[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21777-21778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8442]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7904-7]


Draft of the Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information 
System (CADDIS) E-Docket No. ORD-2005-0001

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of external review draft for public review and comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
that Versar Inc., an EPA contractor for external scientific peer 
review, will convene a panel of experts and organize and conduct an 
external peer-review workshop to review the external review draft Web 
site titled ``Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System.'' 
The EPA is also announcing a 30-day public review and comment period 
for the draft Web site. The CADDIS Web site was developed and prepared 
by EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), in the 
Office of Research and Development (ORD). NCEA will consider public 
comment submissions in revising the Web site.

DATES: The peer-review panel workshop will begin on June 6, 2005, at 
8:30 a.m. and end at 5, eastern daylight time. The 30-day public 
comment period begins April 27, 2005, and ends May 27, 2005. Technical 
comments should be in writing and must be submitted electronically or 
postmarked by May 27, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The peer-review workshop will be held in the 7th floor 
conference room, at 633 3rd St., NW., Washington DC. To attend the 
workshop, register by June 1, 2005, by calling Crystal Edwards of NCEA, 
at 202-564-1140, or send a facsimile to 202-564-2018. You may also 
register via e-mail at [email protected]. The draft CADDIS Web 
site can be accessed via the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/caddis. 
Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or by 
hand delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions as 
provided in the section of this notice entitled SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For workshop information, 
registration, and logistics, contact Crystal Edwards, USEPA (8623-N), 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington DC 20460; telephone: 202-564-
1140; facsimile: 202-564-2018. For information on the public comment 
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket; 
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail: 
[email protected]. For technical information, contact Susan Norton, 
Ph.D., NCEA, via facsimile: 202-564-2018, or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summary of CADDIS Project

    Over a thousand water bodies in the United States are listed by 
states as biologically impaired. For many of these sites, the cause of 
impairment is reported as ``unknown.'' Before appropriate management 
actions can be formulated for impaired water bodies, the causes of 
biological impairment (e.g., excess fine sediments, nutrients, or 
toxics) need to be identified. Effective causal analyses call for 
knowledge of the mechanisms, symptoms, and stressor-response 
relationships for various stressors, as well as the ability to use that 
knowledge to draw appropriate, defensible conclusions. To aid in these 
causal analyses, NCEA has developed the first version of CADDIS. CADDIS 
is a Web-based decision support system that will help regional, state, 
and tribal scientists find, access, organize, and share information 
useful for causal evaluations in aquatic systems. It is based on EPA's 
Stressor Identification process, which is an EPA-recommended method for 
identifying causes of impairments in aquatic environments. Current 
features of CADDIS include a step-by-step guide to conducting causal 
analysis, downloadable worksheets and examples, a library of conceptual 
models, and links to useful information sources.

How To Submit Comments to EPA's E-Docket

    EPA has established an official public docket for information 
pertaining to the revision of the CADDIS website, Docket ID No. ORD-
2005-0001. The official public docket is the collection of materials, 
excluding Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute, that is available for public 
viewing at the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the 
Headquarters EPA Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room B102, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the OEI 
Docket is 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail: 
[email protected].
    An electronic version of the official public docket is available 
through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, E-Docket. 
You may use E-Docket at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view 
public comments, to access the index listing of the contents of the 
official public docket, and to view those documents in the public 
docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select 
``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
    Certain types of information will not be placed in E-Docket. 
Information claimed as CBI and other information with disclosure 
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public 
docket, also will not be available for public viewing in E-Docket. 
Copyrighted material will not be placed in E-Docket, but will be 
referenced there and available as printed material in the official 
public docket.
    For people submitting public comments, please note that EPA's 
policy makes that information available for public viewing as received 
and at no charge at the EPA Docket Center or in E-Docket. This policy 
applies to information submitted electronically or in paper form, 
except where restricted by copyright, CBI, or statute. When EPA 
identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide 
a reference to that material in the version of the comment placed in 
EPA's electronic public docket; the entire printed comment, including 
the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.
    Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or 
delivered to the docket will be transferred to E-Docket. Physical 
objects will be photographed, where practical, and the photograph will 
be placed in E-Docket along with a brief description written by the 
docket staff.

[[Page 21778]]

    You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or 
by hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, include the 
appropriate docket identification number with your submission. Please 
adhere to the specified submitting period; public comments received or 
submitted past the closing date will be marked ``late'' and may only be 
considered if time permits.
    If you submit public comments electronically, EPA recommends that 
you include your name, mailing address, and an e-mail address or other 
contact information in the body of our comment. Also include these 
contact details on the outside of any submitted disk or CD-ROM, and in 
any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD-ROM. This ensures that you 
can be identified as the person submitting the public comments and 
allows EPA to contact you in case the Agency cannot read your 
submission due to technical difficulties, or needs further information 
on the substance of your comment. EPA will not edit your comment, and 
any identifying or contact information provided in the body of the 
comment will be included as part of the comment placed in the official 
public docket and made available in E-Docket. If EPA cannot read what 
you submit due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, it may delay or prohibit EPA's consideration of your 
comments.
    Electronic submission of comments via E-Docket is the preferred 
method for receiving comments. To access EPA's electronic public docket 
from the EPA Internet home page, select ``Information Sources,'' 
``Dockets,'' and ``EPA Dockets.'' Once in the system, select 
``search,'' and key in Docket ID No. ORD-2005-0001. The system is an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity, e-mail address, or other contact details unless you provide 
it in the body of your comment.
    Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to 
[email protected], Attention Docket ID No. ORD-2005-0001. In contrast 
to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an 
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail directly to the 
docket without going through EPA's E-Docket, EPA's e-mail system 
automatically captures your e-mail address, and it becomes part of the 
information in the official public docket and is made available in E-
Docket.
    You may submit comments on a disk or CD-ROM mailed to the OEI 
Docket mailing address. Files will be accepted in WordPerfect, Word, or 
PDF file format. Avoid the use of special characters and any form of 
encryption.
    If you provide comments in writing, please submit one unbound 
original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies. For 
attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively with the main 
text, and submit an unbound original and three copies.

    Dated: April 20, 2005.
George W. Alapas,
Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 05-8442 Filed 4-26-05; 8:45 am]
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