of section 1342 of this title may not be waived in the case of permits for discharges into the territorial sea. (c) Guidelines for determining degradation of waters (1) The Administrator shall, within one hun- dred and eighty days after October 18, 1972 (and from time to time thereafter), promulgate guidelines for determining the degradation of Page 571 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 1344 the waters of the territorial seas, the contiguous zone, and the oceans, which shall include: (A) the effect of disposal of pollutants on human health or welfare, including but not limited to plankton, fish, shellfish, wildlife, shorelines, and beaches; (B) the effect of disposal of pollutants on marine life including the transfer, concentra- tion, and dispersal of pollutants or their by- products through biological, physical, and chemical processes; changes in marine eco- system diversity, productivity, and stability; and species and community population changes; (C) the effect of disposal, of pollutants on es- thetic, recreation, and economic values; (D) the persistence and permanence of the effects of disposal of pollutants; (E) the effect of the disposal of varying rates, of particular volumes and concentra- tions of pollutants; (F) other possible locations and methods of disposal or recycling of pollutants including land-based alternatives; and (G) the effect on alternate uses of the oceans, such as mineral exploitation and sci- entific study. (2) In any event where insufficient information exists on any proposed discharge to make a rea- sonable judgment on any of the guidelines estab- lished pursuant to this subsection no permit shall be issued under section 1342 of this title. (June 30, 1948, ch. 758, title IV, § 403, as added Pub. L. 92–500, § 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 883.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DISCHARGES FROM POINT SOURCES IN UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS ATTRIBUTABLE TO MANUFACTURE OF RUM; EXEMPTION; CONDITIONS Discharges from point sources in the United States Virgin Islands in existence on Aug. 5, 1983, attributable to the manufacture of rum not to be subject to the re- quirements of this section under certain conditions, see section 214(g) of Pub. L. 98–67, set out as a note under section 1311 of this title. Executive Documents TERRITORIAL SEA AND CONTIGUOUS ZONE OF UNITED STATES For extension of territorial sea and contiguous zone of United States, see Proc. No. 5928 and Proc. No. 7219, respectively, set out as notes under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands. § 1344. Permits for dredged or fill material (a) Discharge into navigable waters at specified disposal sites The Secretary may issue permits, after notice and opportunity for public hearings for the dis- charge of dredged or fill material into the navi- gable waters at specified disposal sites. Not later than the fifteenth day after the date an ap- plicant submits all the information required to complete an application for a permit under this subsection, the Secretary shall publish the no- tice required by this subsection. (b) Specification for disposal sites Subject to subsection (c) of this section, each such disposal site shall be specified for each such permit by the Secretary (1) through the ap- plication of guidelines developed by the Admin- istrator, in conjunction with the Secretary, which guidelines shall be based upon criteria comparable to the criteria applicable to the ter- ritorial seas, the contiguous zone, and the ocean under section 1343(c) of this title, and (2) in any case where such guidelines under clause (1) alone would prohibit the specification of a site, through the application additionally of the eco- nomic impact of the site on navigation and an- chorage. (c) Denial or restriction of use of defined areas as disposal sites The Administrator is authorized to prohibit the specification (including the withdrawal of specification) of any defined area as a disposal site, and he is authorized to deny or restrict the use of any defined area for specification (includ- ing the withdrawal of specification) as a disposal site, whenever he determines, after notice and opportunity for public hearings, that the dis- charge of such materials into such area will have an unacceptable adverse effect on munic- ipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas (including spawning and breeding areas), wildlife, or recreational areas. Before making such determination, the Administrator shall consult with the Secretary. The Administrator shall set forth in writing and make public his findings and his reasons for making any deter- mination under this subsection. (d) ‘‘Secretary’’ defined The term ‘‘Secretary’’ as used in this section means the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers. (e) General permits on State, regional, or nation- wide basis (1) In carrying out his functions relating to the discharge of dredged or fill material under this section, the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for public hearing, issue general permits on a State, regional, or nationwide basis for any category of activities involving dis- charges of dredged or fill material if the Sec- retary determines that the activities in such category are similar in nature, will cause only minimal adverse environmental effects when performed separately, and will have only mini- mal cumulative adverse effect on the environ- ment. Any general permit issued under this sub- section shall (A) be based on the guidelines de- scribed in subsection (b)(1) of this section, and (B) set forth the requirements and standards which shall apply to any activity authorized by such general permit. (2) No general permit issued under this sub- section shall be for a period of more than five years after the date of its issuance and such gen- eral permit may be revoked or modified by the Secretary if, after opportunity for public hear- ing, the Secretary determines that the activities authorized by such general permit have an ad- verse impact on the environment or such activi- ties are more appropriately authorized by indi- vidual permits.