[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 117 (Monday, June 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36273-36274]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14821]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9688-5]


Notification of a Joint Public Meeting of the Chartered Science 
Advisory Board and Chartered Board of Scientific Counselors

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a joint public meeting of the 
Chartered SAB and the EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) 
Chartered Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) to provide advice on 
ORD's plans to implement its research program.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 from 
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, July 11, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 
3:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the The Renaissance Raleigh 
North Hills Hotel, 4100 Main at North Hills Street, Raleigh, NC 27609.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes 
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) 565-2098; or email at [email protected].

[[Page 36274]]

General 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 BOSC was established by the EPA to 
provide advice, information, and recommendations regarding the ORD 
research program. The SAB and BOSC are Federal Advisory Committees 
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 chartered SAB and chartered BOSC will hold a joint public meeting 
to discuss advice on ORD's research programs. The SAB and BOSC will 
comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office 
procedural policies.
    ORD has restructured its research programs to better understand 
environmental problems and inform sustainable solutions to meet EPA's 
strategic goals. The restructured research programs comprise six 
program areas: Air, Climate, and Energy; Safe and Sustainable Water 
Resources; Sustainable and Healthy Communities; Chemical Safety for 
Sustainability; Human Health Risk Assessment; and Homeland Security.
    ORD requested that the SAB work jointly with the BOSC in 2011 to 
provide early advice on ORD strategic research directions. In response, 
the SAB and BOSC held a joint public meeting on June 29-30, 2011 (76 FR 
32198-32199) and a public teleconference on September 19, 2011 (76 FR 
54463) to develop a report, 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. After receiving this advisory report, ORD requested SAB 
and BOSC additional advice on ORD's research implementation plans, 
efforts to strengthen program integration and efforts to strengthen and 
measure innovation. The SAB and BOSC will focus on those topics at the 
July 10-11, 2012 meeting.
    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: 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 relevant comments pertaining to the 
group providing advice, EPA's charge questions and EPA review or 
background documents. 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 the SAB panel 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 
for the relevant advisory committee directly. Oral Statements: In 
general, individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a 
public meeting will be limited to five minutes. To be placed on the 
public speaker list for the July 10-11, 2012 meeting, interested 
parties should notify Dr. Angela Nugent, DFO, by email no later than 
July 3, 2012. Written Statements: Written statements for the July 10-
11, 2012 meeting should be received in the SAB Staff Office by July 3, 
2012, so that the information may be made available to the SAB and BOSC 
for their 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: June 11, 2012.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-14821 Filed 6-15-12; 8:45 am]
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