[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 18 (Thursday, January 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5157-5158]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1919]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8769-4]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of Upcoming 
Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Expert Elicitation Advisory Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science 
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the 
Science Advisory Board Expert Elicitation Advisory Panel to review 
EPA's draft Expert Elicitation Task Force White Paper.

DATES: The meeting dates are Wednesday, February 25, 2009 from 9 a.m. 
to 5:30 p.m. through Thursday, February 26, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
(Eastern Time).

[[Page 5158]]


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 further information about this meeting may contact Dr. Angela 
Nugent, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Dr. Nugent may be contacted 
at the EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
or via telephone/voice mail; (202) 343-9981; fax (202) 233-0643; or e-
mail at [email protected]. General information about the EPA 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: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the SAB Expert 
Elicitation Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting to review EPA's 
draft Expert Elicitation Task Force White Paper. 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.
    Background: EPA's Science Policy Council (SPC) formed the Expert 
Elicitation Task Force in April of 2005 to initiate a thorough 
discussion of Expert Elicitation, and to investigate how to conduct and 
use this method to support EPA regulatory and non-regulatory analyses 
and decision-making. The Task Force, with representation across EPA 
program offices and Regions, developed the Expert Elicitation Task 
Force White Paper. The White Paper discusses the potential utility of 
using expert elicitation to support EPA regulatory and non-regulatory 
analyses and decision-making, provides recommendations for expert 
elicitation ``good practices'' based on a review of the literature and 
actual experience within EPA and other federal agencies and describes 
steps for a broader application across EPA. EPA's Office of the Science 
Advisor has requested SAB review of EPA's draft Expert Elicitation Task 
Force White Paper to provide advice regarding the potential usefulness 
of expert elicitation, how to strengthen the scientific basis for its 
use, and the implications for possible implementation at EPA.
    EPA's Science Advisory Board Staff Office formed the SAB Expert 
Elicitation Advisory Panel after announcing the advisory activity in 
the Federal Register on June 28, 2007 (72 FR 35463-35465) and 
requesting nominations of experts. Information on the panel and the 
advisory activities can be found on the SAB Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Expert%20Elicitation%20White%20Paper?OpenDocument. Availability of 
Meeting Materials: EPA's draft Expert Elicitation Task Force White 
Paper will be posted on the EPA Office of Science Advisor Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/osa/spc/expertelicitation. The EPA technical contact 
for the draft Expert Elicitation Task Force White Paper is Mr. Robert 
Hetes, EPA Office of Research and Development. Mr. Hetes may be 
contacted by telephone at (919) 541-1589, or via e-mail at 
[email protected]. The agenda and other material for the upcoming 
public meeting will be posted on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the SAB 
Panel to consider on the topics included in this advisory activity and/
or 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 
a total of one hour for all speakers. Interested parties should contact 
Dr. Nugent, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail) at the contact 
information noted above, by February 18, 2009 to be placed on a list of 
public speakers for the meeting. Written Statements: Written statements 
should be received in the SAB Staff Office by February 18, 2009 so that 
the information may be made available to the SAB Panel members for 
their consideration. 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 (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat 
PDF, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format). Submitters are asked to provide versions of 
each document submitted with and without signatures, because the SAB 
Staff Office does not publish documents with signatures on its Web 
sites.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Nugent at the phone 
number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten days 
prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time as possible to process 
your request.

    Dated: January 23, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-1919 Filed 1-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P