[Federal Register: June 28, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 124)]
[Notices]
[Page 35465]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28jn07-61]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8332-8]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of Public
Meetings 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 two public teleconferences of the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel
to discuss revisions to its draft advisory report concerning the
hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
DATES: The teleconferences will be held on July 30, 2007 from 2 p.m. to
5 p.m. (Eastern time) and August 1, 2007 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern
time).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing
further information regarding the public meeting may contact Dr. Holly
Stallworth, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), U.S. EPA Science Advisory
Board Staff Office by telephone/voice mail at (202) 343-9867, or via e-
mail at: stallworth.holly@epa.gov. The SAB mailing address is: US EPA,
Science Advisory Board (1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460. General information about the SAB, as well as any
updates concerning the meetings announced in this notice, may be found
in the SAB Web Site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public
Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel
will hold public meetings to develop a 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 EPA 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.
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 2000 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.
Given the passage of 6 years, EPA's Office of Water has
requested that the SAB develop a report that evaluates the updated
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 has previously held
several face-to-face meetings (71 FR 45543-45544, 71 FR 66329-66330, 72
FR 5968-5969 and 72 FR 17158-17159) and teleconferences (71 FR 55786-
55787, 71 FR 59107, 71 FR 77743-77744 and 72 FR 11359-11360).
Information about the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel is available on the
SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.
Availability of Meeting Materials: Materials in support of these
meetings will be placed on the SAB Web Site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/
in advance of the meeting.
Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the SAB to
consider during the advisory process. Oral Statements: In general,
individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a public
teleconference will be limited to five minutes per speaker, with no
more than a total of one hour for all speakers. Interested parties
should contact Dr. Stallworth, DFO, at the contact information noted
above, no later than July 23, 2007, to be placed on the public speaker
list for the July 30 or August 1 meetings. Written Statements: Written
statements should be received in the SAB Staff Office no later than
July 23, 2007 so that the information may be made available to the SAB
for their consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements
should be supplied to the DFO in the following formats: one hard copy
with original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail at:
stallworth.holly@epa.gov (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF,
WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format).
Meeting Access: For information on access or services for
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Stallworth at (202)
343-9867 or stallworth.holly@epa.gov. To request accommodation of a
disability, please contact Dr. Stallworth, preferably at least 10 days
prior to the teleconference to give EPA as much time as possible to
process your request.
Dated: June 22, 2007.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E7-12568 Filed 6-27-07; 8:45 am]
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