[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 166 (Wednesday, August 27, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51154-51155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20391]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9915-76-OA]


Notification of Public Teleconferences of the Chartered Science 
Advisory Board

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces two public teleconferences of the 
chartered SAB to (1) conduct a quality review of an SAB draft report on 
connectivity of streams and wetlands to downstream waters and (2) 
deliberate on the adequacy of the scientific and technical basis of the 
proposed rule titled Definition of Waters of the United States Under 
the Clean Water Act.

DATES: The chartered SAB will conduct public teleconferences on 
September 26, 2014 and September 29, 2014. Each of the teleconferences 
will begin at 1:30 p.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The public teleconferences will be conducted by telephone 
only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to 
obtain general information regarding the teleconferences should contact 
Dr. Angela Nugent, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA SAB (1400R), 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice 
mail (202) 564-2218; fax (202) 565-2098 or via email at 
[email protected]. General information concerning the EPA SAB can 
be found on the SAB 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 EPA's chartered 
SAB will hold two public teleconferences. On the first teleconference, 
the chartered SAB will conduct a quality review of an SAB draft report 
and on the second, the chartered SAB will deliberate on the adequacy of 
the science supporting a proposed EPA regulation. The SAB was 
established pursuant to 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 under FACA. The SAB will 
comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office 
procedural policies.
    (1) Quality review of an SAB draft report on connectivity of 
streams and wetlands to downstream waters: Quality review is a key 
function of the chartered SAB. Draft reports prepared by SAB 
committees, panels, or work groups must be reviewed and approved by the 
chartered SAB before transmittal to the EPA Administrator. The 
chartered SAB makes a determination in a public meeting consistent with 
FACA about the quality of all draft reports and determines whether the 
report is ready to be transmitted to the EPA Administrator.
    On September 26, 2014, the chartered SAB will conduct a quality 
review of an SAB draft report entitled SAB Review of the Draft EPA 
Report Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters 
(August 11, 2014, Draft). This draft SAB panel report peer reviews the 
EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) 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).
    The ORD draft report was written to inform development of a rule 
proposed by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clarify the 
definition of waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act (79 
FR 22188-22274). The SAB panel was charged with reviewing the overall 
clarity and technical accuracy of the ORD draft report, whether it 
included and correctly summarized the most relevant peer-reviewed 
scientific literature, and whether the findings and conclusions were 
supported by the available science.
    Background information about this advisory activity can be found on 
the SAB Web site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Watershed%20Connectivity%20Report?OpenDocument.
    (2) Deliberations on the adequacy of the scientific and technical 
basis of the proposed rule titled Definition of Waters of the United 
States under the Clean Water Act (79 FR 22188-22274): ERDDAA requires 
the EPA to make available to the SAB proposed criteria documents, 
standards, limitations, or regulations at the time that they are 
provided to any other federal agency for formal review and comment, 
together with the relevant scientific and technical information on 
which the proposed action is based. The SAB then may make available to 
the Administrator its advice and comments on the adequacy of the 
scientific and technical basis of the proposed actions. The purpose of 
the teleconference on September 29, 2014, is for the chartered SAB to 
deliberate on the adequacy of the scientific and technical basis of the 
proposed rule cited above. The chartered SAB will consider information 
provided by the agency, members of the SAB Panel for the Review of the 
EPA Water Body Connectivity Report, and by the public through written 
or oral comments provided for their consideration. Information about 
this advisory activity may be found at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/WOUS-adv%26com?OpenDocument.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The agendas and other materials 
in support of the teleconferences will be posted on the SAB Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the teleconferences.
    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 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 Dr. 
Nugent at the contact information provided above.

[[Page 51155]]

    Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting time 
to make an oral presentation at a public SAB teleconference will be 
limited to three minutes. Those interested in being placed on the 
public speakers' list for the September 26, 2014 teleconference should 
contact Dr. Nugent at the contact information provided above by 
September 19, 2014. Those interested in being placed on the public 
speakers' list for the September 29, 2014 teleconference should contact 
Dr. Nugent at the contact information provided above by September 23, 
2014.
    Written Statements: Written statements should be supplied for the 
September 26, 2014 teleconference should be provided to the DFO via 
email to [email protected] by September 19, 2014. Written 
statements should be supplied for the September 29, 2014 teleconference 
should be provided to the DFO in the same manner by September 23, 2014. 
Written statements should be supplied in one of the following 
acceptable file formats: Adobe Acrobat PDF, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or 
Rich Text files in IBM-PC/Windows format). It is the SAB Staff Office 
general policy to post written comments on the Web page for the 
advisory meeting or teleconferences. Submitters are requested to 
provide an unsigned version of each document 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 Dr. Nugent at the contact 
information provided above. To request accommodation of a disability, 
please contact Dr. Nugent preferably at least 10 days prior to the 
teleconference, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your 
request.

    Dated: August 18, 2014.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2014-20391 Filed 8-26-14; 8:45 am]
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