[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30149-30150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12773]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9310-5]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office Notification of a Public
Teleconference of the Chartered Science Advisory Board
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a
public teleconference of the chartered SAB on June 16, 2011 to conduct
a quality review of a draft SAB report Efficacy of ballast water
treatment systems; A Report by the EPA Science Advisory Board (May 2011
Draft).
DATES: The public teleconference will be held on June 16, 2011 from 12
p.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).
ADDRESSES: The public teleconference will be conducted by telephone
only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to
obtain general information concerning the public teleconference may
contact Ms. Stephanie Sanzone, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Ms.
Sanzone may be contacted at the EPA Science Advisory Board (1400R),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; or by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2067; fax
at (202) 565-2098; or e-mail at sanzone.stephanie@epa.gov. General
information concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board 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 (ERDAA), codified at 42 U.S.C. 4365, to provide independent
scientific and technical advice to the EPA 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. Pursuant to FACA and EPA
policy, notice is hereby given that the SAB will hold a public
teleconference to conduct a quality review of a draft report entitled
Efficacy of ballast water treatment systems; a report by the EPA
Science Advisory Board. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA
and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
Background: Vessel ballast water discharges are a major source of
[[Page 30150]]
nonindigenous species introductions to marine, estuarine, and
freshwater ecosystems of the United States. Ballast water discharges
are regulated by EPA under authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and
the U.S. Coast Guard under authority of the Nonindigenous Aquatic
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act, as amended (NANPCA). Under the
authority of the CWA, EPA's Vessel General Permit requires the flushing
and exchange of ballast water by vessels in Pacific-near-shore voyages
and the saltwater flushing of ballast water tanks that are empty or
contain only un-pumpable residual ballast water. While useful in
reducing the presence of potentially invasive organisms in ballast
water, ballast water exchange and saltwater flushing can have variable
effectiveness and may not always be feasible due to vessel safety
concerns.
EPA's Office of Water has requested SAB review of technical
documents and available data on the efficacy of ballast water treatment
systems and advice on improving the performance of such systems. The
SAB's Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC) Augmented for
the Ballast Water Advisory has conducted this review and developed the
draft advisory entitled Efficacy of ballast water treatment systems; A
Report by the EPA Science Advisory Board (May 2011 Draft).
Background information about the SAB advisory activity, including
its meetings and teleconferences, can be found on the SAB Web site at
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/BW%20discharge?OpenDocument.
Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and other materials
in support of the teleconference will be placed on the SAB Web site at
http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the teleconference.
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 comments for a federal advisory committee to consider
as it develops advice for EPA. Input from the public to the SAB will
have the most impact if it provides specific scientific or technical
information or analysis for SAB 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 Designated Federal
Officer directly. Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups
requesting an oral presentation at a teleconference will be limited to
three minutes. Those interested in being placed on the public speakers
list for the June 9, 2011 teleconference should contact Ms. Sanzone at
the contact information provided above no later than June 9, 2011.
Written Statements: Written statements should be supplied to the DFO
via e-mail at the contact information noted above by June 9, 2011 for
the teleconference so that the information may be made available to the
Panel members for their consideration. Written statements should be
supplied in one of the following electronic formats: Adobe Acrobat PDF,
MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP
format. 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 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 Ms. Sanzone (202) 564-
2067 or sanzone.stephanie@epa.gov. To request accommodation of a
disability, please contact Ms. Sanzone preferably at least ten days
prior to the teleconference to give EPA as much time as possible to
process your request.
Dated: May 18, 2011.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-12773 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P