{"abstract":"The purpose of this action is to reduce impingement and entrainment of fish and other aquatic organisms at cooling water intake structures used by certain existing power generation and manufacturing facilities for the withdrawal of cooling water from waters of the United States. This rule establishes requirements under section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for existing power generating facilities and existing manufacturing and industrial facilities that are designed to withdraw more than 2 million gallons per day (mgd) of water from waters of the United States and use at least 25 percent of the water they withdraw exclusively for cooling purposes. These national requirements, which will be implemented through National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, apply to the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures (CWIS) at regulated facilities and provide requirements that reflect the best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impact. On April 20, 2011, EPA published a proposed rule that included several options for addressing these impacts. Subsequently, EPA published two Notices of Data Availability (NODA), on June 11, 2012 and June 12, 2012, that further clarified EPA's proposed approach. This final rule also responds to judicial remand of aspects of the previously promulgated Phase II and Phase III section 316(b) rules. In addition, EPA is also responding to an earlier judicial decision by removing from the previously promulgated Phase I new facility rule a restoration-based compliance alternative and the associated monitoring and demonstration requirements.","action":"Final rule.","agencies":[{"raw_name":"ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY","name":"Environmental Protection Agency","id":145,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/environmental-protection-agency","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/145","parent_id":null,"slug":"environmental-protection-agency"}],"body_html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2014/08/15/2014-12164.html","cfr_references":[{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":122,"title":40},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":125,"title":40}],"citation":"79 FR 48300","comment_url":null,"comments_close_on":null,"correction_of":null,"corrections":[],"dates":"This regulation is effective October 14, 2014. For judicial review purposes, this final rule is promulgated as of 1 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) on August 29, 2014 as provided in 40 CFR 23.2.","disposition_notes":null,"docket_ids":["EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667, FRL-9817-3"],"dockets":[],"document_number":"2014-12164","effective_on":"2014-10-14","end_page":48439,"executive_order_notes":null,"executive_order_number":null,"full_text_xml_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/xml/2014/08/15/2014-12164.xml","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/08/15/2014-12164/national-pollutant-discharge-elimination-system-final-regulations-to-establish-requirements-for","images":{"ER15AU14.000":{"large":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.000/ER15AU14.000_large.png","medium":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.000/ER15AU14.000_medium.png","original_size":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.000/ER15AU14.000_original_size.png"},"ER15AU14.001":{"large":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.001/ER15AU14.001_large.png","medium":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.001/ER15AU14.001_medium.png","original_size":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.001/ER15AU14.001_original_size.png"},"ER15AU14.002":{"large":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.002/ER15AU14.002_large.png","medium":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.002/ER15AU14.002_medium.png","original_size":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.002/ER15AU14.002_original_size.png"},"ER15AU14.003":{"large":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.003/ER15AU14.003_large.png","medium":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.003/ER15AU14.003_medium.png","original_size":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.003/ER15AU14.003_original_size.png"}},"images_metadata":{"ER15AU14.000":{"large":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.000","content_type":"image/png","size":8304,"width":528,"sha":"6c738049b2f517f4c9ac71eb264dbdbb","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.000/ER15AU14.000_large.png","height":150},"medium":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.000","content_type":"image/png","size":2726,"width":248,"sha":"e80071a2b5e7feecd2891be65030696a","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.000/ER15AU14.000_medium.png","height":70},"original_size":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.000","content_type":"image/png","size":12970,"width":1876,"sha":"a95da7bae858999b6d56b67b3f4dd8db","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.000/ER15AU14.000_original_size.png","height":533}},"ER15AU14.001":{"large":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.001","content_type":"image/png","size":8850,"width":528,"sha":"ee94ecc5041483110a7739b0e268dbc1","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.001/ER15AU14.001_large.png","height":150},"medium":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.001","content_type":"image/png","size":2882,"width":248,"sha":"8ff8505bbec2dc366d7f77ddfb553f6f","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.001/ER15AU14.001_medium.png","height":70},"original_size":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.001","content_type":"image/png","size":13809,"width":1876,"sha":"b5a624f386bf9ff718fbdbe8f8044492","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.001/ER15AU14.001_original_size.png","height":533}},"ER15AU14.002":{"large":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.002","content_type":"image/png","size":9385,"width":556,"sha":"faabf5e00126f266a5d7f7cbc649e4ba","