[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57225-57226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22814]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL 6724-2]


Developing Assessment Factors for Evaluating the Quality of 
Information From External Sources; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; comment request.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a 
public meeting on September 20, 2002 to obtain public input on factors 
and considerations to be used to assess the quality of information 
voluntarily provided by external sources to the Agency or obtained by 
EPA from external sources for specific purposes. In addition, EPA is 
seeking comments from the public on the draft EPA document, 
``Assessment Factors for Evaluating the Quality of Information from 
External Sources.'' EPA developed this document as part of the 
Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, 
Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA Information Quality Guidelines). The EPA 
Information Quality Guidelines were developed pursuant to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the 
Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information 
Disseminated by Federal Agencies (OMB Guidelines, 67 FR 8452, February 
22, 2002).

DATES: The public meeting will be held on September 20, 2002, from 9:00 
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time, EDT). Written comments must 
be received on or before September 20, 2002, 11:59 p.m. EDT. For 
information on dates for submission of written comments, requests to 
present oral comments, or requests for special seating arrangements, 
see Unit I.C. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency East Building, Public Hearing Room 1153, 1201 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. Comments may be submitted by 
e-mail, mail, courier or in person. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 
instructions on submitting comments and public meeting information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Schweer, Office of Science 
Coordination and Policy (7203M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 
564-8469; fax number: (202) 564-8482; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does This Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, 
however, be of interest to persons or entities who develop or collect 
information which is voluntarily submitted to EPA or obtained by EPA 
for its use. Since other entities may also be interested, the Agency 
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be 
affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding the 
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

[[Page 57226]]

B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of This 
Document and Other Related Documents?

    1. Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of this 
document, and certain other related documents that might be available 
electronically, from the EPA Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov. 
To access this document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and 
Regulations,'' ``Regulations and Proposed Rules,'' and then look up the 
entry for this document under the ``Federal Register--Environmental 
Documents.'' You can also go directly to the Federal Register listings 
at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr. You may obtain electronic copies of 
the draft ``Assessment Factors for Evaluating the Quality of 
Information from External Sources'' from the Information Quality 
Guidelines Home Page at: http://www.epa.gov/oei/qualityguidelines/.
    2. In person. The Agency has established a docket for this meeting 
under docket ID number OEI-10014. The docket consists of the documents 
specifically referenced in this notice, any public comments received 
during an applicable comment period, and other material information, 
including any information claimed as Confidential Business Information 
(CBI). The public version of the docket, which includes printed, paper 
versions of any electronic comments that may be submitted during the 
applicable comment period, is available for inspection at: EPA Docket 
Center, EPA West Building, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC, 20460. The docket is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
EDT, Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone 
number is (202)566-1752.

C. How Can I Request To Participate in the Public Meeting?

    You may submit a request to present oral or written comments at the 
meeting and you may provide written comments prior to the meeting via 
electronic mail (e-mail), mail, by courier, or in person. To ensure 
proper receipt of your request and/or comments, it is imperative that 
you identify docket ID No. OEI-10014 in the subject line of the first 
page of your request/comments. The request to present brief oral 
comments (i.e., limited to approximately 5 minutes) should identify the 
name of the individual making the presentation, the organization (if 
any) the individual will represent, and any requirements for 
audiovisual equipment. Although requests to present oral comments are 
accepted until the date of the meeting, to the extent that time 
permits, interested persons who have not submitted a request may be 
permitted to present oral comments. EPA will not be recording or 
transcribing the public meeting. To facilitate EPA's consideration of 
your planned comments, EPA recommends that you provide EPA with a 
written record of those comments you want EPA to consider, either prior 
to or at the public meeting. Comments must be received on or before 
September 20, 2002, 11:59 p.m. EDT.
    To ensure timely receipt, e-mail ([email protected]) is 
the Agency's preferred method for submitting requests to participate in 
the meeting and for submitting comments. Do not submit any information 
electronically that you consider to be CBI. If you submit your request 
and/or written comments by U.S. mail, send them to: U.S. EPA, EPA 
Docket Center (7407), Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. If you submit requests and/or comments in person, 
by courier, or other shipping method, deliver them to: EPA Docket 
Center, EPA West Building, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. The docket is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
EDT, Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone 
number is (202) 566-1752.
    Individuals requiring special accommodations at this meeting, 
including wheelchair access, should contact the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

II. Background

    In response to OMB's guidelines (67 FR 8452, February 22, 2002), 
EPA has developed Draft Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the 
Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information 
Disseminated by the Environmental Protection Agency (Draft EPA 
Information Quality Guidelines; 67 FR 21234, April 30, 2002). The Draft 
EPA Information Quality Guidelines are available at EPA's site, http://www.epa.gov/oei/qualityguidelines. The Draft EPA Information Quality 
Guidelines address the various sources of information submitted to or 
obtained by the Agency for use in making decisions, and, in particular, 
discuss one category of information that includes information 
voluntarily submitted to the Agency or information that the Agency 
obtains from external third party sources. During development of these 
guidelines, EPA requested comments and held a public meeting. 
Subsequently, EPA developed a document, ``Assessment Factors for 
Evaluating the Quality of Information from External Sources,'' that 
specifically addresses assessment factors and considerations relevant 
to evaluating and using external sources of data and information. EPA 
is holding a public meeting on September 20, 2002 to obtain public 
input on factors and considerations they feel are useful to assess the 
quality of information voluntarily provided by external sources to the 
Agency or obtained by EPA for specific purposes. In addition, EPA is 
seeking comments from the public on the document, ``Assessment Factors 
for Evaluating the Quality of Information from External Sources.''

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, data quality, information quality.

    Dated: August 20, 2002.
Elaine Stanley,
Director, Office of Information Analysis and Access, Office of 
Environmental Information.
[FR Doc. 02-22814 Filed 9-6-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P