[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58536-58537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23198]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL--9901-26-OA]


Notification of a Public Meeting of the Science Advisory Board 
Panel for the Review of the EPA Water Body Connectivity Report

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a 
public meeting of the SAB Panel to conduct a review of the EPA draft 
report, Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A 
Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence (September, 2013 
External Review Draft, EPA/600/R-11/098B).

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Monday December 16, 2013 from 
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday December 17, 2013 from 8:30 a.m. to 
5:00 p.m., and Wednesday December 18, 2013 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 
(Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Washington Plaza 
Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle, NW., Washington, DC 20005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants 
further information concerning the public meeting may contact Dr. 
Thomas Armitage, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory 
Board Staff Office (1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone at (202) 
564-2155 or via 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: 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 Panel for 
the Review of the EPA Water Body Connectivity Report will hold a public 
meeting to conduct a review of the EPA's draft report, Connectivity of 
Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of 
the Scientific Evidence (September, 2013 External Review Draft, EPA/
600/R-11/098B). This SAB panel will provide advice to the Administrator 
through the chartered SAB.

Background

    The EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) has developed a 
draft report reviewing and synthesizing the peer-reviewed scientific 
literature on the connectivity or isolation of streams and wetlands 
relative to large water bodies such as rivers, lakes, estuaries and 
oceans. The purpose of the report, Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands 
to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence 
(September, 2013 External Review Draft, EPA/600/R-11/098B), is to 
summarize the current understanding about these connections, the 
factors that influence them, and the mechanisms by which connected 
waters singly or in aggregate, affect the function of downstream 
waters.
    The SAB Staff Office announced to the public through a Federal 
Register notice published on March 8, 2013 (78 FR 15012--15013) that it 
was soliciting nominations of scientific experts to serve on the SAB 
Panel for the Review of the EPA Water Body Connectivity Report. 
Information about the formation of this SAB Panel can be found on the 
SAB Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Watershed%20Connectivity%20Report?OpenDocument.
    Technical Contact for EPA's Draft Report: Any technical questions 
concerning EPA's draft report should be directed to Dr. Laurie 
Alexander, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of 
Research and Development, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Mail 
Code 8623P, Washington, DC 20460, telephone (703) 347-8630 or via email 
at [email protected].
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The draft EPA report, 
Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and 
Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence (September, 2013 External Review 
Draft, EPA/600/R-11/098B), and the charge to the SAB Panel are 
available on the SAB Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Watershed%20Connectivity%20Report?OpenDocument. The agenda and other 
meeting materials will be available on the SAB Web site at the URL 
listed above prior to the meeting.
    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. 
The intended use of comments submitted to the SAB is different from the 
purpose of comments submitted to the EPA's program offices. Federal 
advisory committees and panels, including scientific advisory 
committees, provide independent advice to EPA. Interested members of 
the public may submit relevant comments for the SAB Panel to consider 
pertaining to the review materials, including the charge to the Panel. 
Input from the public to the SAB Panel will have the most impact if it 
provides 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 
written comments may submit them to the EPA Docket electronically via 
www.regulations.gov, by email, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand 
delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in 
the written statements section of this notice.
    Members of the public wishing to provide oral statements to the SAB 
Panel 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. Interested

[[Page 58537]]

parties should contact Dr. Thomas Armitage, DFO, in writing (preferably 
via email) at the contact information noted above by December 9, 2013 
to be placed on the list of public speakers for the meeting. Written 
Statements: Written statements for the December 16-18, 2013 meeting 
should be received in the EPA Docket by November 6, 2013 so that the 
information may be made available to the SAB Panel for its 
consideration. Written statements should be identified by Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OA-2013-0582 and submitted to the Docket at www.regulations.gov 
by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]: Include the docket number in 
the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 566-9744
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 28221T), Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-2013-0582, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is (202) 566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334, EPA West Building, 1301 
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744. Deliveries are only accepted during the 
docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be 
made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-2013-0582. Please 
ensure that your comments are submitted by November 6, 2013. Comments 
received after that date will be marked late and may not be provided to 
the SAB Panel for consideration before the December 16-18 meeting. It 
is EPA's policy to include all comments received in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available on-line at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email directly 
to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email address 
will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that 
is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If 
you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your 
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with 
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comments due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 
SAB Panel may not be able to consider your comments. Electronic files 
should avoid the use of special characters and any form of encryption 
and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about 
EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at 
www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov 
index. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly 
available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either electronically at 
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Thomas Armitage 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: September 17, 2013.
Thomas H. Brennan,
 Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2013-23198 Filed 9-23-13; 8:45 am]
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