[Federal Register: March 13, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 11359-11360]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr07-52]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8286-9]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of Multiple
Public Teleconferences of the Science Advisory Board Hypoxia Advisory
Panel
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is
announcing three public teleconferences of the SAB Hypoxia Advisory
Panel and its subgroups to discuss its draft advisory working report
concerning the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
DATES: The dates for the three teleconferences are:
(1) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 1 Characterization of the
Causes Hypoxia Teleconference--April 2, 2007 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Eastern Time;
(2) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 2 Characterization of
Nutrient Fate, Transport, and Sources, and Subgroup 3 Scientific Basis
for Goals and Management Options Teleconference--April 16, 2007 from 1
p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time; and
(3) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Teleconference--May 7, 2007 from 1
p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to
obtain the teleconference call-in numbers and access codes to
participate in the teleconferences may contact the following
individuals.
(1) For the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 1--Characterization
of the Causes of Hypoxia teleconference, contact Dr. Thomas Armitage,
Designated Federal Officer (DFO), by telephone at (202) 343-9995, fax
at (202) 233-0643, or e-mail at armitage.thomas@epa.gov.
(2) For the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 2--Characterization
of Nutrient Fate, Transport, and Sources, and Subgroup 3--Scientific
Basis for Goals and Management Options teleconference, contact Mr.
David Wangsness, DFO for Subgroup 2, by
[[Page 11360]]
telephone at (202) 343-9975, fax at (202) 233-0643, or e-mail at
wangsness.david@epa.gov, or Dr. Holly Stallworth, DFO for Subgroup 3,
by telephone at (202) 343-9867, fax at (202) 233-0643, or e-mail at
stallworth.holly@epa.gov.
(3) Any member of the public wishing further information regarding
the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel teleconference may contact Dr. Holly
Stallworth, DFO, U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office by
telephone/voice mail at (202) 343-9867, or e-mail at
stallworth.holly@epa.gov.
The SAB mailing address is: U.S. EPA, Science Advisory Board
(1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. General
information about the SAB, as well as any updates concerning the
teleconferences announced in this notice, may be found in the SAB Web
site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the SAB Hypoxia
Advisory Panel will hold three teleconferences to discuss issues and
recommendations for its draft advisory working report that details
advances in the state of the science regarding hypoxia in the Northern
Gulf of Mexico. The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide
independent scientific and technical advice to the Administrator on the
technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The SAB is a
Federal Advisory Committee chartered under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. The SAB will comply
with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office
procedural policies.
Background: EPA participates with other Federal agencies, states
and tribes in the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient
Task Force. In 2001, the Task Force released the Action Plan for
Reducing, Mitigating and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of
Mexico (or Action Plan available at http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/taskforce/actionplan.htm
). The Action Plan was informed by the science
described in An Integrated Assessment of Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf
of Mexico (or Integrated Assessment available at http://www.noaa.gov/products/hypox_finalfront.pdf
) developed by the National Science and
Technology Council, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Six
technical reports provided the scientific foundation for the Integrated
Assessment and are available at http://www.nos.noaa.gov/products/pub_hypox.html.
The aforementioned documents provide a comprehensive
summary of the state-of-the-science for the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone
through about the year 2000. EPA's Office of Water has requested that
the SAB develop a report that evaluates the state-of-the-science
regarding the causes and extent of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, as
well as the scientific basis of possible management options in the
Mississippi River Basin.
In response to EPA's request, the SAB Staff Office formed the SAB
Hypoxia Advisory Panel. Background on the Panel formation process was
provided in a Federal Register notice published on February 17, 2006
(71 FR 8578-8580). The SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel met on September 6-7,
2006 (noticed in 71 FR 45543-45544), December 6-8, 2006 (noticed in 71
FR 66329-66330), and again on February 28-March 1, 2007 (noticed in 72
FR 5968-5969). Teleconferences of the full Hypoxia Advisory Panel and
its three subgroups were also published in Federal Register Notices (71
FR 55786-55787, 71 FR 59107 and 71 FR 77743-77744). Information about
the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel is available on the SAB Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/sab.
Availability of Meeting Materials: Agendas for the teleconferences
will be placed on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab in
advance.
Procedures for Providing Public Input: The SAB Staff Office accepts
written public statements of any length, and accommodates oral public
statements whenever possible. The SAB Staff Office expects that public
statements presented at SAB meetings will not repeat previously
submitted oral or written statements. Oral Statements: In general,
individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a
teleconference meeting will usually be limited to three minutes per
speaker with no more than a total of fifteen minutes for all speakers.
Interested parties should contact the appropriate DFO at the contact
information provided above in writing via e-mail at least 10 days prior
to the scheduled teleconference to be placed on the public speaker list
for the teleconference. Speakers should provide an electronic copy of
their statements to the DFO for distribution to interested parties and
participants in the meeting. Written Statements: Written statements
should be received in the SAB Staff Office at least seven days before
the scheduled teleconferences so that the statements may be made
available to the Panel for their consideration. Statements should be
supplied to the appropriate DFO at the address and contact information
provided above 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
98/2000/XP format).
Meeting Accommodations: Individuals requiring special accommodation
to access the teleconferences should contact the appropriate DFO at the
phone number or e-mail address noted above at least five business days
prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Dated: March 7, 2007.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E7-4532 Filed 3-12-07; 8:45 am]
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