[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66329-66330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19171]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8241-7]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public 
Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Hypoxia Advisory Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is 
announcing a public meeting of the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel.

DATES: The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. (EST) December 6, 2006 to 1 
p.m. December 8, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Doubletree Hotel located at 
1515 Rhode Island Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding the public meeting may contact Dr. Holly 
Stallworth, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), U.S. EPA Science Advisory 
Board Staff Office by telephone/voice mail at (202) 343-9867, or via e-
mail at [email protected]. The SAB mailing address is: US EPA, 
Science Advisory Board (1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. General information about the SAB, as well as any 
updates concerning the meeting announced in this notice, may be found 
in the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby

[[Page 66330]]

given that the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting to 
develop a report that details advancements in the state of the science 
regarding hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. The SAB was 
established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent scientific and 
technical advice to the Administrator on the technical basis for Agency 
positions and regulations. The SAB is a Federal Advisory Committee 
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 
5 U.S.C., App. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all 
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    Background: EPA participates with other Federal agencies, states 
and tribes in the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient 
Task Force. In 2001, the Task Force released the Action Plan for 
Reducing, Mitigating and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of 
Mexico (or Action Plan available at http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/taskforce/actionplan.htm). The Action Plan was informed by the science 
described in An Integrated Assessment of Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf 
of Mexico (or Integrated Assessment available at http://www.noaa.gov/products/hypox_finalfront.pdf) developed by the National Science and 
Technology Council, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Six 
technical reports provided the scientific foundation for the Integrated 
Assessment and are available at http://www.nos.noaa.gov/products/pub_hypox.html. The aforementioned documents provide a comprehensive 
summary of the state-of-the-science for the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone 
through about the year 2000.
    EPA's Office of Water has requested that the SAB develop a report 
that evaluates the state-of-the-science regarding the causes and extent 
of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the scientific basis of 
possible management options in the Mississippi River Basin. The SAB is 
asked to focus on scientific advances since 2000 that may have 
increased scientific understanding and control options in three general 
areas.
    1. Characterization of the Cause(s) of Hypoxia. The physical, 
biological and chemical processes that affect the development, 
persistence and extent of hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
    2. Characterization of Nutrient Fate, Transport and Sources. 
Nutrient loadings, fate, transport and sources in the Mississippi River 
that impact Gulf Hypoxia.
    3. Scientific Basis for Goals and Management Options. The 
scientific basis for, and recommended revisions to, the goals proposed 
in the Action Plan; and the scientific basis for the efficacy of 
recommended management actions to reduce nutrient flux from point and 
nonpoint sources.
    In response to EPA's request, the SAB Staff Office formed the SAB 
Hypoxia Advisory Panel. Background on the Panel formation process was 
provided in a Federal Register notice published on February 17, 2006 
(71 FR 8578-8580). The SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel met on September 6-7, 
2006 to plan its work and organized itself into three subgroups 
corresponding to the three general areas described above. Background 
for the first meeting of the Hypoxia Advisory Panel was provided in a 
Federal Register published on August 9, 2006 (71 FR 45543-45544). The 
three subgroups of the Panel have held multiple public teleconferences 
to begin developing the Panel's report. Background information for the 
subgroup teleconferences was provided in Federal Register notices 
published on September 25, 2006 (71 FR 55786-55787) and October 6, 2006 
(71 FR 59107). Information about the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel is 
available on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: Materials in support of this 
meeting will be placed on the SAB Web site http://www.epa.gov/sab/ in 
advance of the meeting.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the SAB to 
consider during the advisory process. Oral Statements: In general, 
individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a public 
meeting will be limited to five minutes per speaker, with no more than 
a total of one hour for all speakers. Interested parties should contact 
Dr. Stallworth, DFO, at the contact information noted above, no later 
than November 28, 2006, to be placed on the public speaker list for the 
December 6-8, 2006 meeting. Written Statements: Written statements 
should be received in the SAB Staff Office no later than November 28, 
2006 so that the information may be made available to the SAB for their 
consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements should be 
supplied to the DFO in the following formats: One hard copy with 
original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail to 
[email protected] (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, 
WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format).
    Meeting Access: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Stallworth at (202) 
343-9867 or [email protected]. To request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact Dr. Stallworth, preferably at least 10 days 
prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time as possible to process 
your request.

    Dated: November 7, 2006.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Associate Director for Science, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff 
Office.
[FR Doc. E6-19171 Filed 11-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P