[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4775-4777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-2334]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL 7446-5]


EPA Science Advisory Board; Notification of Ecological Processes 
and Effects Committee Meeting; Request for Comments on the Consultative 
Panel

    Purpose of this Notice--To: (1) Announce a public meeting of a 
Federal advisory committee, and (2) solicit public comment on the 
proposed consultative panel.

1. Meeting of the Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC)--
February 13-14, 2003

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Pub. L. 92-463, 
notice is hereby given that the Ecological Processes and Effects 
Committee (EPEC) of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) will meet 
on Thursday and Friday, February 13-14, 2003 to conduct a consultation 
with the EPA Office of Water on its plans to revise the ``Guidelines 
for Deriving Numerical National Water Quality Criteria for the 
Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses''; to receive Agency 
briefings on ecological science priorities; and to discuss potential 
future SAB studies. All times noted are Eastern Time. The meeting is 
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 or consultations are normally available from the 
originating EPA office and are not available from the SAB Office--
information concerning availability of documents generated by the SAB 
and the relevant Program Office is included below.
    The meeting will begin on Thursday, February 13 at 9 am and adjourn 
no later than 5:30 pm that day. On Friday, February 14 the meeting may 
begin at 8:30 am and adjourn no later than 5:30 pm. The meeting will be 
held in EPA Conference Room 4530 in the EPA Ariel Rios North Building, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20004. For further 
information concerning the meeting, please contact the individuals 
listed at the end of this FR notice.

[[Page 4776]]

Availability of the Meeting Materials

    The materials are available from the Office of Water (OW) Web site, 
located at: http://epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/aqlife.html. The 
existing guidelines subject to revision are available through the 
National Technology Information Service at http://www.NTIS.gov. The 
document number for ordering the Guidelines is: PB85227049. For 
questions and information concerning the materials, please contact Ms. 
Heidi Bell, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20460; tel. (202) 566-1089, or e-mail: 
[email protected].

2. Solicitation of Public Comment on the Proposed Consultative Panel

    A ``consultation'' is one of several types of formal interaction 
between the Agency and the Science Advisory Board. The purpose of a 
consultation is to conduct an early discussion between the Agency and 
the SAB to help articulate important issues in the development of a 
project. The meeting is public and consists of briefings and 
discussions. In some cases a partial document, or an early draft is 
available to serve a the basis for discussions. A charge is often used, 
but is less focused than that used in a formal peer review. No 
consensus advice is sought and no report is generated by the SAB.
    To provide the Agency with meaningful input, we have determined 
that the following expertise is needed for the consultation: 
ecotoxicology, chemistry, ecological risk assessment, and uncertainty 
analysis. The EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office has determined 
that the Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC), a standing 
committee of the Board, will conduct this consultation since EPEC 
already has the appropriate expertise without the need for additional 
expert consultants. Therefore, we are not soliciting additional experts 
for this consultation.
    The SAB Staff Office will post the names and biosketches for 
members of the consultative Panel on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab. Public comments will be accepted until February 7, 
2003 on the information provided. During this comment period, the 
public will be requested to provide information, analysis or other 
documentation relevant to the membership of the panel for the Staff 
Office's final decision. Information, analysis or documentation must be 
received by the EPEC Designated Federal Officer (DFO) no later than 
February 7, 2003. Please see the address/contact information noted 
below.
    For the EPA SAB, a balanced review panel (i.e., committee, 
subcommittee, or panel) is characterized by inclusion of candidates who 
possess the necessary domains of knowledge, the relevant scientific 
perspectives (which, among other factors, can be influenced by work 
history and affiliation), and the collective breadth of experience to 
adequately address the charge. Information provided by the public will 
be considered in the selection of the panel, along with information 
provided by candidates and information gathered by EPA SAB Staff 
independently on the background of each candidate (e.g., financial 
disclosure information and computer searches to evaluate a nominee's 
prior involvement with the topic under review). Specific criteria to be 
used in evaluating an individual subcommittee member include: (a) 
scientific and/or technical expertise, knowledge, and experience 
(primary factors); (b) availability and willingness to serve; (c) 
absence of financial conflicts of interest; (d) scientific credibility 
and impartiality; and (e) ability to work constructively and 
effectively in committees.

3. General Information

Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings

    It is the policy of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) to accept 
written public comments of any length, and to accommodate oral public 
comments whenever possible. The EPA SAB 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. Interested parties 
should contact the DFO at least one week prior to the meeting in order 
to be placed on the public speaker list for the meeting. Speakers may 
attend the meeting and provide comment up to the meeting time. 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 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 EPEC 
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. Should comment be 
provided at the meeting and not in advance of the meeting, they should 
be in-hand to the DFO up to and immediately following the meeting. The 
SAB allows a grace period of 48 hours after adjournment of the public 
meeting to provide written comments supporting any verbal comments 
stated at the public meeting to be made a part of the public record.

For Further Information

    Any member of the public wishing further information concerning 
this meeting, who wish to submit brief oral comments, or have comment 
on the constitution or balance of EPEC membership, must contact Mr. 
Lawrence Martin, DFO, USEPA Science Advisory Board (1400A), Suite 6450, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone/voice 
mail at (202) 564-6497; 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. Martin no later than noon 
Eastern Time five business days prior to the meeting date (February 7, 
2003).
    Members of the public desiring additional information about the 
meeting location must contact Ms. Zisa Lubarov-Walton, EPA Science 
Advisory Board (1400A), Suite 6450, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4537; fax 
at (202) 501-0582; or via e-mail at Zisa [email protected].
    A copy of the draft agenda for the meeting will be posted on the 
SAB Web site (http://www.epa.gov/sab) (under the AGENDAS subheading) 
approximately 10 days before the meeting.

Meeting Access

    Individuals requiring special accommodation at this meeting, 
including wheelchair access to the conference room, should contact Ms. 
Lubarov-Walton at least five business days prior to the meeting so that 
appropriate arrangements can be made.


[[Page 4777]]


    Dated: January 27, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-2334 Filed 1-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P