[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 135 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45475-45476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16710]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9949-04-OA]


Notification of Two Public Teleconferences of the Science 
Advisory Board; Environmental Economics Advisory Committee

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces two public teleconferences of the 
Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (EEAC) to review its draft 
report regarding the EPA's proposed methodology for updating its 
mortality risk valuation estimates for policy analysis.

DATES: The SAB Environmental Economics Advisory Committee will conduct 
public teleconferences on August 4 and August 5, 2016. Each of the 
teleconferences will begin at 1:00 p.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern 
Time).

ADDRESSES: The teleconferences will be conducted by telephone only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants 
further information concerning the public teleconferences 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; by 
telephone at (202) 564-2155 or via email at [email protected]. 
General information concerning the EPA SAB can be found 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 Environmental Economics 
Advisory Committee will hold two public teleconferences to discuss its 
draft report on the EPA's methodology for updating its mortality risk 
valuation estimates for policy analysis. The committee will provide 
advice to the Administrator through the chartered SAB.
    The EPA's Office of Policy requested advice on proposed 
improvements to the Agency's methodology for estimating benefits 
associated with reduced risk of mortality. This methodology takes into 
account the amounts that individuals are willing to pay for reductions 
in mortality risk. The resulting values are combined into an estimate 
known as the value of statistical life (VSL) which is used in 
regulatory benefit-cost analysis. The EPA also requested that the SAB 
review options for accounting for changes in the VSL over time as real 
income grows, known as income elasticity of willingness to pay. The EPA 
submitted the following documents to the SAB for review: (1) Valuing 
Mortality Risk for Policy: A Meta-analytic Approach, a white paper 
prepared by the EPA Office of Policy to describe the Agency's 
interpretation and application of SAB recommendations received in July 
2011 regarding updates to the EPA's estimates of mortality risk 
valuation; (2) The Effect of Income on the Value of Mortality and 
Morbidity Risk Reductions, a report prepared for the EPA's Office of 
Air and Radiation on options for updating the Agency's recommended 
estimate for the income elasticity of the value of statistical life; 
and (3) Recommended Income Elasticity and Income Growth Estimates: 
Technical Memorandum, an EPA memorandum providing supplementary 
information to the report. The SAB Environmental Economics Advisory 
Committee met on March 7-8, 2016, to receive agency briefings, hear 
public comments, and deliberate on responses to the EPA charge 
questions (81 FR 4296-4297). The committee also held teleconferences on 
June 16 and June 17, 2016 to discuss its draft report with responses to 
the charge questions (81 FR 30535-30536). The purpose of the 
teleconferences described in this notice is to continue the discussion 
of the committee's draft report. The two committee teleconferences will 
be conducted as one complete meeting beginning on August 4, 2016 and 
continuing on August 5, 2016, if needed to complete agenda items. 
Additional information about this SAB advisory activity can be found at 
the following URL: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/Valuing%20fatal%20risk%20for%20policy?OpenDocument.
    Technical Contacts: Any technical questions concerning the EPA 
documents reviewed by the SAB should be directed to Dr. Nathalie Simon 
in the EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics, by telephone 
at (202) 566-2347 or by email at [email protected].
    Availability of Meeting Materials: Prior to the meeting, the 
teleconference agenda, draft committee report, and other materials will 
be available on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.
    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. 
Interested members of the public may submit relevant information on the 
topic of this advisory activity, and/or the group conducting the 
activity, for the SAB to consider during the advisory process. Input 
from the public to the SAB will have the most impact if it provides 
specific scientific or technical information or analysis for SAB 
committees and panels 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 the 
teleconference will be limited to three minutes. Interested parties 
wishing to provide comments should contact Dr. Armitage, DFO, in 
writing (preferably via email) at the contact information noted above 
by July 28, 2016, to be placed on the list of public speakers for the 
meeting. Written Statements: Written statements will be accepted 
throughout the advisory process; however, for timely consideration by 
committee members, statements should be supplied to the DFO (preferably 
via email) at the contact information noted above by July 28, 2016. It 
is the SAB Staff Office general policy to post written comments on the 
Web page for advisory meetings. 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.

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    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Armitage at the 
contact information provided above. To request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact Dr. Armitage preferably at least ten days 
prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time as possible to process 
your request.

    Dated: July 5, 2016.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-16710 Filed 7-13-16; 8:45 am]
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