[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20765-20767]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10338]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7202-5]


EPA Science Advisory Board; Notification of Public Advisory 
Committee Meetings: Affordability Criterion for Drinking Water 
Treatment Technologies for Small Systems

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, 
notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Environmental Economics 
Advisory Committee (EEAC) of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) to 
review the Agency's affordability criterion for small systems under the 
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996. The SAB was established to 
provide independent scientific and technical advice to the EPA 
Administrator on Agency positions; in this case the methodology for 
developing and applying the affordability criterion. The EEAC is a 
standing committee of the SAB and is responsible for reviewing economic 
guidance and analyses that are used by EPA in carrying out its mission.
    The review meeting will be held on June 13, 2002 at the Holiday Inn 
Hotel and Suites, 625 First Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, telephone 
(703) 548-6300. The meeting will start at 9 a.m and conclude by 3 p.m. 
on that date. All times noted are Eastern Time. All meetings are open 
to the public, however, seating is limited and available on a first-
come basis. Important Notice: Documents that are the subject of SAB 
reviews are normally available from the originating EPA office and are 
not available from the SAB Office--information concerning availability 
of documents from the relevant Program Office is included below.
    The review will be conducted by the SAB's Environmental Economics 
Advisory Committee. Collectively, the appointed members of the EEAC 
have broad expertise in environmental economics and their expertise is 
appropriate to address EPA's charge which asks the SAB to address the 
economic aspects associated with development and application of the 
affordability criterion. The SAB will make use of Invited Experts to 
provide technical information and insights to inform the deliberations 
of the EEAC; however, these experts will not serve as members of this 
SAB Committee nor will they be signatories to the EEAC's report.

Background

    The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) amendments include a number 
of provisions intended to help minimize the financial impact that new 
regulations will have on small drinking water systems. Several 
important provisions of SDWA (e.g., compliance technologies, variance 
technologies, and variances) hinge on the concept of ``affordability'' 
as it applies to smaller communities across the country. The Agency 
currently assesses the affordability of new regulations on the basis of 
(a) an estimated affordability threshold (the upper limit for the costs 
of water bills, including the costs of treatment, distribution, and 
operation), which the Agency puts at a level of 2.5% of the median 
household income (MHI) and (b) baseline expenditures (derived from 
current annual water bills and MHI). Detailed information on the 
Agency's approach to affordability can be found in the Report to 
Congress: Small System Arsenic Implementation Issues, dated March 2002 
(see the report on the EPA Web site at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic.html).

The Charge

    The Agency is asking the SAB for advice on economic issues 
associated with its national-level affordability criterion, as well as 
the methodology used to establish the criterion. EPA asks that while 
taking into consideration the structure of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
and the limitations of readily available data and information sources, 
what is the Committee's opinion of the Agency's national level 
affordability criterion, methodology for deriving the criterion, and 
approach to applying those criteria to national primary drinking water 
regulations (NPDWRs)? Specifically, EPA is seeking the SAB's responses 
to the following questions:
    1. What is the SAB's view of the Agency's basic approach of 
comparing average compliance costs for an NPDWR with an expenditure 
margin, which is derived as the difference between an affordability 
threshold and an expenditure baseline?
    2. If the basic approach is retained, should a measure other than 
median income that captures the impact on more disadvantaged households 
be used as the basis for the affordability threshold? If so, what 
alternative measures (e.g., 10th or 25th income percentile, poverty 
level income) should the Agency consider and why? What would be the 
likely effect of such alternatives on existing and future national 
level affordable technology determinations?
    3. What alternatives should the Agency consider to 2.5% as the 
income percentage for the national level affordability threshold, and 
what would

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be the likely effect of such alternatives on existing and future 
national level affordable technology determinations? What basis should 
the Agency use to select from among such alternatives? Should the 
Agency use costs of other household goods and services or risk 
reduction activities as a basis for setting the affordability threshold 
as was done in the development of the current criteria?
    4. Does the Committee believe the Agency should consider approaches 
to calculating the national ``expenditure baseline'' other than those 
used by the Agency heretofore?
    5. Does the Committee believe that separate national level 
affordability criterion should be developed for ground water and 
surface water systems?
    6. Should the Agency include an evaluation of the potential 
availability of financial assistance (e.g., Drinking Water State 
Revolving Fund) in its national level affordability criterion? If so, 
how could the potential availability of such financial assistance that 
reduces household burden be taken into consideration?
    7. Is there a need for making affordable technology determinations 
on a regional rather than a national basis? Does adequate, readily 
available information exist to support such an approach? EPA is still 
exploring the degree of flexibility afforded by SDWA to make regional 
determinations, but would appreciate the Committee's advice on whether 
such determinations are feasible and warranted.

