[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 117 (Wednesday, June 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34738-34739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-14244]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9912-44-OA]
Notification of a Joint Public Meeting and Joint Teleconferences
of the Chartered Science Advisory Board and Chartered Board of
Scientific Counselors and a Briefing Teleconference for New SAB Members
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a joint public meeting of the
Chartered SAB and the EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD)
Chartered Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) to develop strategic
advice on ORD's research activities, six joint SAB-BOSC public
teleconference calls to prepare for the face-to-face meeting, and one
public teleconference to orient new SAB members to ORD's work.
DATES: The joint SAB-BOSC public meeting will be held on Thursday, July
24, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday, July 25, 2014 from
8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. There will be six joint SAB-BOSC
teleconferences, one for each ORD research program. The joint SAB-BOSC
teleconferences will be held: (1) For the Human Health Risk Assessment
program on July 1, 2014, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET);
(2) for the Air, Climate and Energy program on July 3, 2014, from 10:00
a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET; (3) for the Chemical Safety for Sustainability
program on July 3, 2014, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET; (4) for the
Homeland Security program on July 7, 2014, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
ET; (5) for the Sustainable and Health Communities program on July 10,
2014, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET; and (6) for the Safe and
Sustainable Water Resources program on July 17, 2014, from 1:00 p.m. to
3:00 p.m. ET.
The teleconference to provide an overview of ORD's mission and role
for SAB members will be held on June 24, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00
p.m. ET.
ADDRESSES: All the teleconferences will be held by teleconference only.
The face-to-face meeting will be held at the Washington Marriott
Georgetown, 1221 22nd Street, Washington, DC 20037.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes
further information concerning the meetings may contact Dr. Angela
Nugent, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board
(1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice mail (202) 564-2218, fax
(202) 202-565-2098; or email at [email protected]. General
information concerning the SAB can be found on the EPA Web site 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 BOSC was established by the EPA to provide advice,
information, and recommendations regarding the ORD research program.
The SAB and BOSC are Federal Advisory Committees 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 chartered SAB and
chartered BOSC will hold preparatory teleconferences and a joint
meeting to develop advice on future directions for ORD's research
programs. The SAB and BOSC will comply with the provisions of FACA and
all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
ORD research programs are structured to understand environmental
problems and inform sustainable solutions to meet EPA's strategic
goals. The research programs comprise six program areas: Air, Climate,
and Energy; Safe and Sustainable Water Resources; Sustainable and
Healthy Communities; Chemical Safety for Sustainability; Human Health
Risk Assessment; and Homeland Security.
ORD requested that the SAB work jointly with the BOSC in 2011 to
provide early advice on ORD strategic research directions. In response,
the SAB and BOSC provided a report, Office of Research and Development
(ORD) New Strategic Research Directions: A Joint Report of the Science
Advisory Board (SAB) and ORD Board of Scientific Councilors (BOSC),
EPA-SAB-12-001. After receiving this advisory report, ORD requested
additional advice from the SAB and BOSC on ORD's research
implementation plans, efforts to strengthen program integration and
efforts to strengthen and measure innovation. In response, the SAB and
BOSC provided a report, Implementation of ORD Strategic Research Plans:
A Joint Report of the
[[Page 34739]]
Science Advisory Board and ORD Board of Scientific Counselors (EPA-SAB-
12-012).
ORD is now requesting the SAB and BOSC to provide advice to inform
the agency's development of Strategic Research Action Plans to cover
the period 2016-2019. To address this request, the SAB and BOSC have
planned a series of meetings: (1) A face-to-face meeting on this topic
on July 24-25, 2014; (2) teleconferences devoted to each of the six ORD
research so that ORD can brief SAB and BOSC members on ORD programs and
so that SAB and BOSC members can discuss ORD's charge to their
committees and preparations for the July 24-25, 2014 public meeting;
and (3) a teleconference for ORD to provide a general background
briefing on ORD's mission and role for new SAB members on June 24,
2014.
Availability of Meeting Materials
A meeting agenda and other materials for the meeting will be placed
on the SAB Web site at http://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 EPA. Members of the
public can submit relevant comments for a federal advisory committee to
consider as it develops advice for EPA. Interested members of the
public may submit relevant written or oral information on the topic of
this advisory activity, and/or the group conducting the activity, for
the SAB and BOSC to consider during the advisory process. Input from
the public to the SAB and BOSC will have the most impact if it provides
specific scientific or technical information or analysis for them 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 to
make an oral presentation at a public meeting will be limited to five
minutes and individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a
public teleconference will be limited to three minutes. Each person
making an oral statement should also consider providing written
comments so that the points presented orally can be expanded upon in
writing. Interested parties should contact Dr. Angela Nugent, DFO, in
writing (preferably via email) at the contact information noted above
by July 17, 2014 to be placed on the list of public speakers for the
joint SAB-BOSC public meeting. Parties interested in providing oral
statements at any of the teleconferences should contact Dr. Angela
Nugent seven days in advance of the scheduled teleconference. Written
Statements: Written statements for the joint public meeting should be
supplied to Dr. Angela Nugent, DFO, via email at the contact
information noted above by July 17, 2014 so that the information may be
made available to the Panel members for their consideration. Parties
interested in providing written comment for consideration at any of the
teleconferences should contact Dr. Angela Nugent seven days in advance
of the scheduled teleconference.
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
advisory meetings or teleconferences. 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. Nugent at the phone number or email
address noted above, preferably at least ten days prior to the meeting,
to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.
Dated: June 11, 2014.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2014-14244 Filed 6-17-14; 8:45 am]
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