Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 2015 / Notices 32111 

1 ‘‘Restatement of Delegations of Environment 

Impact Statement Authorities’’ from Sean A. Lev, 

Acting General Counsel, to Timothy J. Meeks dated 

November 16, 2011. 

describing the proper treatment and 

management of affected cultural 

resources. Western signed the PA on 

October 18, 2010. 

Endangered Species Act 

Pursuant to Section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act, consultation 

was completed with the USFWS. Two 

candidate species, the Sonoran desert 

tortoise, and the Tucson shovel-nosed 

snake, have been documented in the 

Eastern Section of the Project area and 

suitable habitat for these species is 

present within Western’s action area. 

Subsequent to completion of the 

Biological Evaluation for the project, the 

Tucson shovel-nosed snake was 

removed from the candidate species list. 

No other Federally-listed, threatened, or 

endangered species have been 

documented in the proposed rights-ofway. There is no critical habitat 

designated in Western’s action area. In 

addition, Western will comply with 

recommendations found in the 

Biological Evaluation, South Mountain 

Transportation Corridor (July 2014), and 

in recommendations outlined in the 

USFWS letter dated June 10, 2014. 

Considering this and Western’s limited 

action in the Project, Western’s 

proposed modifications to its 

transmission system and facilities is 

unlikely to affect Sonoran desert 

tortoises and Tucson shovel-nosed 

snakes. 

Alternatives Considered 

Numerous alternatives were examined 

during the early EIS process including: 

Modal alternatives, corridor and 

alignment alternatives, configuration 

alternatives, and design alternatives. As 

the EIS and public and agency scoping 

process progressed, many of these 

alternatives were eliminated and six 

broadly described build alternatives 

were developed (W59, W71, W101-east, 

W101-central, W101-west, E1) as well as 

a no action alternative. These seven 

alternatives were carried forward for 

further analysis. 

FHWA ultimately selected a 

combination of alternatives W59 and E1 

as their preferred alternative. The no 

action alternative assumed that the 

Project would not be constructed and no 

transmission structures or lines would 

need to be modified. FHWA did not 

select the no action alternative since it 

did not meet the purpose and need. 

Mitigation 

Western will adhere to its 

Construction Standard 13 

‘‘Environmental Quality Protection’’ 

during its transmission line 

modification activities. Long-term 

operations of the transmission line will 

follow Western’s standard operating 

procedures and will not be affected by 

this action. A Mitigation Action Plan is 

not required for Western’s proposed 

action. 

Decision 

Western’s decision is to adopt the EIS 

for its participation in the Project and to 

modify its transmission system as 

described above in support of FHWA’s 

decision to construct their Project.1 This 

ROD was prepared pursuant to the 

requirements of the Council on 

Environmental Quality Regulations for 

Implementing the Procedural Provisions 

of the NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508) 

and DOE’s NEPA Implementing 

Procedures (10 CFR part 1021). 

Dated: May 26, 2015. 

Mark A. Gabriel, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2015–13765 Filed 6–4–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9928–73–OA] 

Notification of Teleconferences and a 

Public Meeting of the Science Advisory 

Board Hydraulic Fracturing Research 

Advisory Panel 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory 

Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a 

public meeting and three 

teleconferences of the SAB Hydraulic 

Fracturing Research Advisory Panel to 

conduct a review of the EPA draft 

report, Assessment of the Potential 

Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil 

and Gas on Drinking Water Resources, 

(May, 2015 External Review Draft, EPA/ 

600/R–15/047). 

DATES: The public teleconferences will 

be held from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern 

Time) on the following dates: 

Wednesday September 30, 2015; 

Thursday October 1, 2015; and Monday 

October 19, 2015. The public face-toface meeting will be held on Wednesday 

October 28, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 

p.m., Thursday October 29, 2015 from 

8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Friday 

October 30, 2015 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 

p.m. (Eastern Time). 

ADDRESSES: The October 28 through 30, 

2015 public meeting will be held at the 

Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas 

Circle NW., Washington, DC 20005. 

