[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 134 (Friday, July 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 39961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15798]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8690-9]


EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public 
Teleconference Meeting of the Chartered 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 teleconference meeting of the chartered SAB to: (1) Conduct its 
quality review of the SAB draft report SAB Advisory on the EPA 
Ecological Research Program Multi-year Plan; (2) have follow-up 
discussions of EPA's strategic research directions; and (3) complete 
its discussions of science that supports EPA's disaster response 
programs.

DATES: The meeting date is Monday, July 28, 2008, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 
(Eastern Time).
    Location: The meeting will be conducted by telephone only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to 
obtain general information concerning this public teleconference 
meeting should contact Mr. Thomas O. Miller, Designated Federal Officer 
(DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice mail: (202) 343-9982; fax: 
(202) 233-0643; or e-mail at [email protected]. General information 
concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board can 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 to the 
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. Pursuant to the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the EPA 
SAB will hold a public teleconference meeting to discuss several issues 
and to conduct a quality review of the SAB Panel's draft Advisory on 
the EPA Ecological Research Program Multi-year Plan.
    Background: (a) SAB Quality Review of the Draft SAB Report Advisory 
on the EPA Ecological Research Program Multi-year Plan. The Chartered 
Science Advisory Board will conduct a quality review of the draft SAB 
committee report on EPA's Ecological Research Multi-Year Plan prepared 
by the SAB's Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC). The 
draft report is in response to an EPA Office of Research and 
Development (ORD) request that the SAB review the Agency's proposed 
Research Program Strategy and Multi-year Plan that focuses on research 
issues related to ecosystems and ecosystem services. The draft report 
is available on the SAB Web Site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/0/EE66B20E1A20BBA18525734D005E6665?OpenDocument.
    (b) EPA Strategic Research Directions: The Science Advisory Board 
engaged with EPA in a continuing dialogue to evaluate and provide 
advice on the strategic directions for EPA's 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 those research budget 
reviews. The SAB will continue its discussions at its July 28, 2008 
meeting. Additional information on past discussions (e.g., October 3-5, 
2007 meeting; see 72 FR 50105-50107) and other relevant information can 
be found on the EPA SAB Web site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/36a1ca3f683ae57a85256ce9006a32d0/54b1d2e5f6dbb2b38525730c00624a96!OpenDocument).
    (c) Environmental Disasters. The SAB is formulating advice to EPA 
aimed at strengthening science underlying EPA's preparation for and 
response 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). The SAB has drafted an advisory to the Administrator as a 
result of these discussions. Discussions of those comments will be 
completed during the SAB meeting on July 28, 2008. Additional 
information about this topic is available on the SAB Web site at: 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/02ad90b136fc21ef85256eba00436459/75e560f8a00949fa8525714c00454e95!OpenDocument.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and other 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 this teleconference.
    Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting time 
to make an oral presentation at a public SAB teleconference will be 
limited to three minutes, with no more than one-half hour for all 
speakers. At face-to-face meetings, presentations will be limited to 
five minutes, with no more than a total of one hour for all speakers. 
To be placed on the public speaker list, interested parties should 
contact Mr. Thomas Miller, DFO, in writing (preferably by e-mail), by 
July 21, 2008 at the contact information provided above. Written 
Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff 
Office by July 21, 2008, so that the information may be made available 
to the SAB for their consideration prior to this teleconference 
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 [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: July 8, 2008.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E8-15798 Filed 7-10-08; 8:45 am]
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