[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 26 (Thursday, February 8, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5968-5969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-2116]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8276-9]


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.

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SUMMARY: The EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is 
announcing a public meeting of the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel to 
discuss the science concerning the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

DATES: The meeting will be held from February 28-March 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the SAB Conference Center 
located at 1025 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 20004.

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: U.S. 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 given that the SAB Hypoxia 
Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting to develop a report that 
details advances 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.
    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 (noticed in 71 FR 45543-45544) and again on December 6-8, 2006 
(noticed in 71 FR 66329-66330). Teleconferences of the full Hypoxia 
Advisory Panel and its three subgroups have also been published in 
Federal Register notices (71 FR 55786-55787, 71 FR 59107 and 71 FR 
77743-77744). 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 February 20, 2007, to be placed 
on the public speaker list for the February 28-March 2, 2007 meeting.
    Written Statements: Written statements should be received in the 
SAB Staff Office no later than February 20, 2007 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.

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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: February 1, 2007.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E7-2116 Filed 2-7-07; 8:45 am]
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