2018-02058. Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee Augmented for the Review of EPA's Draft Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) and tert-Butyl Alcohol (tert-butanol; tBA) Assessments

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of the SAB Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee augmented for the review of two EPA draft assessments; Toxicological Review for Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) (External Review Draft, dated June 2017); and Toxicological Review of tert-Butyl Alcohol (tert-butanol or tBA) (External Review Draft, dated June 2017) (CAAC augmented for ETBE/tBA Panel or Panel). The Panel will meet to discuss its draft peer review report regarding the two EPA draft assessments named above.

DATES:

The public teleconference will be held on two dates: Thursday, March 22, 2018, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Eastern time) and Tuesday, March 27, 2018, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern time).

ADDRESSES:

The public teleconference will be held by telephone only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Any member of the public who wants further information concerning this meeting notice may contact Dr. Shaunta Hill-Hammond, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), via phone at [phone], or email at [e-mail]. General information about the SAB, as well as updates concerning the meeting announced in this notice, may be found on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/​sab.

Technical Contact for EPA's Draft Reports: For information concerning the EPA draft assessments, please contact James Avery, phone [phone] or via email at [e-mail].

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 scientific and 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 CAAC augmented for ETBE and tBA Panel will hold a public teleconference to discuss its draft report regarding the EPA's draft assessments; Toxicological Review for Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) (External Review Draft, dated June 2017); and Toxicological Review of tert-Butyl Alcohol (tert-butanol or tBA) (External Review Draft, dated June 2017)). The Panel will provide their advice to the Administrator through the chartered SAB.

EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) requested that the SAB conduct a peer review of the two EPA draft assessments. The EPA SAB Staff Office augmented the SAB CAAC with subject matter experts, to provide advice to the Administrator through the chartered SAB regarding these assessments. The CAAC augmented for ETBE/tBA Panel convened a public face-to-face meeting on August 15-17, 2017, to deliberate on the peer review charge questions. The Panel will meet via a public teleconference to discuss its draft peer review report and to hear and consider public comments. The SAB CAAC augmented for ETBE and tBA Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.

Availability of Meeting Materials: Prior to the meeting(s), the Panel's draft report, meeting agenda and other supporting materials (if applicable) will be accessible on the meeting page corresponding to each chemical assessment on the SAB website (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 the EPA. Members of the public can submit relevant comments pertaining to the EPA's charge, meeting materials, or the group providing advice. Input from the public to the SAB will have the most impact if it provides specific scientific or technical information or analysis for the SAB to consider or if it relates to the clarity or accuracy of the technical information. Members of the public wishing to provide comment should follow the instructions below to submit comments.

Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting to make an oral presentation will be limited to three minutes during a public teleconference. Interested parties wishing to provide comments should contact Dr. Hill-Hammond (preferably via email), at the contact information noted above by March 14, 2018, to be placed on the list of public speakers.

Written Statements: Written statements will be accepted throughout the advisory process; however, for timely consideration by SAB members, statements should be supplied to the DFO (preferably via email) at the contact information noted above by March 14, 2018. 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 websites. Members of the public should be aware that their personal contact information, if included in any written comments, may be posted to the SAB website. 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. Hill-Hammond at the phone number or email address noted above, preferably at least ten days prior to the meeting, to give the EPA as much time as possible to process your request.

Dated: January 23, 2018.

Khanna Johnston,

Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.