[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30149-30150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12773]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9310-5]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office Notification of a Public 
Teleconference of the Chartered Science Advisory Board

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a 
public teleconference of the chartered SAB on June 16, 2011 to conduct 
a quality review of a draft SAB report Efficacy of ballast water 
treatment systems; A Report by the EPA Science Advisory Board (May 2011 
Draft).

DATES: The public teleconference will be held on June 16, 2011 from 12 
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 to 
obtain general information concerning the public teleconference may 
contact Ms. Stephanie Sanzone, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Ms. 
Sanzone may be contacted at the EPA Science Advisory Board (1400R), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; or by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2067; fax 
at (202) 565-2098; or e-mail at [email protected]. General 
information concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found on 
the EPA 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 EPA 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), 5 U.S.C., App. 2. Pursuant to FACA and EPA 
policy, notice is hereby given that the SAB will hold a public 
teleconference to conduct a quality review of a draft report entitled 
Efficacy of ballast water treatment systems; a report by the EPA 
Science Advisory Board. 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

[[Page 30150]]

nonindigenous 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). Under the 
authority of the CWA, EPA's Vessel General Permit requires the flushing 
and exchange of ballast water by vessels in Pacific-near-shore voyages 
and the 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.
    EPA's Office of Water 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. The 
SAB's Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC) Augmented for 
the Ballast Water Advisory has conducted this review and developed the 
draft advisory entitled Efficacy of ballast water treatment systems; A 
Report by the EPA Science Advisory Board (May 2011 Draft).
    Background information about the SAB advisory activity, including 
its meetings and teleconferences, can be found on the SAB Web site at 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/BW%20discharge?OpenDocument.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and other materials 
in support of the teleconference will be placed on the SAB Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the teleconference.
    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 provides 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 directly. Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups 
requesting an oral presentation at a teleconference will be limited to 
three minutes. Those interested in being placed on the public speakers 
list for the June 9, 2011 teleconference should contact Ms. Sanzone at 
the contact information provided above no later than June 9, 2011. 
Written Statements: Written statements should be supplied to the DFO 
via e-mail at the contact information noted above by June 9, 2011 for 
the teleconference so that the information may be made available to the 
Panel members for their consideration. Written statements should be 
supplied in one of the following electronic formats: Adobe Acrobat PDF, 
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 Ms. Sanzone (202) 564-
2067 or [email protected]. To request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact Ms. Sanzone preferably at least ten days 
prior to the teleconference to give EPA as much time as possible to 
process your request.

    Dated: May 18, 2011.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-12773 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
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