[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 94 (Monday, May 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28224-28225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11951]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9306-5]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public 
Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board Panel for the Oil Spill 
Research Strategy Review Panel

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 teleconference of 
the SAB Panel to Review EPA's Draft Oil Spill Research Strategy.

DATES: The teleconference will be held on June 9, 2011 from 1 p.m. to 4 
p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).

ADDRESSES: The public teleconference will be conducted by telephone 
only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this teleconference meeting may contact 
Mr. Thomas Carpenter, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB Staff 
Office, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4885; by fax at (202) 565-
2098 or via e-mail at [email protected]. General information 
concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found at the EPA SAB 
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SAB was established pursuant to the 
Environmental Research, Development and Demonstration Authorization Act 
(ERDAA), codified at 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent scientific 
and technical advice to the Administrator on

[[Page 28225]]

the technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The SAB is a 
Federal Advisory Committee chartered under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C., App. 2. Pursuant to FACA and EPA 
policy, notice is hereby given that an ad hoc SAB Panel will hold a 
public teleconference to review EPA's Draft Oil Spill Research 
Strategy. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all 
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    Background: EPA's Draft Oil Spill Research Strategy discusses 
proposed research and collaborative approaches for four activities 
related to oil spills: Dispersants, alternative remediation 
technologies, coastal and inland restoration, and human health effects. 
The Deep Water Horizon spill identified the need for additional 
research on alternative spill response technologies; environmental 
impacts of chemical dispersants under deep sea application conditions; 
the fate and toxicity of dispersants and dispersed oil; chronic health 
effects for spill response workers and the public; and shoreline and 
wetland impacts, restoration and recovery. Accordingly, EPA developed 
the research strategy to address these needs, as they pertain to EPA's 
responsibilities for oil spills, and has requested that the SAB review 
their draft Strategy. Information about formation of the panel and the 
draft Strategy can be found at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Oil%20Spill%20Research%20Strategy?OpenDocument.
    The panel held public teleconferences on April 11 and 12, 2011 (76 
FR 16769-16770) to discuss the strategy. The purpose of the June 9, 
2011, teleconference is for the Panel to discuss their draft advisory 
report.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and the draft 
Advisory Report on EPA Draft Oil Spill Research Strategy will be 
available on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of 
the meeting.
    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. Input from the public to the SAB will 
have the most impact if it consists of comments that provide specific 
scientific or technical information or analysis for SAB panels to 
consider or if it relates to the clarity or accuracy of the technical 
information. Members of the public wishing to provide comment should 
contact the Designated Federal Officer for the relevant advisory 
committee directly. Oral Statements: Individuals or groups requesting 
an oral presentation at this public meeting will be limited to five 
minutes. Those interested in being on the public speakers list for the 
June 9, 2011 teleconference should contact Mr. Thomas Carpenter, DFO at 
the contact information noted above, by May 31, 2011. Written 
Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff 
Office by May 31, 2011 for the teleconference so that the information 
may be made available to the SAB Oil Spill Research Review Panel 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). It is the SAB Staff Office general policy 
to post written comments on the Web page for the advisory meeting or 
teleconference. Submitters are requested to provide an unsigned version 
of each document because the SAB Staff Office does not publish 
documents with signatures on its Web sites. Members of the public 
should be aware that their personal contact information, if included in 
any written comments, may be posted to the SAB Web site. Copyrighted 
material will not be posted without explicit permission of the 
copyright holder.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Thomas Carpenter 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: May 10, 2011.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-11951 Filed 5-13-11; 8:45 am]
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