[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 130 (Friday, July 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40037-40039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16441]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9697-3]
Notice of the Peer Review Meeting for EPA's Draft Report Entitled
An Assessment of Potential Mining Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems of
Bristol Bay, AK
AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of external peer review meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing
that Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for external peer review, has
convened a panel of experts and will organize and conduct an
independent expert external peer review meeting on August 7-9, 2012, to
review the draft report entitled An Assessment of Potential Mining
Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Versar, Inc.
invites the public to register to attend the first two days of this
meeting as observers. In addition, Versar, Inc. invites the public to
register to provide oral testimony
[[Page 40038]]
during Day 1 (August 7, 2012) of the external peer review meeting. The
panel will meet privately on Day 3 (August 9, 2012) of the meeting. The
expert panel is charged with reviewing the scientific and technical
merit of the draft assessment. The panel will not be making
recommendations to the EPA concerning any potential future actions or
policies. Therefore, the peer review meeting will focus on issues of
science relevant to the assessment, rather than its policy
implications. The panel will have access to public comments received in
the official public docket (docket ID number EPA-HQ-ORD-2012-0276)
during the assessment's public comment period, as well as oral comments
made on Day 1 of the peer review meeting. The draft assessment is
available through www.regulations.gov and at www.epa.gov/bristolbay. In
preparing the final assessment, EPA will consider Versar, Inc.'s report
of the comments and recommendations from the external peer review
meeting, as well as written public comments received through the
official public docket. The final peer review report prepared by
Versar, Inc. will be made available to the public. EPA has released
this draft assessment for the purposes of public comment and peer
review. This draft assessment is not final as described in EPA's
information quality guidelines, and it does not represent and should
not be construed to represent Agency policy or views.
DATES: The public peer review panel meeting will be held on August 7-8,
2012, beginning and ending at approximately 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
(AKDT) on both days.
ADDRESSES: The independent expert external peer review meeting will be
held at the Dena'ina Civic & Convention Center, located at 600 West
Seventh Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska.
Meeting Background: As part of the peer review process for the
EPA's draft assessment report, the public portion of the peer review
meeting will be held on August 7-8, 2012 at the Dena'ina Civic &
Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. On both days, the meeting will
begin at 8:30 a.m. (AKDT) and will end at approximately 5:00 p.m.
(AKDT). Members of the public and any other interested parties may
register to attend both days of the meeting as observers, and to offer
oral testimony on the first day of the meeting.
The focus of this peer review meeting is the scientific content and
merit of the EPA's draft assessment. Public speakers are encouraged to
focus on issues directly relevant to science-based aspects of the
assessment, and to address specific scientific points in their oral
testimony. The peer review process is separate from the EPA public
comment meetings held in early June that enabled members of the public
to provide comments and voice opinions concerning the EPA's draft
assessment report and its potential policy implications for the public
docket.
Day 1 of the meeting (August 7, 2012) will be dedicated to hearing
oral comments on the draft assessment. Members of the public who have
registered in advance to provide oral comments will have the
opportunity to speak during the observer comment session. Each speaker
will be allowed between 3-5 minutes, depending on number of speakers
registered. Given time constraints, a maximum of 100 speakers will be
allowed to offer testimony. If more than 100 speakers register to
provide oral comments, speakers will be selected by Versar in a manner
designed to optimize representation from all organizations,
affiliations, and present a balance of science issues relevant to the
Agency's science assessment. Additional information on selection of
speakers and speaking times will be sent out by August 3, to all
individuals who register to speak.
To accommodate as many speakers as possible, registered speakers
will present oral comments only, without visual aids or written
material. All members of the public, including registered observers and
speakers, are encouraged to submit written comments and materials to
the official public docket for the draft assessment (docket ID number
EPA-HQ-ORD- 2012-0276) by the close of the public comment period on
July 23, 2012. Panel members will have access to any written comments
and materials submitted to the official public docket by this deadline.
Registered observers and speakers will not be allowed to distribute any
written materials directly to the peer review panel. To submit written
comments, please follow one of the methods outlined in the previous
Federal Register notice, issued on May 25, 2012, initiating the
assessment's public comment period: Federal Register Volume 77, Number
102 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05-25/html/2012-12808.htm).
