[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 5836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1793]



[[Page 5836]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8523-1]


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 EPA's 
research budget for Fiscal Year 2009; (2) Agency long-term research 
directions and priorities; (3) conduct a quality review of the Draft 
SAB Advisory on EPA's ``Report on the Environment 2007: Science 
Report''; and (4) continue planning for upcoming SAB meetings.

DATES: The meeting dates are Thursday, February 28, 2008, from 8:30 
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. through Friday, February 29, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 
2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Westin Arlington Gateway, 
801 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22203; phone (703) 717-6200.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain further information about this meeting may contact Mr. Thomas O. 
Miller, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), by mail at EPA SAB Staff 
Office, (1400F), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20460; by telephone at (202) 343-9982; by fax at (202) 233-0643; or 
by e-mail at: [email protected]. 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: The purpose of this meeting will be to allow the SAB to 
discuss with Agency representatives the research priorities that are a 
component of the Fiscal Year 2009 research budget. The SAB conducts a 
review of the EPA research budget each year and as a result of 
discussions and evaluations that are a part of this review, provides 
written advice to the EPA Administrator and testimony to the U.S. 
Congress on how that budget might contribute to the achievement of 
EPA's overall research goals.
    The SAB will also conduct a quality review of one draft SAB 
Committee report, SAB Advisory on EPA's ``Report on the Environment 
2007: Science Report.'' The EPA Report on the Environment (ROE) 2007 
addresses key questions about the current status of and trends in the 
condition of the environment and human health. These questions are 
intended to be relevant to EPA's current regulatory and programmatic 
activities and mission. In its review, the SAB was asked to comment on: 
(1) The adequacy of the formulation and scope of the questions 
addressed in the ROE 2007 Science Report, (2) the appropriateness of 
the indicators used to answer the questions in the report, (3) the 
accuracy of the characterization of gaps and limitations in the 
indicators used in the report, (4) the appropriateness of 
regionalization of national indicators in the report, (5) the utility 
of regional indicators in the report, and (6) the overall quality of 
the report with respect to technical accuracy, clarity, and 
appropriateness of level of communication. Additional information on 
this review can be found in the announcement of the review in the 
Federal Register (see FR 72 29498-29499 of May 29, 2007) and the EPA 
SAB Web Site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/02ad90b136fc21ef85256eba00436459/2457aac81d2003a98525701900616b47!OpenDocument.
    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 on the topics included in this advisory activity and/or the 
group conducting the activity.
    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. Miller, DFO, at the contact information 
provided above, by February 21, 2008, to be placed on the public 
speaker list for the February 28-29, 2008 meeting. Written Statements: 
Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff Office by 
February 14, 2008, so that the information may be made available to the 
SAB for their consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements 
should be supplied to the DFO 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).
    Accessibility: 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: January 24, 2008.
Anthony Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E8-1793 Filed 1-30-08; 8:45 am]
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