[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 125 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37793-37794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-15896]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9170-2]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public 
Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Ecological Processes and Effects 
Committee

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 meeting of the SAB 
Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC). The SAB EPEC, 
augmented with other experts, will provide advice on technologies and 
systems to minimize the impacts of invasive species in vessel ballast 
water discharge.

DATES: The meeting dates are Thursday, July 29, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 5 
p.m. (Eastern Time) and Friday, July 30, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 
p.m. (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the St. Regis Hotel, 923 16th 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain further information about this meeting must contact Dr. Thomas 
Armitage, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Dr. Armitage may be 
contacted at the EPA Science Advisory Board

[[Page 37794]]

(1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; or via telephone/voice mail; (202) 
564-2155; fax (202) 565-2098; or e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the SAB EPEC 
augmented with other experts will hold a public meeting to provide 
advice on technologies and systems to minimize the impacts of invasive 
species in vessel ballast water discharge. 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. 
2. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate 
SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    Background: Vessel ballast water discharges are a major source of 
nonidigenous species introductions to marine, estuarine, and freshwater 
ecosystems of the United States. Ballast water discharges are regulated 
by EPA under authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the U.S. Coast 
Guard under authority of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention 
and Control Act, as amended (NANPCA). NANPCA generally requires vessels 
equipped with ballast water tanks and bound for ports or places in the 
United States after operating beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone 
to conduct a mid-ocean ballast water exchange, retain their ballast 
water onboard, or use an alternative environmentally sound ballast 
water management method approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. Under the 
authority of the CWA, EPA's Vessel General Permit, in addition to the 
mid-ocean exchange, requires the flushing and exchange of ballast water 
by vessels in Pacific near-shore voyages and saltwater flushing of 
ballast water tanks that are empty or contain only un-pumpable residual 
ballast water.
    While useful in reducing the presence of potentially invasive 
organisms in ballast water, ballast water exchange and saltwater 
flushing can have variable effectiveness and may not always be feasible 
due to vessel safety concerns. On August 28, 2009, the U.S. Coast Guard 
proposed establishing standards for concentrations of living organisms 
that can be discharged in vessel ballast water (74 FR 44632), and some 
States have established standards of their own. In addition, a number 
of studies and reports have been published on the status and efficacy 
of ballast water treatment technologies, and data collected on the 
efficacy of certain systems is available.
    EPA's Office of Water (OW) has requested SAB review of technical 
documents and available data on the efficacy of ballast water treatment 
systems and advice on improving the performance of such systems. In 
response, the SAB Staff Office requested public nomination of experts 
and formed an augmented SAB Ecological Processes and Effects Committee 
[Federal Register Notice dated February 25, 2010 (75 FR 8700-8701)]. 
The augmented EPEC will provide advice on technologies and systems to 
minimize the impacts of invasive species in vessel ballast water 
discharge. The purpose of the meeting on July 29-30, 2010 is to receive 
background briefings and formulate preliminary comments on this 
subject.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The meeting agenda, SAB 
Committee roster, charge to the Committee, and other meeting material 
will be posted on the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab in 
advance of the meeting. Inquiries regarding the technical information 
for this advisory should be directed to Dr. Ryan Albert of EPA's Office 
of Water at [email protected] or (202) 564-0763 or Mr. Marcus Zobrist 
of EPA's Office of Water at [email protected] or (202) 564-8311.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Public comment for 
consideration by EPA's Federal advisory committees and panels has a 
different purpose from public comment provided to EPA program offices. 
Therefore, the process for submitting comments to a Federal advisory 
committee is different from the process used to submit comments to an 
EPA program office.
    Federal advisory committees and panels, including scientific 
advisory committees, provide independent advice to EPA. Members of the 
public can submit comments for a Federal advisory committee to consider 
as it develops advice for EPA. They should send their comments directly 
to the Designated Federal Officer for the relevant advisory committee. 
Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an oral 
presentation at a public meeting will be limited to five minutes per 
speaker. Interested parties should contact Dr. Armitage, DFO, in 
writing (preferably via e-mail) at the contact information noted above 
by July 22, 2010 to be placed on a list of public speakers for the 
meeting. Written Statements: Written statements should be received in 
the SAB Staff Office no later than July 22, 2010 so that the 
information may be made available to the SAB 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 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. Armitage 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: June 24, 2010.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-15896 Filed 6-29-10; 8:45 am]
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