2013-13188. Notification of a Public Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Environmental Justice Technical Guidance Review Panel

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the SAB Environmental Justice Technical Guidance Review Panel to provide advice through the chartered SAB on the agency's Draft Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis (May 1, 2013).

DATES:

The Environmental Justice Technical Guidance (EJTG) Review Panel public meeting will be held on Wednesday June 19, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) and on Thursday June 20, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES:

The public meeting will be held at The EPA Potomac Yards Conference Center, One Potomac Yard, 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Room S-1204/06, Arlington, VA 22202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Any member of the public who wants further information concerning the public meeting may contact Dr. Sue Shallal, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), via telephone at [phone] or email at [e-mail]. General information concerning the SAB 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 (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 SAB is a Federal Advisory Committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C., App. 2. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies. Pursuant to FACA and EPA policy, notice is hereby given that the SAB Environmental Justice Technical Guidance Review Panel will hold a public meeting to discuss the agency's draft technical document that provides information on how to consider environmental justice in regulatory analysis. This SAB panel will provide advice to the Administrator through the chartered SAB.

Background

The EPA has released for public comment its Draft Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis (May 1, 2013) (see https://www.federalregister.gov/​articles/​2013/​05/​09/​2013-11165/​technical-guidance-for-assessing-environmental-justice-in-regulatory-analysis) The purpose of this draft guidance is to provide EPA analysts with technical information on how to consider environmental justice (EJ) in regulatory analyses. This draft guidance takes into account the EPA's past experience in integrating environmental justice into the rulemaking process, and supports the EPA's ongoing commitment to ensuring the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. The EPA is seeking the advice of the SAB on the scientific soundness of the guidance provided in this document.

This draft guidance complements the EPA's Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action, (http://www.epa.gov/​environmentaljustice/​resources/​policy/​considering-ej-in-rulemaking-guide-07-2010.pdf), issued in July 2010, which provides direction on when EJ should be considered during the rulemaking process. In contrast, the Draft Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis begins to address the issue of how to analytically consider EJ in regulatory analysis.

The SAB Staff Office announced to the public through a Federal Register notice published on February 14, 2011 (76 FR 8366) and a second Federal Register notice published on June 3, 2011 (76 FR 32202) that it was soliciting nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists to serve on this panel. Additional background on this SAB advisory activity is provided in these notices and at the following URL http://yosemite.epa.gov/​sab/​sabproduct.nsf/​fedrgstr_​activites/​EJ%20Technical%20Guidance?​OpenDocument.

Technical Contacts: Any technical questions concerning EPA's draft technical document should be directed to Kelly Maguire at 202.566.2273 or by email at [e-mail].

Availability of Meeting Materials: Prior to the meeting, the review documents, agenda and other materials will be accessible through the calendar link on the blue navigation bar at 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 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 to consider during the advisory process. Input from the public to the SAB will have the most impact if it provides specific scientific or technical information or analysis for SAB committees 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 an oral presentation at a public meeting will be limited to five minutes. Interested parties should contact Dr. Sue Shallal, DFO, in writing (preferably via email) at the contact information noted above by June 12, 2013, to be placed on the list of public speakers for the meeting. Written Statements: Written statements should be supplied to the DFO via email at the contact information noted above by June 12, 2013 for the meeting so that the information may be made available to the Committee 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 Dr. Sue Shallal at [phone] or [e-mail]. To request accommodation of a disability, please contact Dr. Shallal preferably at least ten days prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.

Dated: May 22, 2013.

Thomas H. Brennan,

Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.