[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 168 (Thursday, August 30, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50105-50107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17197]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8462-5]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Meeting of 
the Science Advisory Board

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a 
public face-to-face meeting of the chartered SAB to: (1) Discuss 
strategic research directions for the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency; (2) complete its discussions of science use in disaster 
response programs; (3) conduct a quality review of the draft SAB report 
Advisory on Factors Influencing Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico; and (4) 
conduct a quality review of the draft SAB report Review of EPA's Draft 
Evaluation of the Carcinogenicity of Ethylene Oxide: A Report of the 
U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board.

DATES: The meeting dates are Wednesday, October 3, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. 
to 5:30 p.m. through Friday, October 5, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to not 
later than 2 p.m. (Eastern Time).
    Location: The meeting will be held in Research Triangle Park, NC. 
The location will be announced on the SAB Web site as soon as possible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain additional information about this meeting may contact Dr. Angela 
Nugent by mail address given below; by telephone at (202) 343-9981; by 
fax at (202) 233-0643; or e-mail at:

[[Page 50106]]

[email protected] or by contacting Mr. Thomas O. Miller, Designated 
Federal Officer (DFO), by mail at the address given below; by telephone 
at (202) 343-9982; by fax at: (202) 233-0643; 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 meeting announced in this notice, may be found on the 
SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to 
provide independent scientific and technical advice, consultation, and 
recommendations to the EPA 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: (a) SAB Quality Review of the Draft Committee Report 
Factors Influencing Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. The Chartered 
Science Advisory Board will conduct a quality review of the draft 
report of its Hypoxia Advisory Panel at its meeting on October 3-5, 
2007. Specific times will be provided in the meeting agenda that will 
be placed on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting (http://www.epa.gov/sab). EPA's Office of Water 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. That Panel held several meetings to discuss the issue and has 
now completed its draft report to the EPA Administrator. Federal 
Register notices were published announcing each of the Hypoxia Advisory 
Panel meetings (see 71 FR 8578-8580; 71 FR 45543-45544; 71 FR 66329-
66330; 71 FR 55786-55787; 71 FR 59107 and 71 FR 77743-77744). 
Background on the Panel and this review is available on the SAB Web 
site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/hypoxia_adv_panel.htm.
    (b) EPA Strategic Research Directions: The Agency has asked the 
Science Advisory Board for advice on the strategic directions for its 
research program for the next five to fifteen years. This activity 
complements the annual SAB review of EPA's research budget, and permits 
a more critical evaluation of research programs than is possible during 
the research budget review. It will also give EPA additional time to 
incorporate SAB advice into the longer term research planning process 
that informs each year's budget preparation activity. The Agency charge 
asks for advice on the alignment of EPA research and development 
program directions with the strategic priorities identified by EPA's 
operating programs and Regional Offices; coordination of research 
planning within ORD and across EPA; coordination of research planning 
with environmental science programs of other government agencies; and 
whether EPA research is positioned to provide critical scientific 
support to EPA and the nation on emerging issues. The SAB will discuss 
EPA research program directions with EPA representatives on October 4 
and 5, 2007. Specific information on the structure and schedule for 
these discussions will be provided by the meeting agenda that will be 
available on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting (http://www.epa.gov/sab).
    (c) Science in Emergency Response. The SAB is exploring the use of 
science in preparing for and responding to environmental disasters. The 
SAB held a meeting on this topic on December 12-14, 2006 during which 
non-EPA experts discussed their experiences with disaster preparedness 
and response (71 FR 67566). The SAB continued its discussions of 
science in emergency response during its June 19-20, 2007 meeting (see 
72 FR 27308). The SAB is currently drafting advisory comments to the 
Administrator as a result of these discussions. Final discussions of 
those comments will be held during the SAB meeting on October 3-5, 
2007. Specific times will be provided in the meeting agenda that will 
be placed on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting (http://www.epa.gov/sab). Additional information is available on the SAB Web Site for the 
December 2006 meeting at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/agendas.htm, and for 
the June 19-20, 2007 SAB meeting at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/07agendas/sab_06_19-20_07_agenda.pdf.
    (d) SAB Quality Review of Review of EPA's Draft Evaluation of the 
Carcinogenicity of Ethylene Oxide: A Report of the U.S. EPA Science 
Advisory Board. The Chartered Science Advisory Board will conduct a 
quality review of the draft report of its Ethylene Oxide Review Panel 
on October 3-5, 2007. Specific times will be provided in the meeting 
agenda that will be placed on the SAB Web Site prior to the meeting 
(http://www.epa.gov/sab). EPA's Office of Research and Development 
(ORD) requested that the SAB review its draft document entitled 
Evaluation of the Carcinogenicity of Ethylene Oxide that was prepared 
by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA). In response 
to EPA's request, the SAB Staff Office formed the SAB Ethylene Oxide 
Review Panel. That Panel held several meetings to discuss the issue and 
has now completed its draft report to the EPA Administrator. Federal 
Register notices were published announcing each of the Ethylene Oxide 
Review Panel's meetings (see 71 FR 10500, 71 FR 66328, 72 FR 20538). 
Background on the Panel and this review is available on the SAB Web 
Site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/ethylene_oxide_rev_panel.htm.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: Materials in support of this 
meeting will be placed on the SAB Web Site at http://www.epa.gov/sab in 
advance of this 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 
one hour for all speakers. Interested parties should contact Dr. Angela 
Nugent by mail at the EPA SAB Staff Office, (1400F), U.S. EPA, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; by telephone at (202) 
343-9981; by fax at (202) 233-0643; or by e-mail at: 
[email protected] Mr. Thomas Miller, DFO, at the contact 
information provided above, by September 21, 2007, to be placed on the 
public speaker list for the October 3-5, 2007 meeting. A telephone 
conference line will be available for those portions of the meeting 
during which the SAB is conducting quality reviews of draft committee 
reports. Information on the call in procedures and numbers can be 
obtained by calling the EPA SAB Staff Office at (202) 343-9999. Written 
Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff 
Office by September 27, 2007, so that the information may be made 
available to the SAB for their consideration prior to this meeting. 
Written statements should be supplied in the following formats: one 
hard copy with original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail 
to: [email protected] and [email protected] (acceptable file 
format: Adobe Acrobat PDF,

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WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format).
    Meeting Accommodations: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Thomas Miller at 
(202) 343-9982, or e-mail at [email protected]. To request 
accommodation of a disability, please contact Mr. Miller, preferably at 
least 10 days prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as 
possible to process your request.

    Dated: August 24, 2007.
Anthony Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E7-17197 Filed 8-29-07; 8:45 am]
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