Approach to Conducting the Review

    EPA has asked the Science Advisory Board for advice on economic 
issues associated with its national-level affordability criterion. In 
addition to its focused discussion on the economic aspects of this 
issue with the SAB, EPA intends to obtain input on broader aspects of 
the criterion and the process for its establishment, from its National 
Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) and through interactions with a 
broad group of stakeholders that it intends to convene subsequent to 
the SAB review.
    The SAB has determined that the appropriate Panel for conducting 
this focused review is its Environmental Economics Advisory Committee 
(EEAC), complemented by Invited Experts who can provide EEAC members 
with information on and insights into drinking water treatment 
techniques. By this notice, the public is invited to suggest names of 
experts who are appropriate for use as invited experts in this regard. 
The Invited Experts will not be members of the Panel, per se, and will 
not be signatories to the EEAC's report, nor will they be a part of 
analysis of balance of bias on this topic for the EEAC itself. 
Suggestions for Invited Experts should include the individual's name, 
affiliation, position, contact information (telephone number, mailing 
address, and email address and/or Web site), a current resume 
(preferably in electronic form), and a statement regarding the 
nominee's background, experience, and qualifications to serve as an 
Invited Expert for this activity.
    Biographical sketches of the EEAC members who are participating in 
this review can be found on the SAB Web site at www.epa.gov/SAB/. By 
this notice, the public is invited to provide the EPA Science Advisory 
Board with information or analyses pertinent to the service of any of 
these individuals on the review. Information, preferably in electronic 
form, must be received no later than May 10, 2002. Information should 
be sent by mail to Mr. Thomas O. Miller, Designated Federal Officer, 
SAB Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (see contact information 
below). A final roster of the participating EEAC members, along with 
the Invited Experts, will be placed on the SAB Website no later than 
May 14, 2002.
    The EEAC will deliberate in public session on June 13, 2002 in 
Alexandria, VA at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, 625 First Street, 
Alexandria, VA 22314, telephone (703) 548-6300. The Meeting will 
convene at 9 a.m. and adjourn no later than 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight 
Time. Not later than four weeks prior to the meeting, the Agency will 
send the group background information that will be the focus of their 
discussion at the public meeting. Material distributed to the EEAC and 
Invited Experts will be available from the Agency, not the SAB itself. 
To obtain copies of materials provided to the SAB, members of the 
public should contact by mail Mr. Amit Kapadia, US Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Standards 
and Risk Management Division (4607M), 1200 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; by e-mail [email protected]; by FAX at (202) 
564-3760; or by telephone at (202) 564-4879.
    Approximately four weeks after the face-to-face meeting, the EEAC 
and Invited Experts will have a contingency conference call to resolve 
any outstanding issues before sending their report to the SAB Executive 
Committee for action and subsequent transmittal to the Administrator. 
The date and time of the contingency conference call will be posted on 
the SAB Web site (www.epa.gov/sab) by June 15, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Any member of the public wishing further 
information concerning this meeting or who wishes to submit brief oral 
comments must contact Mr. Thomas O. Miller, Designated Federal Officer, 
SAB Environmental Economics Advisory Committee, USEPA Science Advisory 
Board (1400A), Suite 6450CC, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4558; fax at (202) 501-
0582; or via e-mail at [email protected]. Requests for oral comments 
must be in writing (e-mail, fax or mail) and received by Mr. Miller no 
later than noon Eastern Time five business days prior to the meeting 
date (June 6, 2002). See below for time limitations on public comments.
    Members of the public desiring additional information about the 
meeting location must contact Ms. Renee Cooper-Wilson, EPA Science 
Advisory Board (1400A), Suite 6450N, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-
4533; fax at (202) 501-0582; or via e-mail at [email protected].
    A copy of the draft agenda for each meeting will be posted on the 
SAB Web site (www.epa.gov/SAB/) (under the AGENDAS subheading) 
approximately 10 days before that meeting.

Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings

    It is the policy of the EPA Science Advisory Board to accept 
written public comments of any length, and to accommodate oral public 
comments whenever possible. The EPA Science Advisory Board 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). For teleconference meetings, 
opportunities for oral comment will usually be limited to no more than 
three minutes per speaker and no more than fifteen minutes total. 
Deadlines for getting on the public speaker list for a meeting are 
given above. 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

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to the meeting date so that the comments may be made available to the 
review panel for their consideration. Comments should be supplied to 
the appropriate DFO at the address/contact information noted 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 95/98 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 special accommodation at this meeting, 
including wheelchair access to the conference room, should contact Mr. 
Miller at least five business days prior to the meeting so that 
appropriate arrangements can be made.

General Information

    Additional information concerning the Science Advisory Board, its 
structure, function, and composition, may be found on the SAB Web site 
(http://www.epa.gov/sab) and in the Science Advisory Board FY2001 
Annual Staff Report which is available from the SAB Publications Staff 
at (202) 564-4533 or via fax at (202) 501-0256.

    Dated: April 22, 2002.
Donald G. Barnes,
Staff Director, Science Advisory Board.
[FR Doc. 02-10338 Filed 4-25-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P