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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 17-630

NOTICES

Nutrient Credit Trading Program; Credit Certification

[47 Pa.B. 2253]
[Saturday, April 15, 2017]

 The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) provides notice of its intention under the Nutrient Credit Trading Program (Trading Program) to approve a mass certification of pollutant reduction activities to generate credits by Significant Sewage point source discharges within the Commonwealth portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed with annual mass load effluent limitations (Cap Load) in a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

 For a list of Significant Sewage point sources see Table 7-1 of the Phase 2 Watershed Implementation Plan (Phase 2 WIP) Wastewater Supplement, available at www.dep.pa.gov/npdes-bay or the Department's Nutrient Trading Program web site at www.dep.pa.gov/Nutrient_Trading. Also see 25 Pa. Code § 96.8 (relating to use of offsets and tradable credits from pollution reduction activities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed).

Credit Certification

 Effective October 1, 2017, to be eligible to generate credits for sale, all Significant Sewage point source discharges with an assigned Cap Load (see Table 7-1 of the Phase 2 WIP Wastewater Supplement) must demonstrate treated yearly effluent concentrations below 6.0 mg/L total nitrogen (TN) and 0.8 mg/L total phosphorous (TP) (that is, ''baseline concentrations'') in accordance with the procedures described in the Phase 2 WIP Nutrient Trading Supplement. When stringent effluent limitations for TN or TP, or both, are established in Part A of the permit for reasons other than the Cap Load assigned for protection of the Chesapeake Bay, the permittee is eligible to generate credits when the permittee demonstrates that these effluent limitations have been achieved in accord with the Phase 2 WIP Nutrient Trading Supplement. In addition:

 • To generate credits, facilities must demonstrate they are in compliance with their NPDES permit.

 • The total amount of credits the facility is certified to generate cannot exceed its permitted Cap Load.

 • The calculation of credits will be made using formulas described in the Phase 2 WIP Nutrient Trading Supplement.

 • This point source certification will expire on September 30, 2019.

 To ensure that verification is complete in time for credit availability to be posted on the Department web site, facilities are encouraged to provide the Department with their verification requests by October 28th of each year. Verification requests must include a complete ''Annual Chesapeake Bay Spreadsheet'' for the compliance year in which the credits were generated (October 1 through September 30). This spreadsheet, verification forms and instructions can be found at the Department's Nutrient Trading web site at www.dep.pa.gov/Nutrient_Trading (select ''Credit Generation Process'').

 The Department will accept written comments on this proposed pollutant reduction activity for 30 days. The Department must receive comments on this notice for credit certification no later than Monday, May 15, 2017. Commentators are encouraged to submit electronic comments using the Department's eComment site at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment. Written comments can be submitted by e-mail to ecomment@pa.gov or by mail to the Policy Office, Department of Environmental Protection, Rachel Carson State Office Building, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063. Use ''Mass Certification'' as the subject line in written communication.

 For further information about this certification notice or the Trading Program, contact the Nutrient Trading Program, Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Clean Water, P.O. Box 8774, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8774, RA_EPPANutrientTrad@pa.gov or visit the Department's web site at www.dep.pa.gov/Nutrient_Trading.

PATRICK McDONNELL, 
Acting Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 17-630. Filed for public inspection April 14, 2017, 9:00 a.m.]


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