[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 243 (Thursday, December 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75550-75551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29709]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9920-65-OA]


Notification of a Closed Teleconference of the Chartered Science 
Advisory Board

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA), Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office is announcing a teleconference of the 
Chartered SAB to conduct a review of two draft reports of 
recommendations regarding the agency's 2013 and 2014 Scientific and 
Technological Achievement Awards (STAA). The Chartered SAB 
teleconference will be closed to the public.

DATES: The Chartered SAB teleconference date is Monday, January 26, 
2015, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The Chartered SAB closed teleconference will take place via 
telephone only. General information about the SAB may be found on the 
SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain further information regarding this announcement may contact 
Angela Nugent, Designated Federal Officer, by telephone: (202) 564-2218 
or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2, and section (c)(6) of 
the Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6), the EPA has 
determined that the chartered SAB quality review teleconference will be 
closed to the public. The purpose of the teleconference is for the 
chartered SAB to conduct a review of two draft reports of 
recommendations regarding the agency's 2013 and 2014 STAA. The 
Chartered SAB teleconference will be closed to the public.
    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 meeting 
consistent with FACA about all draft reports and determines whether the 
report is ready to be transmitted to the EPA Administrator.
    At the teleconference, the chartered SAB will conduct reviews for 
two draft reports developed by an SAB committee charged with developing 
recommendations regarding the agency's STAA. The first draft report 
focuses on review of additional agency recommendations for the 2013 
awards. Although the chartered SAB reviewed the agency's 2013 STAA 
nominations and provided advice regarding those nominations in January 
2014 (for more information, see http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/2013%20STAA%20Review?OpenDocument), 
the agency later identified additional nominations for SAB review. The 
second draft report focuses on the agency's 2014 STAA nominations (for 
more information, see http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/2014%20STAA%20Review?OpenDocument).
    The STAA awards are established to honor and recognize EPA 
employees who have made outstanding contributions in the advancement of 
science and technology through their research and development 
activities, as exhibited in publication of their results in peer 
reviewed journals. I have determined that the Chartered SAB quality 
review teleconference will be closed to the public because it is 
concerned with recommending employees deserving of awards. In making 
these draft recommendations, the EPA requires full and frank advice 
from the SAB. This advice will involve professional judgments on the 
relative

[[Page 75551]]

merits of various employees and their respective work. Such personnel 
matters involve the discussion of information that is of a personal 
nature, the disclosure of which would be a clearly unwarranted invasion 
of personal privacy and, therefore, is protected from disclosure by 
section (c)(6) of the Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 
552b(c)(6). Minutes of the Chartered SAB teleconference will be 
certified by the chair and retained in the public record.

    Dated: December 11, 2014.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-29709 Filed 12-17-14; 8:45 am]
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