96-21570. Science Advisory Board; Notification of Public Advisory Committee Meetings; Open Meetings

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 165 (Friday, August 23, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43545-43546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21570]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5559-7]


Science Advisory Board; Notification of Public Advisory Committee 
Meetings; Open Meetings

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, 
notice is hereby given that several committees of the Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) will meet on the dates and times described below. All times 
noted are Eastern Time. All meetings are open to the public. Due to 
limited space, seating at meetings will be on a first-come basis. For 
further information concerning specific meetings, please contact the 
individuals listed below. Documents that are the subject of SAB reviews 
are normally available from the originating EPA office and are not 
available from the SAB Office.

1. Executive Committee

    The Executive Committee of the EPA Science Advisory Board will meet 
on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 17-18, 1996. The meeting will 
convene at 8:30 a.m. in the Administrator's Conference Room 1103--West 
Tower of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters Building 
at 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460, and adjourn no later than 
5:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public, however, seating is 
limited and available on a first come basis.
    At this meeting, the Executive Committee will receive updates from 
its committees and subcommittees concerning their recent and planned 
activities. As part of these updates, some committees will present 
draft reports for Executive Committee review and approval. Expected 
drafts include:
    1. Executive Committee's ``Lookout Panel'' Committee-of-the-Whole 
activity; Commentary on the First Lookout Panel Session: Forecasting 
Future Water Environmental Issues.

[[Page 43546]]

    2. Ecological Processes and Effects Committee; Report on the 
Biocriteria for Lakes and Reservoirs.
    3. Integrated Human Exposure Subcommittee; Report on OPPE's 
Cumulative Exposure Model.
    Other items on the agenda will likely include:
    1. Interaction with advisory boards in other agencies.
    2. Discussion with the Deputy Director of the Office of 
International Affairs on an environmental security initiative.
    3. Conducting a second session of the Executive Committee serving 
as a Lookout Panel. Substantive input for this exercise will be 
provided by the Millennium Project.

For Further Information

    Any member of the public wishing further information concerning the 
meeting or who wishes to submit comments should contact Dr. Donald G. 
Barnes, Designated Federal Official for the Executive Committee, 
Science Advisory Board (1400), U.S. EPA, Washington, DC 20460, phone 
(202)-260-4126; fax [phone]; or via the INTERNET at: 
[e-mail]. Copies of the draft meeting agenda and 
available draft reports listed above can be obtained from Ms. Priscilla 
Tillery-Gadson at the above phone and fax numbers.

2. Ecological Processes and Effects Committee

    The Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC) of the 
Science Advisory Board (SAB) will meet on September 19-20, 1996, at the 
Environmental Protection Agency's Washington Information Center (WIC), 
401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, in Conference Room 17. The 
meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on September 19 and at 8:00 a.m. on 
September 20, and end no later than 5:00 p.m. on each day.
    The main purpose of the meeting is to: 1) review and approve 
subcommittee reports, including the draft report, Structural Marsh 
Management: Ecological Impacts and Evaluation Criteria, prepared by the 
Marsh Management Subcommittee; and 2) review the Agency's proposed 
guidelines for ecological risk assessment.

Background

    (1) Structural Marsh Management: the Marsh Management Subcommittee 
was established in 1994 to review the state of the science underlying 
structural marsh management (SMM), the use of structures (such as canal 
plugs, weirs, gates, culverts, levees and spoil banks) to manipulate 
local hydrology in coastal and Great Lakes marshes. Over a two-year 
period, the Subcommittee conducted two public meetings, a site visit to 
coastal Louisiana, and a writing session, and has prepared a draft 
report on the ecological consequences of SMM. The draft report also 
suggests criteria for evaluating proposed SMM projects, minimum 
monitoring requirements and priority research topics.
    Single copies of the draft report can be obtained by contacting Ms. 
Constance Valentine, Science Advisory Board (1400), U.S.EPA, 401 M 
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone [phone], FAX (202) 
260-7118, or via the Internet at [email protected]
    (2) Proposed Guidelines for Ecological Risk Assessment: The 
Agency's Risk Assessment Forum has developed proposed guidelines for 
ecological risk assessment in order to improve the quality and 
consistency of EPA's risk assessments, as well as to inform the 
scientific community and the public. The proposed guidelines are a 
result of a series of efforts, begun by the Forum in 1989, including a 
series of colloquia to identify issues and development of the Framework 
for Ecological Risk Assessment, illustrative case studies, and issue 
papers highlighting important principles. The draft proposed guidelines 
have been reviewed by scientists and risk managers both within and 
outside of the Agency.
    The proposed guidelines will be printed in the Federal Register for 
public comment in September, concurrent with their review by EPEC. 
Copies of the draft guidelines are NOT available from the Science 
Advisory Board. For additional information, contact Dr. William van der 
Schalie, EPA Office of Research and Development, 401 M Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20460, telephone [phone].

Additional Information

    Members of the public desiring additional information about the 
meeting, including an agenda, should contact Ms. Constance Valentine, 
Staff Secretary, Science Advisory Board (1400F), US EPA, 401 M Street, 
SW., Washington DC 20460, by telephone at [phone], fax at (202) 
260-7118, or via The INTERNET at: [email protected]
    Anyone wishing to make an oral presentation at the meeting should 
contact Stephanie Sanzone, Designated Federal Official for EPEC, no 
later than 4:00 p.m., September 6, 1996, at [phone] or via the 
Internet at [e-mail]. The request should 
identify the name of the individual who will make the presentation and 
an outline of the issues to be addressed. At least 35 copies of any 
written comments to the Committee are to be given to Ms. Sanzone no 
later than the time of the presentation for distribution to the 
Committee and the interested public. See below for additional 
information on providing comments to the SAB.

Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings

    The Science Advisory Board expects that public statements presented 
at its meetings will not be repetitive of previously submitted oral or 
written statements. In general, each individual or group making an oral 
presentation will be limited to a total time of ten minutes. For 
conference call meetings, opportunities for oral comment will be 
limited to no more than five minutes per speaker and no more than 
fifteen minutes total. Written comments (at least 35 copies) received 
in the SAB Staff Office sufficiently prior to a meeting date, may be 
mailed to the relevant SAB committee or subcommittee prior to its 
meeting; comments received too close to the meeting date will normally 
be provided to the committee at its meeting. Written comments may be 
provided to the relevant committee or subcommittee up until the time of 
the meeting.

    Dated: August 19, 1996.
Donald G. Barnes,
Staff Director, Science Advisory Board.
[FR Doc. 96-21570 Filed 8-22-96; 8:45 am]
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