EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

allast water volume. They also agreed to issue the final VGP by November 30, 2012, one year
before the expiration of the current permit.
EPA published a draft VGP on December 8, 2011.
On November 29, 2011, EPA requested informal Section 7 consultation on its proposed 2013
VGPs.
On July 3, 2012, EPA’s Office of Water requested formal Section 7 consultation on the draft
VGPs. Their initiation package included the draft permits, a Biological Evaluation (BE), fact
sheets, and responses to the Service’s comments during informal consultation.
As described in a joint letter sent by the Services on August 6, 2012, NMFS initiated formal
consultation effective July 3, 2012. NMFS also sent its analysis plan, including the Services’
joint “Approach to the Assessment,” which is included in this Opinion.
BIOLOGICAL OPINION
Description of the Proposed Action
Under the Vessel General Permit (VGP) and the Small Vessel General Permit (sVGP, together
the VGPs), EPA proposes to authorize discharges incidental to the normal operation of all nonrecreational
and non-military vessels into waters of the U.S. (defined below in our description of
the action area). The EPA expects that most vessels seeking coverage under the VGP will be
greater than 79 feet in length, whereas vessels less than 79 feet may be eligible for coverage
under the sVGP, which has less stringent restrictions and fewer reporting requirements. The
EPA estimates that approximately 72,000 vessels may be eligible for coverage under the VGP,
and an additional 138,000 vessels under the sVGP (http://www.epa.gov/npdes/vessels).
The statutory authority for the proposed action is the National Pollution Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) of the Clean Water Act (33 USC §§ 1342 et seq.; CWA). The purpose of the
proposed general permits is to satisfy the goals and policies of the CWA (33 USC §§1251).
Requiring a CWA permit for these discharges provides EPA with the authority to enforce CWA
requirements and provides the ability of citizens to sue for permit violations.
For both permits, EPA includes the following clause for modification of the permits and
reinitiation:
Permit modification or revocation will be conducted according to 40 CFR §§ 122.62, 122.63,
122.64, and 124.5. This permit is subject to modification in accordance with 40 CFR §§ 124.5
and 122.62. Grounds for such modification include receipt of new information that was not
available at the time of permit issuance (other than revised regulations, guidance, or test
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