[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 154 (Friday, August 10, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45048-45049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15676]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8453-3; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0665]


Preliminary Assessment of Climate Change Effects on Stream and 
River Biological Indicators

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 30-day public comment period for the draft 
document titled, ``Preliminary Assessment of Climate Change Effects on 
Stream and River Biological Indicators'' (EPA/600/R-07/085). The 
document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and Development.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality 
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It 
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency 
policy or determination. EPA intends to consider any public comments 
submitted in accordance with this notice when revising the document.

DATES: The 30-day public comment period begins August 10, 2007, and 
ends September 10, 2007. Technical comments should be in writing and 
must be received by EPA by September 10, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Preliminary Assessment of Climate Change Effects 
on Stream and River Biological Indicators'' is available primarily via 
the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's home 
page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at 
http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available 
from the Technical Information Staff of the National Center for 
Environmental Assessment (NCEA-TIS). Please contact the Technical 
Information Staff by telephone at 202-564-3261 or by facsimile at 202-
565-0050. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, 
your mailing address, and the draft document title, ``Preliminary 
Assessment of Climate Change Effects on Stream and River Biological 
Indicators.''
    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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 Britta Bierwagen, NCEA, 
telephone: 202-564-3388; facsimile: 202-565-0061; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About the Project/Document

    This report describes projected effects of climate change on 
aquatic ecosystems and provides a preliminary analysis of possible 
effects on river and stream bioassessment programs. The report is 
intended for managers and scientists working on biological indicators, 
bioassessment, and biocriteria to provide them with information on the 
potential effects of climate change on indicator organisms used, 
initial strategies for adapting their programs to accommodate these 
environmental changes, and highlight possible next steps. The first 
step described in the report is an approach for identifying biological 
indicators sensitive to climate change; a case study next analyzes 
bioassessment data to detect possible climate change effects; and, 
finally, another analysis discusses methods for continuing to detect 
impairment under climate change. The results show that (1) Some 
biological indicators may be particularly sensitive to climate change; 
(2) depending on species loss rates, magnitude of temperature changes, 
and number samples, effects may be detected in 15 to 100 years; and (3) 
climate change effects may decrease the ability of states to 
discriminate between reference and impaired sites. The report concludes 
with recommendations for more in-depth assessments in different U.S. 
regions and further dissemination and coordination of information 
across EPA and states.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at 
www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2007-
0665, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-1753.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 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. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should 
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit one 
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of 
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages 
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and 
three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2007-0665. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous 
access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you

[[Page 45049]]

provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment 
directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your 
e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on 
the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that 
you include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: August 2, 2007.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E7-15676 Filed 8-9-07; 8:45 am]
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