[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 158 (Tuesday, August 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50728-50729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20824]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9451-8]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of Public
Teleconferences of the Science Advisory Board Radiation Advisory
Committee
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces
two teleconferences of the SAB Augmented Radiation Advisory Committee
(RAC) to discuss the draft advisory report related to uranium and
thorium in-situ leach recovery and post-closure stability monitoring.
DATES: The public teleconferences will be conducted on Tuesday,
September 6, 2011 and Wednesday, October 5, 2011, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
(Eastern Daylight Time).
ADDRESSES: The public teleconferences will be conducted by telephone
only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing
further information regarding this Notice may contact Dr. K. Jack
Kooyoomjian, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB Staff Office
(1400R), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; or by
telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2064, or via e-mail at
kooyoomjian.jack@epa.gov. General information concerning the EPA
Science Advisory Board can be found at the EPA SAB Web site at http//
www.epa.gov/sab.
Technical Contact: Technical background information pertaining to
the Uranium In-Situ leach recovery--Post-Closure Stability Monitoring
can be found at http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/pubs.html.
Information pertaining to EPA's regulatory standards in 40 CFR part
192--Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and
Thorium Mill Tailings can be found at http://yosemite.epa.gov/opei/rulegate.nsf/byRIN/2060-AP43?opendocument. For questions concerning the
technical aspects of this topic, please contact Dr. Mary E. Clark of
the U.S. EPA, ORIA by telephone at (202) 343-9348, or via e-mail at
clark.marye@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: 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 peer review advice, consultation and recommendations to the
EPA Administrator on the technical basis for Agency actions, positions
and regulations. As a Federal Advisory Committee, the SAB conducts
business in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)
(5 U.S.C. App. 2) and related regulations. Pursuant to FACA and EPA
policy, notice is hereby given that the augmented RAC will hold two
public teleconferences. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA
and all appropriate EPA and SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
The EPA has requested the SAB review the Agency draft technical
document on ISL/ISR post closure stability monitoring to evaluate what
criteria should be considered to establish a specific period of
monitoring for ISL/ISR facilities, once uranium extraction operations
are completed. Among the issues to be considered are whether specific
site characteristics, features or benchmarks can be used to aid in
establishing a post-closure monitoring time period; and if other
technical approaches should be considered by EPA to provide reasonable
assurances of aquifer stability and groundwater protection. The
Agency's draft technical document will be used as a basis to evaluate
the technical and scientific issues pertaining to standards in 40 CFR
part 192--Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and
Thorium Mill Tailings. The SAB RAC augmented with additional experts
held an initial public teleconference of July 12, 2011 and a two-day
meeting on July 18 and 19, 2011 to discuss advisory comments on the
EPA's June 2011 draft technical document entitled ``Considerations
Related to Post-Closure Monitoring of Uranium In-Situ Leach/In-Situ
Recovery (ISL/ISR) Sites''. These previous meetings were announced in
the Federal Register on Thursday, June 23, 2011 (Vol. 76, No. 121, pp.
36918-36919). The purpose of the September 6, 2011 and October 5, 2011
public teleconferences is for the augmented RAC to discuss its draft
advisory report on this topic.
Availability of Meeting Materials: The Agenda, roster of the
augmented RAC,
[[Page 50729]]
the charge to the SAB for the consultation, and other supplemental
materials in support of the two public teleconferences will be placed
on the SAB Web site at http//www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the
teleconference and meeting.
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 at the contact information provided.
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 either
the September 6 and October 5, 2011 teleconferences should contact Dr.
Kooyoomjian at the contact information provided above no later than
noon on September 2, 2011 for the September 6, 2011 teleconference, and
no later than October 3, 2011 for the October 5, 2011 teleconference.
Written Statements: Written statements should be supplied to the
DFO via e-mail at the contact information noted by noon September 2,
2011 for the September 6, 2011 teleconference, and no later than
Monday, October 3, 2011 for the October 5, 2011 teleconference, so that
the information may be made available to the members of the augmented
RAC and the public 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/Windows98/
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 Dr. Kooyoomjian at (202)
564-2064, or e-mail kooyoomjian.jack@epa.gov. To request accommodation
of a disability, please contact Dr. Kooyoomjian preferably at least ten
days prior to the teleconference or meeting to give as much time as
possible to process your request.
Dated: August 9, 2011.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-20824 Filed 8-15-11; 8:45 am]
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