[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 220 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64217-64218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22371]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8494-9]


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: continue its 
discussions of the strategic research directions for the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency; complete its discussions of science 
use in disaster response programs; complete its quality review of the 
draft SAB report Advisory on Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico; and to 
continue its planning activities for future SAB meetings.

DATES: The meeting dates are Thursday, December 6, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. 
to 5 p.m. through Friday, December 7, 2007, from 8:30 a.m., no later 
than 12 p.m. (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the SAB Conference Center, 
located at 1025 F Street, NW., Room 3705, Washington, DC 20004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain additional information about this meeting may contact 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 by e-mail at: [email protected]. The SAB mailing address is: U.S. 
EPA, Science Advisory Board (1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. The messenger address is: U.S. EPA, Science 
Advisory Board (1400F), Room 3600, 1025 F Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20004, Phone (202) 343-9999. 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 SAB Report Advisory 
on Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. The Chartered Science Advisory Board 
will conduct a second quality review of the draft report of its Hypoxia 
Advisory Panel (HAP) which was begun at the SAB meeting on October 3, 
2007 (see 72 FR 50105-50107; August 30, 2007). The draft report will be 
placed on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting. Specific times for 
this activity will be provided in the meeting agenda that will be 
placed on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting (see http://www.epa.gov/sab/). 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 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. The SAB will continue to discuss EPA's research 
program directions which were initiated at its October 3-5, 2007 
meeting (see 72 FR 50105-50107; August 30, 2007). Specific information 
time for this discussion will be provided in the meeting agenda that 
will be available on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting (see 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 previously discussed this topic at its meetings on December 12-14, 
2006 (see 71 FR 67566), June 19-20, 2007 (see 72 FR 27308) and October 
3-5, 2007 (see 72 FR 50105-50107; August 30, 2007). 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 December 6-7, 2007. Specific times will be 
provided in the meeting agenda that

[[Page 64218]]

will be placed on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting (see http://www.epa.gov/sab/). Additional information is available on the SAB Web 
site for the December 2007 meeting at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/agendas.htm.
    (d) SAB meeting at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/07agendas/sab_06_19-20_07_agenda.pdf, and for the October 3-5, 2007 meeting at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/mtgcal.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 Mr. Thomas Miller, DFO, at the contact 
information provided above, by December 3, 2007, to be placed on the 
public speaker list for the December 6-7, 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 ad (202) 343-9999. Written 
Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff 
Office by December 3, 2007, so that the information may be made 
available to the SAB for their consideration prior to this meeting. 
Written statements should be supplied, at the contact information 
specified above, 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 Accommodations: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Thomas Miller at 
(202) 343-9982, or via 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: November 7, 2007.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
 [FR Doc. E7-22371 Filed 11-14-07; 8:45 am]
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