[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 29, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 71642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34418]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6211-6]


Meeting on Setting Ecological Management Objectives

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This document announces a stakeholders meeting sponsored by 
the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Risk Assessment Forum 
(Forum). The Forum intends to develop Agency-wide guidance on setting 
ecological management goals. This meeting will provide EPA an 
opportunity to hear and consider issues and information that are 
important to stakeholders and interested members of the public. The 
agenda will include opportunities for short stakeholder presentations, 
as well as structured, informal discussions based on the issues.

DATES: The meeting will be held Tuesday, January 19, 1999 from 9:00 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Members of the public are invited to attend.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Renaissance Hotel, 999 9th 
Street NW, Washington D.C. 20001. Science Applications International 
Corporation, an EPA contractor will provide logistical support for the 
meeting. EPA urges participants to pre-register with Evelyn Hartzell, 
telephone (513) 569-5868, fax (513) 569-4800 by January 15, 1999, to 
attend.

PRESENTATIONS: Members of the public who are interested in making a 
short presentation on a particular issue at the stakeholder meeting are 
requested to indicate this interest at the time of registration. 
Because EPA is seeking a variety of opinions, presentations are limited 
to approximately 5 minutes. The facilitator will ensure that there is 
sufficient time allocated for a balance of viewpoints to be presented. 
EPA would appreciate provision of a short summary of the presentation, 
which should be no more than one page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning the 
meeting on setting ecological management objectives, contact Marilyn 
Brower, USEPA (Code 8601-D), 401 M Street S.W., Washington D.C. 20460, 
telephone (202) 564-3363.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Risk Assessment Forum, in partnership 
with the Agency's Science Policy Council, is sponsoring this project to 
develop Agency guidance on setting ecological management objectives by 
building on previous EPA documents. In 1994, the report Managing 
Ecological Risks at EPA: Issues and Recommendations for Progress (EPA/
600/R-94/183, http://www.epa.gov/docs/ORD/ecorisk.html) reviewed the 
ecological concerns already considered in many EPA program areas. The 
report recommended included that EPA develop common ecological concerns 
to be considered in all Agency ecological assessment activities. In 
1997, the report Priorities for Ecological Protection: An Initial List 
and Discussion Document for EPA (EPA/600/S-97/002, http://www.epa.gov/
ORD/WebPubs/priorities/) was prepared to stimulate Agency-wide 
discussion on which ecological entities should be considered priorities 
for protection by all Agency programs, and to propose a process by 
which decision makers can set specific ecological objectives to guide 
both assessments and risk management activities. The April 1998 
Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment (EPA /630/R-95/002F, http://
www.epa.gov/ncea/ecorsk.htm) focused on technical issues of risk 
assessment but indicated specific roles for risk management in the 
process. This meeting will allow stakeholders and interested 
individuals from the public to discuss examples of processes used to 
decide what environmental attributes to protect, and suggest criteria 
that might be useful in deciding what to protect.

    Dated: December 22, 1998.
William H. Farland,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 98-34418 Filed 12-28-98; 8:45 am]
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