[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 228 (Monday, November 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72920-72921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30556]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9497-1]


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 December 21, 2011 to 
conduct a quality review of a draft SAB report, a draft Advisory on EPA 
Draft Document ``Considerations Related to Post-Closure Monitoring of 
Uranium In-Situ ISL/ISR Sites.''

DATES: The public teleconference will be held on December 21, 2011 from 
2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern 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 Dr. Angela Nugent, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Dr. Nugent 
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) 564-2218; fax 
at (202) 565-2098; or email 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 SAB report, a 
draft Advisory on EPA Draft Document ``Considerations Related to Post-
Closure Monitoring of Uranium In-Situ ISL/ISR Sites.'' The SAB will 
comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office 
procedural policies.

Background

    EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) has requested SAB advice 
related to EPA's review of its regulatory standards in 40 CFR Part 
192--Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and 
Thorium Mill Tailings in regard to underground In-Situ Leach Recovery 
(ISL/ISR) facilities.
    EPA is authorized to develop standards for the protection of public 
health, safety, and the environment from radiological and non-
radiological hazards associated with residual radioactive materials. 
The Agency is currently undertaking a review to determine if the 
existing standards, last revised by EPA in 1995, should be updated. The 
expectation is that ISL/ISR operations will be the most common type of 
new uranium extraction facility in the United States. These facilities 
can affect groundwater. Accordingly, EPA is seeking scientific advice 
and relevant technical criteria to establish standards and procedures, 
including the relevant period of monitoring for ISL/ISR facilities, 
once uranium extraction operations are completed, in order to provide 
reasonable assurances of aquifer stability and groundwater protection. 
Background information about this advisory activity can be found on the 
SAB Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Monitoring%20ISL?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 the SAB 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 December 21, 2011 
teleconference should contact Dr. Nugent at the contact information 
provided above no later than December 14, 2011.

Written Statements

    Written statements should be supplied to the DFO via email at the 
contact information noted above by December 14, 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

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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 Dr. Nugent (202) 564-2218 or 
[email protected]. To request accommodation of a disability, please 
contact Dr. Nugent preferably at least ten days prior to the 
teleconference to give EPA as much time as possible to process your 
request.

    Dated: November 18, 2011.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office. .
[FR Doc. 2011-30556 Filed 11-25-11; 8:45 am]
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