[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6914-6915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3420]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL--7451-3]


EPA Science Advisory Board; Notification of Radiation Advisory 
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 Radiation Advisory Committee--(February 25-27, 2003)

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Pub. L. 92-463, 
notice is hereby given that the Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) of 
the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) will meet on February 25-27, 
2003 to conduct a consultation on two supplements being developed for 
the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual 
(MARSSIM). The RAC will also conduct some general committee business. 
It will receive briefings and program updates on a variety of EPA 
Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA) projects and it will discuss 
future projects. 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 Tuesday, February 25 at 9 a.m. and 
adjourn no later than 5:30 p.m. that day. On Wednesday, February 26, 
the meeting will begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and adjourn no later 
than 5:30 p.m. that day. On Thursday, February 27, 2003, the meeting 
will begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and adjourn no later than 3:30 
p.m. that day. All times noted are Eastern Time. The meeting will take 
place in the EPA Headquarters Building East Conference Room 1117A, 1201 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20004. For further information 
concerning the meeting, please contact the individuals listed at the 
end of this Federal Register notice.
    Availability of the Meeting Materials: Materials for the meeting 
will be available at the meeting. The proposed agenda for the meeting 
will be posted approximately 10 calendar days prior to the meeting at 
the SAB's Web site (http://www.epa.gov/sab). For questions and 
information concerning the agenda, please contact Dr. K. Jack 
Kooyoomjian, Designated Federal Officer for the SAB's RAC at the 
locations provided below in this notice. For information pertaining to 
the MARSSIM consultation and ORIA Program Office information, please 
contact Dr. Mary E. Clark, Assistant Director, ORIA at the locations 
provided below in this notice.

2. Background on the Consultation

    EPA's ORIA has requested the SAB to provide a consultation on two 
supplements being developed for the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and 
Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM). [The first supplement will be the 
Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and Equipment 
(MARSAME), and the second supplement will be the Multi-Agency Radiation 
Survey and Assessment of Subsurface Soils (MARSASS)]. These projects 
reflect planning for major extensions of a multi-Agency initiative to 
provide federal guidance on determining whether a radioactively-
contaminated site (including equipment and subsurface soils) has been 
adequately cleaned up.
    The original MARSSIM, which was released in December, 1997, was 
reviewed by the SAB's RAC. The SAB report on the original review of the 
MARSSIM topic is also available on the SAB Web site under the reports 
listings (http://epa.gov/sab/pdf/rac9708.pdf) as EPA-SAB-RAC-97-008, 
entitled An SAB Report: Review of the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and 
Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM), September, 1997. The URL site for 
the federal MARSSIM which was published after receipt of the SAB advice 
is http://www.epa.gov/radiation/marssim/obtain.htm.
    The original scope of MARSSIM was limited to surface soils and 
building surfaces to expedite the document's release. The SAB's RAN 
recommended that further expansions of scope be considered for 
subsequent editions of MARSSIM. The federal MARSSIM workgroup composed 
of members of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. 
Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the state of Florida have 
obtained their respective Agencies' support to expand MARSSIM's scope, 
as recommended by the SAB, to include survey and assessment of 
materials and equipment as well as subsurface soils. Prior to preparing 
two draft documents incorporating these issues, the Federal MARSSIM 
workgroup will consult with the SAB's RAC so that the best available 
tools for these survey assessments will be developed.
    In the consultation planned for February 25-27, the Agency is 
seeking advice on whether the technical plans to prepare supplements on 
subsurface soils and equipment are properly directed, and if there are 
any items, issues or practical applications that have not been 
considered that ought to be included by the federal MARSSIM workgroup 
in the current proposed plans.

3. 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 may be 
available to serve as a 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, knowledge and experience is needed for 
the MARSSIM consultation: general expertise in radiological protection 
and health physics (includes radiation risk); knowledge of collection 
and detection techniques; statistical methods for radiological 
applications; knowledge of hydrogeological considerations (includes 
knowledge of saturated and unsaturated zone transport, fractured flow 
mechanics, and transport modeling of such phenomena); and knowledge of 
practical applications of cleanup and

[[Page 6915]]

protection procedures. The EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office has 
determined that the RAC, a standing committee of the Board, will 
conduct this consultation since the RAC 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 18, 
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 Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, the Designated Federal Officer 
(DFO) no later than February 18, 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) absence of financial conflicts of interest; (c) 
scientific credibility and impartiality; (d) availability and 
willingness to serve, and (e) ability to work constructively and 
effectively in committees.

4. 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 Dr. K. Jack 
Kooyoomjian, the DFO for the Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) at the 
address/contact information noted below 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 CONTACT: 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 
Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) membership, must contact Dr. K. Jack 
Kooyoomjian, DFO, U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (1400A), Suite 
6450BB, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone/
voice mail at (202) 564-4557, 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 Dr. Kooyoomjian no later than 
noon Eastern Time five business days prior to the meeting date, 
February 18, 2003). For information pertaining to the MARSSIM 
consultation and ORIA Program Office information, please contact Dr. 
Mary E. Clark, Assistant Director, ORIA at telephone/voice mail at 
(202) 564-9348, fax at (202) 565-2043, or via e-mail at 
[email protected], U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    Members of the public desiring additional information about the 
meeting, such as the agenda, location and directions to the meeting 
room must contact Ms. Betty Fortune, EPA Science Advisory Board 
(1400A), Suite 6450, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4534; fax at 
(202) 501-0582; or via e-mail at [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 Dr. Kooyoomjian or Ms. Fortune at least five business days 
prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

    Dated: February 4, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-3420 Filed 2-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P