[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11359-11360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4532]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8286-9]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of Multiple 
Public 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 three public teleconferences of the SAB Hypoxia Advisory 
Panel and its subgroups to discuss its draft advisory working report 
concerning the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

DATES: The dates for the three teleconferences are:
    (1) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 1 Characterization of the 
Causes Hypoxia Teleconference--April 2, 2007 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. 
Eastern Time;
    (2) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 2 Characterization of 
Nutrient Fate, Transport, and Sources, and Subgroup 3 Scientific Basis 
for Goals and Management Options Teleconference--April 16, 2007 from 1 
p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time; and
    (3) SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Teleconference--May 7, 2007 from 1 
p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

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--Characterization 
of the Causes of Hypoxia teleconference, contact Dr. Thomas Armitage, 
Designated Federal Officer (DFO), by telephone at (202) 343-9995, fax 
at (202) 233-0643, or e-mail at [email protected].
    (2) For the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel Subgroup 2--Characterization 
of Nutrient Fate, Transport, and Sources, and Subgroup 3--Scientific 
Basis for Goals and Management Options teleconference, contact Mr. 
David Wangsness, DFO for Subgroup 2, by

[[Page 11360]]

telephone at (202) 343-9975, fax at (202) 233-0643, or e-mail at 
[email protected], or Dr. Holly Stallworth, DFO for Subgroup 3, 
by telephone at (202) 343-9867, fax at (202) 233-0643, or e-mail at 
[email protected].
    (3) Any member of the public wishing further information regarding 
the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel teleconference may contact Dr. Holly 
Stallworth, DFO, U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office by 
telephone/voice mail at (202) 343-9867, or 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 
teleconferences 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 three teleconferences to discuss issues and 
recommendations for its draft advisory working 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), December 6-8, 2006 (noticed in 71 
FR 66329-66330), and again on February 28-March 1, 2007 (noticed in 72 
FR 5968-5969). Teleconferences of the full Hypoxia Advisory Panel and 
its three subgroups were also 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: Agendas for the teleconferences 
will be placed on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab in 
advance.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: The SAB Staff Office accepts 
written public statements of any length, and accommodates oral public 
statements whenever possible. The SAB Staff Office expects that public 
statements presented at SAB meetings will not repeat previously 
submitted oral or written statements. Oral Statements: In general, 
individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a 
teleconference meeting will usually be limited to three minutes per 
speaker with no more than a total of fifteen minutes for all speakers. 
Interested parties should contact the appropriate DFO at the contact 
information provided above in writing via e-mail at least 10 days prior 
to the scheduled teleconference to be placed on the public speaker list 
for the teleconference. Speakers should provide an electronic copy of 
their statements to the DFO for distribution to interested parties and 
participants in the meeting. Written Statements: Written statements 
should be received in the SAB Staff Office at least seven days before 
the scheduled teleconferences so that the statements may be made 
available to the Panel for their consideration. Statements should be 
supplied to the appropriate DFO at the address and contact information 
provided above 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 
98/2000/XP format).
    Meeting Accommodations: Individuals requiring special accommodation 
to access the teleconferences should contact the appropriate DFO at the 
phone number or e-mail address noted above at least five business days 
prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

    Dated: March 7, 2007.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E7-4532 Filed 3-12-07; 8:45 am]
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