Day 2 of the meeting (August 8, 2012) will be devoted to
deliberations of the EPA's draft assessment by the peer review panel,
guided by the charge questions provided to the public for public
comment. Registered observers may attend and observe the peer review
panel deliberations on Day 2, but will not be allowed to address the
panel or provide oral or written comments.
Registration: To attend the August 7-8 public portion of the peer
review meeting, you must register for the meeting by 11:59 p.m. (EDT)
on July 23, 2012. You can register for the meeting by visiting http://www.versar.com/epa/bristolbayregistration.html, completing the online
registration form, and submitting the required information. You can
also register through U.S. Postal Service or overnight/priority mail by
sending the necessary registration information (see Required
Registration Information) to the Versar Meeting Coordinator, Ms.
Brittany Ekstrom, Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA
22151; Telephone: (703) 642-6767. Registrations sent via U.S. Postal
Service or overnight/priority mail must be received by 11:59 p.m. (EDT)
on July 23, 2012. There will be no on-site registration, so members of
the public who do not register by July 23, 2012 via one of the methods
detailed above will not be able to attend the peer review meeting.
Required Registration Information: To register for the meeting
online or via post, you must provide your full name, organization or
affiliation, and contact information. You must also indicate which days
you plan to attend the meeting and if you are interested in making an
oral statement during the public comment session on Day 1 of the
meeting. If you register to speak, you must also indicate if you have
any special requirements related to your oral comments (e.g.,
translation).
If you indicate that you wish to make oral comments, you will be
asked to select one category most closely reflecting the content of
your comments. These comment categories are: (i) Mine scenario and
operational modes; (ii) potential failures and probabilities; (iii)
hydrology; (iv) toxicity; (v) potential effects on Alaska Native
culture; (vi) potential effects on fish; (vii) potential effects on
wildlife; and (viii) other issues. Should more than 100 speakers
register, these categories will be used to ensure that a balance of
substantive science issues relevant to the assessment are heard.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding logistics or
registration for the external peer review meeting should be directed to
Ms. Brittany Ekstrom, Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield,
VA, 22151; telephone: (703) 642-6767; or via email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 40039]]
I. Information About the Project
The EPA conducted this assessment to determine the significance of
Bristol Bay's ecological resources and evaluate the potential impacts
of large-scale mining on these resources. The EPA will use the results
of this assessment to inform the consideration of options consistent
with its role under the Clean Water Act. The assessment is intended to
provide a sound scientific and technical foundation for future decision
making. The Web site that describes the project is www.epa.gov/bristolbay.
II. Information About the Peer Review Panel
The EPA released the draft assessment for the purposes of public
comment and peer review on May 18, 2012. Consistent with guidelines for
the peer review of highly influential scientific assessments, EPA asked
a contractor (Versar, Inc.) to assemble a panel of experts to evaluate
the draft report. Versar, Inc. evaluated the 68 candidates nominated
during a previous public comment period (February 24, 2012 to March 16,
2012) and sought other experts to complete this peer review panel. The
twelve peer review panel members were made public in EPA's previous
FRN, issued on June 5, 2012. The panelist's names are included below,
with corrections made to account for errors present in the June 5, 2012
FRN:
Mr. David Atkins, Watershed Environmental, LLC.--Expertise in mining
and hydrology.
Mr. Steve Buckley, WHPacific--Expertise in mining and seismology.
Dr. Courtney Carothers, University of Alaska Fairbanks--Expertise in
indigenous Alaskan cultures.
Dr. Dennis Dauble, Washington State University--Expertise in fisheries
biology and wildlife ecology.
Dr. Gordon Reeves, USDA Pacific NW Research Station--Expertise in
fisheries biology and aquatic biology.
Dr. Charles Slaughter, University of Idaho--Expertise in hydrology.
Dr. John Stednick, Colorado State University--Expertise in hydrology
and biogeochemistry.
Dr. Roy Stein, Ohio State University--Expertise in fisheries and
aquatic biology.
Dr. William Stubblefield, Oregon State University--Expertise in aquatic
biology and ecotoxicology.
Dr. Dirk van Zyl, University of British Columbia--Expertise in mining.
Dr. Phyllis Weber Scannell--Expertise in aquatic ecology and
ecotoxicology.
Dr. Paul Whitney--Expertise in wildlife ecology and ecotoxicology.
Dated: June 29, 2012.
Darrell Winner,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2012-16441 Filed 7-5-12; 8:45 am]
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