[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 83 (Friday, May 1, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20297-20298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10068]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8899-9]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public 
Teleconference and Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Drinking Water 
Committee

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces two meetings of the SAB Drinking 
Water Committee (DWC): A public teleconference and a face-to-face 
meeting to review the Agency's draft supporting analysis for the 
proposed revised Total Coliform Rule.

DATES: The SAB will hold the public teleconference on May 20, 2009 that 
will begin at 1 p.m. and end at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time). A face-to-face 
meeting will be held on June 9, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern 
Time) and will continue on June 10, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern 
Time).

ADDRESSES: The telephone conference will be conducted by phone only. 
The June 9-10, 2009 face-to-face meeting will be held at the Ritz-
Carlton Hotel, 1150 22nd Street, NW., Washington, DC 20037.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to 
obtain general information concerning this public teleconference or 
meeting should contact Dr. Sue Shallal, Designated Federal Officer 
(DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
via telephone/voice mail: (202) 343-9977; 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

[[Page 20298]]

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 Drinking Water 
Committee (DWC) augmented with other SAB members will hold a public 
teleconference and a face-to-face meeting to prepare for and review the 
Agency's draft supporting analysis for the proposed revised Total 
Coliform Rule.
    Background: The EPA's Total Coliform Rule (TCR) is the basic 
regulation for assuring proper system operation and maintenance and 
microbial quality. The TCR assesses the adequacy of water treatment, 
the integrity of the distribution system, and the vulnerability of a 
system to fecal contamination. In July 2003, EPA published its final 
decision to revise the TCR as a result of its National Primary Drinking 
Water Regulation (NPDWR) Review determination.
    In 2007, EPA established the Total Coliform Rule/Distribution 
System Advisory Committee (TCRDSAC) under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA). The charge to the TCRDSAC was to develop an 
agreement in principle (AIP) regarding recommendations to EPA on 
revisions to the TCR and information about distribution systems needed 
to better understand and address possible public health impacts from 
potential degradation of drinking water quality in distribution 
systems. The TCRDSAC considered the TCR monitoring framework, sanitary 
survey provisions, definition of Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) 
violations and potential follow-up corrective actions, and 
communication of public health significance of violations. The TCRDSAC 
considered both technical and policy issues in drafting an AIP that 
recommended revisions to the TCR (for additional information and 
documentation, refer to the following URL: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/tcr/regulation.html.) EPA is planning to propose 
a revised rule that has the same substance and effect as the elements 
in the AIP.
    EPA's Office of Water has requested that the SAB conduct a review 
of the Agency's draft analysis supporting the proposed revised Total 
Coliform Rule. The SAB review will focus on the information regarding 
(1) Data sources used to estimate baseline total coliform and E. coli 
occurrence, public water system profile, and sensitive subpopulations 
in the United States, (2) the occurrence analysis used to inform 
benefits calculations, (3) the qualitative benefits analysis used to 
assess the reduction in risk due to implementation of the rule 
requirements and (4) analysis of the engineering costs and costs to 
States resulting from implementation of the revisions.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The meeting agendas and other 
materials, including a link to access the EPA's document(s) related to 
the proposed rule revisions, will be posted on the SAB Web site (http://www.epa.gov/sab) in advance of the meeting. For questions and 
information concerning the Agency's documents, please contact Crystal 
Rodgers-Jenkins at 202-564-5275 or [email protected].
    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 group 
conducting the activity. Oral Statements: In general, individuals or 
groups requesting an oral presentation at a public SAB teleconference 
will be limited to three minutes per speaker, with no more than a total 
of one-half hour for all speakers. At the face-to-face meeting, 
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 Dr. Sue Shallal, DFO, in 
writing (preferably via e-mail), by May 13, 2009 for the teleconference 
and by June 2, 2009 for the face-to-face meeting, at the contact 
information noted above. Written Statements: Written statements should 
be received in the SAB Staff Office by May 13, 2009, so that the 
information may be made available to the SAB for their consideration 
prior to the teleconference or by June 2, 2009 for their consideration 
prior to the face-to-face 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). Submitters are 
requested to provide two 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. Sue Shallal at (202) 
343-9977 or [email protected]. To request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact Dr. Shallal preferably at least ten days 
prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process 
your request.

    Dated: April 24, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-10068 Filed 4-30-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P