[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77743-77744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22141]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8262-2]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office Notification of Public 
Meetings Teleconferences) of the Science Advisory Board Hypoxia 
Advisory Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is 
announcing four public teleconferences of the SAB Hypoxia Advisory 
Panel to discuss preparation of a Draft Advisory on the science 
concerning hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.

DATES: The dates and times for the teleconferences are:
    (1) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 1: Characterization of the 
Causes of Hypoxia--January 26, 2007 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time;
    (2) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 2: Characterization of 
Nutrient Sources, Fate, and Transport--January 25, 2007 from 10 a.m. to 
1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time;
    (3) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 3: Scientific Basis for 
Goals and Management Options--February 20, 2007 from 2 to 4 p.m. 
Eastern Standard Time; and
    (4) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel: February 12, 2007 from 9 a.m. to 12 
p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
    Location: The teleconferences will be conducted by phone only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain the teleconference call-in numbers and access codes to 
participate in the teleconferences may contact the following 
individuals. (1) For the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 1's 
teleconference on January 26, 2007, contact Dr. Thomas Armitage, 
Designated Federal Officer (DFO), by telephone at (202) 343-9995, or e-
mail at [email protected]. (2) For the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel 
Subgroup 2's teleconference on January 25, 2007, contact Mr. David 
Wangsness, DFO, by telephone at (202) 343-9975, or e-mail at 
[email protected]. (3) For the Hypoxia Advisory Panel's 
teleconference on February 12, 2007 and Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 
3's teleconference on February 20, 2007, contact Dr. Holly Stallworth, 
DFO, by telephone at (202) 343-9867, or e-mail at 
[email protected]. General information about the SAB, as well as 
any updates concerning the teleconferences announced in this notice, 
may be found on 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 given that the SAB Hypoxia 
Advisory Panel will hold public meetings to continue its discussion and 
prepare a draft report that evaluates 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

[[Page 77744]]

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://oceanservice.noaa.gov/products/hypox_final.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://oceanservice.noaa.gov/products/pubs_hypox.html#fia. 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 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 listed 
above. The SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel also met on December 6-8, 2006. 
Background for the first meeting of the Hypoxia Advisory Panel was 
provided in a Federal Register published in 71 FR 45543-45544; and 
background for the second meeting was provided in 71 FR 66329-66330. 
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 the appropriate Designated Federal 
Officer at the contact information noted above no later two weeks prior 
to each teleconference to be placed on the public speaker list. Written 
Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff 
Office no later than two weeks prior to the teleconference or meeting 
so that the information may be 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: December 20, 2006.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E6-22141 Filed 12-26-06; 8:45 am]
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