[Federal Register: September 12, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 177)]
[Notices]
[Page 53735-53736]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12se03-49]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7557-8]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Ecological Processes and
Effects Committee; Notification of Public Advisory Committee Meeting;
Consultation on EPA's Strategy on Suspended and Bedded Sediments;
Discussion of EPEC Activities in Fiscal Year 2004
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Science Advisory
Board Staff Office (SAB), Ecological Processes and Effects Committee
(EPEC) will hold a face-to-face meeting to conduct a consultation on
EPA's strategy for developing water-quality criteria for suspended and
bedded sediments. In addition, EPEC members will discuss EPEC
activities for fiscal year 2004.
DATES: The meeting will begin on Thursday, October 2, 3003, at 8:30 am
(Eastern Time) and adjourn no later than 5:30 pm that day.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in Washington, DC. Location of the
meeting will be announced on the SAB Web site, http://www.epa/sab. For
further information concerning the meeting, please contact Dr. L.
Joseph Bachman (see contact information below).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing
further information concerning this meeting must contact Dr. L. Joseph
Bachman, Designated Federal Officer, USEPA Science Advisory Board Staff
Office, (1400A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-3968; fax at (202) 501-0582; or via
e-mail at bachman.joseph@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Action: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the
Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC) of the U.S. EPA
Science Advisory Board (SAB) will meet on Thursday October 2, to hold a
consultation on EPA's strategy for developing water-quality criteria
for suspended and bedded sediments. In addition, EPEC members will
discuss possible EPEC activities for fiscal year 2004. The meeting is
open to the public; however, seating is limited and available on a
first come basis.
Availability of the Meeting Materials: Any meeting materials will
be made available from the EPA's Office of Water (OW) and the Office of
Research Development (ORD). The proposed agenda for the meeting will be
posted approximately 10 calendar days prior to the meeting at the SAB's
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/epecsabspanel.htm. Links to
available meeting materials will also be posted at this location. For
questions and information concerning the agenda, please contact Dr. L.
Joseph Bachman (see contact information above).
Background for Consultation on Suspended and Bedded Sediments
The Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC) of the EPA
Science Advisory Board was asked by the Health and Ecological Criteria
Division of the Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water, to
provide a consultation on potential approaches on a strategy for
developing water-quality criteria for Suspended and Bedded Sediments
(SABS). A request for nominations for consultant panel members to
provide additional expertise to EPEC appeared in the Federal Register
on July 30, 2003 (68 FR 44758-44760). That request contained a more
detailed description of the regulatory context of the SABS issue and
the scientific approaches being considered in the strategy development.
In 1976, EPA issued a water quality criteria recommendation under
the Clean Water Act for solids and turbidity. For a variety of reasons,
the States seldom use this criterion. It is questionable whether this
criterion would achieve intended protection for all different
designated uses for water bodies. SABS occurs naturally in streams in a
wide range of concentrations--levels that might be perfectly normal in
one water body could be indicative of impairment in another.
Although most States currently have water quality criteria that can
be applied to manage SABS, these are typically based on turbidity,
suspended solids or settleable solids, and their effectiveness for
dealing with all water quality impairments caused by SABS, especially
as benchmarks for aquatic life protection based on natural levels, is
questionable. In recent consultations with State representatives, the
need for new water quality criteria for SABS or methodologies for
deriving them on a site-specific basis was identified as one of the
highest priorities for the water quality criteria program. As a result,
the EPA Office of Water has concluded that to better manage SABS in all
types of water bodies and for all designated uses, State and Tribal
water quality managers
[[Page 53736]]
need new and updated water quality criteria and information for SABS.
Charge: While many questions and much research remain, EPA seeks
the opportunity for a consultation with the Science Advisory Board to
gain advice and recommendations on the best potential approaches to
developing water quality criteria for suspended and bedded sediments as
will be described in the draft discussion paper entitled Developing
Water Quality Criteria for Suspended and Bedded Sediments (SABS)--
Potential Approaches. The Office of Water is also seeking
recommendations on additional criteria development approaches for
different types of water body uses, other than aquatic life, and is
also seeking advice on any potential criteria derivation methodology
not included in the discussion paper.
More Specific Consultation Questions:
(1) Is it a legitimate premise that SABS in natural amounts
(background levels) are beneficial to ecosystems and therefore water
quality criteria should attempt to simulate background levels or
natural regimes?
(2) Can SABS criteria be stratified by water body type or by some
other scheme? If by water body-type, by what level of classification--
lotic and lacustrine? Rivers and streams, wetlands, lakes/reservoirs
and estuaries/coastal areas? Other? If some other classification scheme
is necessary, what type and how much resolution must it have?
(3) Should a water quality criterion for SABS include components
that address turbidity, suspended solids, and deposited solids.
(4) Can biological assessments and biocriteria play a role in SABS
criteria? If so, what role?
(5) Should EPA reconsider the inclusion of organic particulate
material in its definition of suspended and bedded sediments?
(6) Which of the EPA proposed criteria methods do you believe have
the greatest potential? Why? Which ones should EPA pursue further?
(7) Do any of the recent efforts of the States or other Countries
hold promise for a national criteria method?
If SABS criteria are established to protect aquatic life in water
bodies, is it reasonable to assume that these criteria will be
stringent enough to also protect other uses of the water body
(recreation, industrial water intake, drinking water source, etc.)
Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings: It is the
policy of the EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office (SAB) to accept
written public comments of any length, and to accommodate oral public
comments whenever possible. The EPA SAB expects that public statements
presented at its meetings will not be repetitive of previously
submitted oral or written statements. Oral Comments: In general, each
individual or group requesting an oral presentation at a face-to-face
meeting will be limited to a total time of ten minutes (unless
otherwise indicated). Interested parties should contact the DFO at
least one week prior to the meeting in order to be placed on the public
speaker list for the meeting. Speakers may attend the meeting and
provide comment up to the meeting time. Speakers should bring at least
35 copies of their comments and presentation slides for distribution to
the reviewers and public at the meeting. Written Comments: Although the
SAB accepts written comments until the date of the meeting (unless
otherwise stated), written comments should be received in the SAB Staff
Office at least one week prior to the meeting date so that the comments
may be made available to the review panel for their consideration.
Comments should be supplied to Dr. L. Joseph Bachman at the contact
information provided in this notice in the following formats: One hard
copy with original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail
(acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat, WordPerfect, Word, or Rich Text
files (in IBM-PC/Windows 95/98/XP/2000 format). Those providing written
comments and who attend the meeting are also asked to bring 35 copies
of their comments for public distribution.
Meeting Access--Individuals requiring any additional special
accommodation at this meeting should contact the DFO indicated above
for this FR notice, at least five business days prior to the meeting so
that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Dated: September 8, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-23272 Filed 9-11-03; 8:45 am]
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