[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55253-55254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22027]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9900-84-OA]


Notification of 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 teleconference of the 
Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel to receive written and 
oral comments from the public on new and emerging information related 
to hydraulic fracturing and drinking water resources.

DATES: The public teleconference will be held on November 20, 2013, 
from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).

ADDRESSES: The teleconference will be conducted by telephone only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants 
further information concerning the teleconference 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 and the SAB Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory 
Panel 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 Hydraulic Fracturing Research 
Advisory Panel will hold a public teleconference to receive written and 
oral comments from the public on new and emerging information related 
to hydraulic fracturing and drinking water resources.
    In response to public concern, in August 2010 Congress urged EPA to 
study the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water. 
In March 2013, the SAB Staff Office formed an SAB panel to provide 
individual expert advice for the EPA's Office of Research and 
Development (ORD) on its ongoing research on the potential impacts of 
hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. Information about 
panel formation and activities can be found at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/02ad90b136fc21ef85256eba00436459/b436304ba804e3f885257a5b00521b3b!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.0#2.
    The Panel held a May 7-8, 2013 meeting in Arlington Virginia where 
individual members of the Panel provided their individual expert 
comments on charge questions associated with research described in 
ORD's Study of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on 
Drinking Water Resources: Progress Report, released in December 2012. 
At the May 2013 meeting, the SAB Staff Office announced there would be 
opportunity for the public to provide new and emerging information 
related to hydraulic fracturing to the Panel. The information provided 
to the Panel will serve as background to assist the Panel in its review 
of the EPA's draft report on the potential impacts of hydraulic 
fracturing on drinking water resources. This report is scheduled for 
completion in December 2014. The SAB will hold a public teleconference 
to provide opportunity to receive information from the public.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and other materials 
in support of the November 20, 2013 teleconference call will be 
available on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of 
the 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.
    For the November 20, 2013 telephone conference meeting, members of 
the public are encouraged to provide written and oral comments on new 
and emerging information related to hydraulic fracturing and drinking 
water resources. 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 teleconference

[[Page 55254]]

will be limited to five minutes. Persons interested in providing oral 
statements at the November 20, 2013 teleconference meeting should 
contact Mr. Hanlon at the contact information provided above by 
November 13, 2013.
    Written Statements: Written statements for the November 20, 2013 
teleconference meeting should be received in the SAB Staff Office by 
November 13, 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: August 29, 2013.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2013-22027 Filed 9-9-13; 8:45 am]
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