[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 202 (Friday, October 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59287-59288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20671]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8484-7]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public 
Teleconference 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 teleconference of the SAB Hypoxia Advisory Panel to 
discuss comments from the chartered SAB, external reviewers and the 
public on its public draft (August 30, 2007) ``Hypoxia in the Northern 
Gulf of Mexico: An Update by the EPA Science Advisory Board.''

DATES: The teleconference will be held on November 16, 2007 from 1-4 
p.m. Eastern time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding the public teleconference 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: 
US EPA, Science Advisory Board (1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. General information about the SAB, as well as any 
updates concerning the teleconference 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 teleconference 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 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: EPA participates with other Federal agencies, states 
and tribes in the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient 
Task Force. In 2001,

[[Page 59288]]

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 2000 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. Given the passage of 6 years, EPA's Office of Water has 
requested that the SAB develop a report that evaluates the updated 
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 in face-to-face 
meetings on September 6-7, 2006 (71 FR 45543-45544), again on December 
6-8, 2006 (71 FR 66329-66330), again on February 28-March 2, 2007 (72 
FR 5968-5969) and again on June 13-15, 2007 (72 FR 17158-17159). 
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, 71 FR 77743-77744, 72 FR 11359-11360 and 72 
FR 35465). The Hypoxia Advisory Panel issued a draft report on August 
30, 2007, posted at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/8-30-07_hap_draft.pdf. This report was discussed at the chartered SAB meeting on 
October 3, 2007.
    The purpose of the November 16, 2007 teleconference is to discuss 
comments received from the chartered SAB, external reviewers and the 
public.
    Availability of Teleconference Materials: Materials in support of 
this teleconference will be placed on the SAB Web Site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/ in advance of the teleconference.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input:
    Written Statements: The SAB Staff Office is accepting written 
comments on the August 30, 2007 draft hypoxia report, posted at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/8-30-07_hap_draft.pdf, until November 2, 2007. 
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).
    Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an 
oral presentation at a public teleconference 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 November 12, 2007, to be 
placed on the public speaker list for the November 16, 2007 
teleconference.
    Teleconference 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 teleconference to give EPA as much time as possible to 
process your request.

    Dated: October 11, 2007.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E7-20671 Filed 10-18-07; 8:45 am]
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