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.002/ER15AU14.002_large.png","height":150},"medium":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.002","content_type":"image/png","size":3087,"width":262,"sha":"6d8e88a50efdd295442d84d9bbb939fc","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.002/ER15AU14.002_medium.png","height":71},"original_size":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.002","content_type":"image/png","size":13767,"width":1974,"sha":"523dfb859f5f20539df2d0d2011cfa85","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.002/ER15AU14.002_original_size.png","height":533}},"ER15AU14.003":{"large":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.003","content_type":"image/png","size":1758,"width":249,"sha":"405ab253f4a0f54172830f7e648d6a0c","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.003/ER15AU14.003_large.png","height":60},"medium":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.003","content_type":"image/png","size":706,"width":117,"sha":"cca1531a8be4524b7cb4e271edf95c15","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.003/ER15AU14.003_medium.png","height":28},"original_size":{"identifier":"ER15AU14.003","content_type":"image/png","size":2778,"width":885,"sha":"19f47a607be53ab8ab11bdc6e0d984f9","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER15AU14.003/ER15AU14.003_original_size.png","height":214}}},"json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents/2014-12164?publication_date=2014-08-15","mods_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/metadata/granule/FR-2014-08-15/2014-12164/mods.xml","not_received_for_publication":null,"page_length":140,"page_views":{"count":18364,"last_updated":"2026-08-26 04:15:04 -0400"},"pdf_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2014-08-15/pdf/2014-12164.pdf","presidential_document_number":null,"proclamation_number":null,"public_inspection_pdf_url":"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2014-12164.pdf?1408020487","publication_date":"2014-08-15","raw_text_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/text/2014/08/15/2014-12164.txt","regulation_id_number_info":{"2040-AE95":{"issue":"201310","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/2040-AE95/criteria-and-standards-for-cooling-water-intake-structures","title":"Criteria and Standards for Cooling Water Intake Structures","xml_url":"http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201310&RIN=2040-AE95&operation=OPERATION_EXPORT_XML","priority_category":"Economically Significant"}},"regulation_id_numbers":["2040-AE95"],"regulations_dot_gov_info":{"supporting_documents":[{"title":"ESA Biological Evaluation for CWA Section 316(b) Rulemaking [DCN 12-6626]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4151"},{"title":"Final 316b Biological Opinion and Appendices [DCN 12-5069]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4150"},{"title":"Letter from R. Super (Riverkeeper) et al. to D. Wieting (NMFS), G. Frazer (USFWS), and E. Wood (EPA) [DCN 12-6511]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4149"},{"title":"Inadvertent Errors in the Final 316(b) Existing Facility Rule [DCN 12-6625]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4148"},{"title":"Letter from Richard Schneider, Coalition to Protect Fisheries to Bob Perciasepe, Acting Administrator, USEPA on March 2013 [DCN 12-6505]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4147"},{"title":"Letter from Michael W. Yackira, President & CEO, NV Energy, Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Chair et al. to Administrator Regina McCarthy, EPA on December 20, 2013 [DCN 12-6510]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4146"},{"title":"Letter from Dan Wyant, Director, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to Administrator Regina McCarthy, EPA on January 14, 2014 [DCN 12-6509]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4145"},{"title":"Letter from James R. Monk, Illinois Energy Association et al. to Administrator Regina A. McCarthy, EPA on December 20, 2013 [DCN 12-6508]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4144"},{"title":"Letter from Kristy A. N. Bulleit, Hunton & Williams to Administrator Regina McCarthy, EPA, Donna Wieting, Director, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Gary Frazer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on October 25, 2013 [DCN 12-6507]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4143"},{"title":"Letter from Reed Super, Riverkeeper et al. to Administrator Gina McCarthy, EPA, Secretary Sally Jewell, Interior, and Secretary Penny Pritzker, U.S. Department of Commerce on March 13, 2014 [DCN 12-6506]","document_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-4142"}],"regulatory_plan":{"html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/2040-AE95/criteria-and-standards-for-cooling-water-intake-structures","title":"Criteria and Standards for Cooling Water Intake Structures"},"comments_url":"https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=50&so=DESC&sb=postedDate&po=0&dct=PS&D=EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667","supporting_documents_count":2735,"docket_id":"EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667","regulation_id_number":"2040-AE95","title":"Criteria and Standards for Cooling Water Intake Structures","checked_regulationsdotgov_at":"2014-09-04T06:00:13Z"},"regulations_dot_gov_url":null,"significant":true,"signing_date":null,"start_page":48300,"subtype":null,"title":"National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System-Final Regulations To Establish Requirements for Cooling Water Intake Structures at Existing Facilities and Amend Requirements at Phase I Facilities","toc_doc":"Cooling Water Intake Structures at Existing Facilities and Phase I Facilities; Requirements","toc_subject":"National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System:","topics":["Administrative practice and procedure","Confidential business information","Environmental protection","Hazardous substances","Reporting and recordkeeping requirements","Waste treatment and disposal","Water pollution control"],"type":"Rule","volume":79}