[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 22 (Thursday, February 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4654-4655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02058]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9973-47-OA]


Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Science Advisory 
Board Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee Augmented for the Review 
of EPA's Draft Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) and tert-Butyl Alcohol 
(tert-butanol; tBA) Assessments

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 SAB 
Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee augmented for the review of two 
EPA draft assessments; Toxicological Review for Ethyl Tertiary Butyl 
Ether (ETBE) (External Review Draft, dated June 2017); and 
Toxicological Review of tert-Butyl Alcohol (tert-butanol or tBA) 
(External Review Draft, dated June 2017) (CAAC augmented for ETBE/tBA 
Panel or Panel). The Panel will meet to discuss its draft peer review 
report regarding the two EPA draft assessments named above.

DATES: The public teleconference will be held on two dates: Thursday, 
March 22, 2018, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Eastern time) and Tuesday, 
March 27, 2018, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern time).

ADDRESSES: The public teleconference will be held by telephone only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants 
further information concerning this meeting notice may contact Dr. 
Shaunta Hill-Hammond, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), via phone at 
(202) 564-3343, or email at [email protected]. General 
information about the SAB, as well as updates concerning the meeting 
announced in this notice, may be found on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/sab.
    Technical Contact for EPA's Draft Reports: For information 
concerning the EPA draft assessments, please contact James Avery, phone 
(703) 347-8668 or via email at [email protected].

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 scientific and 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. Pursuant to FACA and EPA policy, notice is 
hereby given that the SAB CAAC augmented for ETBE and tBA Panel will 
hold a public teleconference to discuss its draft report regarding the 
EPA's draft assessments; Toxicological Review for Ethyl Tertiary Butyl 
Ether (ETBE) (External Review Draft, dated June 2017); and 
Toxicological Review of tert-Butyl Alcohol (tert-butanol or tBA) 
(External Review Draft, dated June 2017)). The Panel will provide their 
advice to the Administrator through the chartered SAB.
    EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) requested that the 
SAB conduct a peer review of the two EPA draft assessments. The EPA SAB 
Staff Office augmented the SAB CAAC with subject matter experts, to 
provide advice to the Administrator through the chartered SAB regarding 
these assessments. The CAAC augmented for ETBE/tBA Panel convened a 
public face-to-face meeting on August 15-17, 2017, to deliberate on the 
peer review charge questions. The Panel will meet via a public 
teleconference to discuss its draft peer review report and to hear and 
consider public comments. The SAB CAAC augmented for ETBE and tBA Panel 
will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff 
Office procedural policies.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: Prior to the meeting(s), the 
Panel's draft report, meeting agenda and other supporting materials (if 
applicable) will be accessible on the meeting page corresponding to 
each chemical assessment on the SAB website (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. 
Members of the public can submit relevant comments pertaining to the 
EPA's charge, meeting materials, or the group providing advice. 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. Members of the public wishing to provide comment should 
follow the instructions below to submit comments.
    Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting to 
make an oral presentation will be limited to three minutes during a 
public teleconference. Interested parties wishing to provide comments 
should contact Dr. Hill-Hammond (preferably via email), at the contact 
information noted above by March 14, 2018, to be placed on the list of 
public speakers.
    Written Statements: Written statements will be accepted throughout 
the advisory process; however, for timely consideration by SAB members, 
statements should be supplied to the DFO (preferably via email) at the 
contact information noted above by March 14, 2018. It is the SAB Staff 
Office general policy to post written comments on the web page for the 
advisory meeting or teleconference. Submitters are requested to provide 
an unsigned version of each document because the SAB Staff Office does 
not publish documents with signatures on its websites. Members of the 
public should be aware that their personal contact information, if 
included in any written comments, may be posted to the SAB website. 
Copyrighted material will not be posted without explicit permission of 
the copyright holder.

[[Page 4655]]

    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Hill-Hammond at the 
phone number or email address noted above, preferably at least ten days 
prior to the meeting, to give the EPA as much time as possible to 
process your request.

    Dated: January 23, 2018.
 Khanna Johnston,
 Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-02058 Filed 1-31-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P