[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20637-20638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07992]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9796-4]
Notification of Public Meeting and a Public Teleconference of the
Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel
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 and public
teleconference of the Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel to
provide an opportunity for independent expert members of the ad hoc
Panel to provide comment on EPA's Study of the Potential Impacts of
Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources: Progress Report,
which was released in December 2012. The meeting will also begin a
broader commitment to provide opportunities to brief the panel on the
last scientific and technical developments in this emerging topic area.
DATES: The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, from
9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday, May 8, 2013, from 8:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time). The public teleconference will be
held on May 16, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight
Time).
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Westin Arlington
Gateway Hotel located at 801 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA, 22203.
The public teleconference will be conducted by telephone only. The
public can also view the May 7-8, 2013 meeting via a non-interactive
webcast that will be broadcast on the internet. The connection
information to view the meeting via webcast will be provided on the SAB
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants
further information concerning the teleconference and meeting may
contact Mr. Edward Hanlon, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA
Science Advisory Board (1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/
voicemail at (202) 564-2134, fax at (202) 565-2098; or email at
[email protected]. 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 (ERDDAA),
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 and public teleconference to receive public comments and to
provide an opportunity for independent expert members of the SAB Panel
to discuss, deliberate, and provide comment on the topics below.
In response to public concern, Congress directed EPA to study the
relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water. In 2011,
EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) published its Plan to
Study the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water
Resources. EPA has requested comment from individual ad hoc panel
members on its Study of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing
on Drinking Water Resources as well as plan future potential activities
of the panel. The Progress Report describes the status of EPA's ongoing
research on the potential
[[Page 20638]]
impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources.
On August 21, 2012, the SAB Staff Office requested public
nominations of experts to serve on a Panel to advise the Agency on
EPA's ongoing research on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing
on drinking water resources (77 FR 50505--50506). On November 27, 2012,
the SAB Staff Office posted a notice on the SAB Web site inviting
public comments by December 19, 2012, on candidates for the Panel.
Information about formation of the Panel can be found at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/02ad90b136fc21ef85256eba00436459/b436304ba804e3f885257a5b00521b3b!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.1#2.
The purpose of the May 7-8, 2013, meeting is for individual members
of the Panel to provide expert comments on charge questions associated
with the research described in EPA's Progress Report. The purpose of
the May 16, 2013, teleconference is to provide additional opportunity
for members of the public to submit relevant oral statements on EPA
documents for consideration by the Panel.
Also, periodic opportunities for the public to provide additional
input for consideration by the Panel will be provided after the May 7-
8, 2013 public meeting and May 16, 2013 public teleconference call.
Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and other materials
in support of the meeting and teleconference call will be available on
the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the meeting
and teleconference call.
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 the EPA. Members of
the public can submit relevant comments for consideration by the Panel.
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 May 7-8, 2013,
meeting should contact Mr. Hanlon at the contact information provided
above by April 30, 2013. If there is insufficient time during the May
7-8, 2013 public meeting call to allow all scheduled public speakers to
provide oral statements, those scheduled public speakers who could not
provide oral statements during the May 7-8, 2013 public meeting will be
provided opportunity to present their oral statements during a
teleconference call scheduled to occur on May 16, 2013.
Written Statements: Written statements for the May 7-8, 2013,
meeting and May 16, 2013, teleconference call should be received in the
SAB Staff Office by April 30, 2013, so that the information may be made
available to the SAB for its consideration prior to this meeting and
teleconference call. Written statements should be supplied to the DFO
in the following formats: either an electronic copy (preferred), 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),
or in hard copy. Submitters are asked to provide electronic versions of
each document submitted without signatures, 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. Hanlon, at the phone
number or email address noted above, preferably at least ten days prior
to the meeting and teleconference call, to give the EPA as much time as
possible to process your request.
Dated: March 25, 2013.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2013-07992 Filed 4-4-13; 8:45 am]
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