[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 41 (Thursday, March 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12579-12580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5014]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9641-4]


Notification of a Public Meeting of the Chartered Science 
Advisory Board

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the Chartered 
SAB to conduct quality reviews of a draft report on the President's 
requested FY 2013 budget for EPA research and a draft report on science 
integration at EPA; to plan for a joint meeting of the SAB and Office 
of Research and Development's (ORD's) Board of Scientific Counselors 
(BOSC); to receive a briefing on ORD and sustainability science; and to 
discuss the scientific and technical bases for four proposed agency 
actions.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Thursday, March 22, 2012 from 
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday, March 23, 2012 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
(Eastern Daylight Time).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at The Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 
Thomas Circle NW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants 
further information concerning the meeting may contact Dr. Angela 
Nugent, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board 
(1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice mail (202) 564-2218, fax 
(202) 202-564-2218; or email at [email protected]. General

[[Page 12580]]

information concerning the SAB can be found on the EPA Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: 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 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. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all 
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies. Pursuant to FACA and 
EPA policy, notice is hereby given that the SAB will hold a public 
meeting to discuss and deliberate on the topics below.

Draft Report on the President's Requested FY 2013 Research Budget for 
EPA

    The chartered SAB will conduct a quality review of an SAB draft 
report on the President's requested FY 2013 EPA research budget. 
Information about this advisory activity can be found on the Web at: 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Science%20Integration?OpenDocument.

Draft SAB Report on Science Integration at EPA

    The chartered SAB will conduct a quality review of a draft report 
providing recommendations to strengthen science integration for EPA's 
environmental decisions. Information about this advisory activity can 
be found on the Web at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Science%20Integration?OpenDocument.

ORD Research: Future Strategic Directions and Current Sustainability 
Research

    The SAB and ORD's BOSC provided a joint report to the Administrator 
in October 2012 entitled Office of Research and Development (ORD) New 
Strategic Research Directions: A Joint Report of the Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) and ORD Board of Scientific Councilors (BOSC) EPA-SAB-12-
001. The SAB will discuss plans for a follow up joint meeting with the 
BOSC to provide additional advice on ORD strategic research directions. 
The SAB will also receive a briefing on recent ORD activities 
responding to the National Academy of Science report Sustainability and 
the U.S. EPA.

Discussion of the Scientific and Technical Bases for Four Proposed 
Agency Actions

    EPA has recently underscored the need to routinely inform the SAB 
about proposed Agency actions that have a scientific or technical 
basis. Recently, EPA's Office of Air and Radiation has informed the SAB 
about several proposed regulations [Commercial and Industrial Solid 
Waste Incineration (CISWI) Units: Reconsideration and Proposed 
Amendments; Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste (76 
FR 80452-80530); National Emission Standards for HAPs for Area Sources: 
Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers (76 FR 80532-805520; 
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major 
Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process 
Heaters (76 FR 80598-80672); and EPA and DOT's Proposed Light-duty GHG 
and CAFE Vehicle Standard (76 FR 74854-75420)]. The SAB will discuss 
the proposed regulations to determine whether there are any scientific 
or technical issues that may merit future SAB attention.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: A meeting agenda and other 
materials for the meeting will be placed on the SAB Web site at http://epa.gov/sab.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Federal advisory committees 
and panels, including scientific advisory committees, provide 
independent advice to EPA. Members of the public can submit relevant 
comments pertaining to EPA's charge, meeting materials, or the group 
providing advice. 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 DFO directly.
    Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an 
oral presentation at a public meeting will be limited to five minutes. 
Persons interested in providing oral statements at the March 22-23, 
2012 meeting should contact Dr. Angela Nugent, DFO, in writing 
(preferably via email) at the contact information noted above.
    Written Statements: Written statements for the March 22-23, 2012 
meeting should be received in the SAB Staff Office by no later than 
March 16, 2012, so that the information may be made available to the 
SAB for its consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements 
should be supplied to the DFO in the following formats: One hard copy 
with original signature and one electronic copy via email (acceptable 
file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, MS Word, WordPerfect, MS PowerPoint, or 
Rich Text files in IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format). Submitters are 
asked to provide electronic 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. Nugent at the phone 
number or email 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: February 24, 2012.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-5014 Filed 2-29-12; 8:45 am]
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