[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 57 (Thursday, March 26, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 13206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6762]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8786-9]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office, Notification of an Upcoming 
Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Homeland Security Advisory 
Committee (HSAC)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science 
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public face-to-face 
meeting of the SAB Homeland Security Advisory Committee (HSAC). HSAC 
has been augmented with additional members to provide consultative 
comment on a draft Environmental Response Technical Assistance Document 
for Bacillus anthracis Intentional Releases (BA-TAD).

DATES: The meeting will be held on April 21, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 
p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) and April 22, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 
p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).

ADDRESSES: The Committee meeting will be held at 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 regarding this meeting may contact Mr. 
Edward Hanlon, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory 
Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW.,Washington, DC 20460; telephone/voice mail: (202) 343-9946; 
fax (202) 233-0643; or via 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. Any inquiry regarding EPA's BA-TAD should be 
directed to Captain Colleen Petullo, U.S. Public Health Service, on 
detail to EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), 
at [email protected] or (702) 784-8004.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the Augmented SAB 
HSAC will hold a public face-to-face meeting to discuss their comments 
on the draft BA-TAD. 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. The SAB HSAC provides scientific and 
technical advice to the EPA Administrator through the chartered SAB on 
scientific matters pertaining to EPA's mission in protecting against 
the environmental and health consequences of terrorism.
    Background: In response to the 2001 Bacillus anthracis incidents in 
Washington, the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Subcommittee of the 
Science and Technology (S&T) Committee of the EPA-chaired National 
Response Team (NRT) developed an interim-final draft Technical 
Assistance Document (TAD) in 2003 for responses to an actual or 
suspected terrorist release of Bacillus anthracis. In July 2005, the 
NRT slightly revised the interim-final draft TAD. EPA, as chair, works 
closely with seventeen other Federal agencies on the NRT. The NRT is 
developing the BA-TAD by revising and updating the 2005 interim-final 
draft TAD, and requested that OSWER seek consultative advice from the 
SAB HSAC on their development of the BA-TAD. The Augmented HSAC will 
conduct the consultation. The primary purpose of this upcoming meeting 
is for the Augmented HSAC to provide advice on whether the technical 
plans to prepare the BA-TAD are properly directed, and if there are any 
items, issues or practical applications that have not been considered 
that ought to be included.
    The SAB HSAC held a teleconference on October 15, 2008 and was 
briefed by the EPA and its partners on its progress in developing the 
draft BA-TAD. A Federal Register Notice dated September 29, 2008 (73 FR 
56578-56579) announced this teleconference and provided background 
information on this advisory activity. Information on the process of 
augmenting the expertise on the SAB HSAC was provided in a Federal 
Register Notice dated March 28, 2008 (73 FR 16679-16680). Additional 
information about this consultative activity including a meeting agenda 
will be posted on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting at http://www.epa.gov/sab.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and other meeting 
materials will be available on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the meeting.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the SAB HSAC 
to consider during the advisory process. Oral Statements: In general, 
individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a public face-
to-face meeting will be limited to three minutes per speaker, with no 
more than a total of one hour for all speakers. Each person making an 
oral statement should consider providing written comments as well as 
their oral statement so that the points presented orally can be 
expanded upon in writing. Interested parties should contact Edward 
Hanlon, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail) at the contact 
information noted above, by April 7, 2009 to be placed on the list of 
public speakers for the meeting. Written Statements: Written statements 
should be received in the SAB Staff Office by April 7, 2009 so that the 
information may be made available to the Committee 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 requested 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 Edward Hanlon at the 
phone number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten 
days prior to the public face-to-face meeting to give EPA as much time 
as possible to process your request.

    Dated: March 18, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-6762 Filed 3-25-09; 8:45 am]
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