Teleconference lines also will be 

available for members of the public 

unable to attend in person. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Members of the public who wish to 

obtain further information regarding 

these public meetings may contact 

Edward Hanlon, Designated Federal 

Officer, by telephone: (202) 564–2134 or 

email at hanlon.edward@epa.gov. The 

SAB mailing address is: U.S. EPA 

Science Advisory Board (1400R), U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20460. General information about 

the SAB, including information 

concerning the SAB meeting and 

teleconferences announced in this 

notice, may be found on the SAB Web 

site at http://www.epa.gov/sab. 

Technical Contact for EPA’s Draft 

Report: Any technical questions 

concerning EPA’s draft report should be 

directed to Dr. Jeffrey Frithsen, National 

Center for Environmental Assessment, 

Office of Research and Development, 

U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Mail Code 8601P, Washington, DC 

20460, telephone (703) 347–8623 or via 

email at frithsen.jeff@epa.gov. 

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 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 Hydraulic Fracturing 

Research Advisory Panel will hold a 

public meeting and three 

teleconferences to conduct a review of 

the EPA draft report, Assessment of the 

Potential Impacts of Hydraulic 

Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking 

Water Resources, (May, 2015 External 

Review Draft, EPA/600/R–15/047). 

The EPA’s Office of Research and 

Development (ORD) has developed a 

draft assessment report concerning the 

relationship between hydraulic 

fracturing and drinking water in the 

United States. The purpose of the 

report, Assessment of the Potential 

Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil 


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32112 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 2015 / Notices 

and Gas on Drinking Water Resources, 

(May, 2015 External Review Draft, EPA/ 

600/R–15/047), is to synthesize 

available scientific literature and data to 

assess the potential for hydraulic 

fracturing for oil and gas to impact the 

quality or quantity of drinking water 

resources, and identify factors affecting 

the frequency or severity of any 

potential impacts. 

The SAB will hold teleconferences 

and a panel meeting as part of the peer 

review of the EPA draft assessment 

report. (1) The purpose of the 

teleconference on September 30, 2015 is 

for EPA to brief the Panel about the 

agency’s draft report, Assessment of the 

Potential Impacts of Hydraulic 

Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking 

Water Resources, (May, 2015 External 

Review Draft, EPA/600/R–15/047) and 

hold a Panel discussion on the draft 

charge questions for the peer review of 

the agency’s draft report. If all oral 

comments from registered public 

speakers cannot be accommodated at 

the September 30, 2015 teleconference, 

an additional teleconference will be 

held on October 1, 2015, for that 

purpose. (2) The purpose of the October 

28–30, 2015 face-to-face meeting is to 

conduct a peer review of the agency’s 

draft report. If the SAB Staff Office 

determines that there will be 

insufficient time during the October 28– 

30, 2015 Panel meeting to accommodate 

the members of the public who 

registered in advance to provide oral 

public comments, the teleconference on 

October 19, 2015 will be held to provide 

additional time for oral public 

comments. 

All draft reports developed by SAB 

panels, committees or workgroups are 

reviewed and approved by the 

Chartered SAB through a quality review 

process before being finalized and 

transmitted to the EPA Administrator. 

The quality reviews are conducted in a 

public meeting as required by FACA. 

Additional opportunities for the public 

to provide comments on the SAB’s 

review of the agency’s draft report, 

Assessment of the Potential Impacts of 

Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas on 

Drinking Water Resources, (May, 2015 

External Review Draft, EPA/600/R–15/

047) will be provided in a separate 

Federal Register Notice announcing 

public meetings to discuss the draft 

Panel report. 

Availability of Meeting Materials: The 

draft EPA report, Assessment of the 

Potential Impacts of Hydraulic 

Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking 

Water Resources, (May, 2015 External 

Review Draft, EPA/600/R–15/047), is 

available on the SAB Web site at 

http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/

sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/HF

%20Drinking%20Water%20

Assessment?OpenDocument. The 

charge, agenda and other materials for 

the teleconferences and meeting 

described in this notice will also be 

available on the above-noted Web site 

address and on the SAB Web site at 

http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of 

the teleconferences and meeting. 

Procedures for Providing Public Input: 

Federal advisory committees and 

panels, including scientific advisory 

committees, provide independent 

advice to the EPA. Interested members 

of the public may submit relevant 

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 and panels to consider 

or if it relates to the clarity or accuracy 

of the technical information. 

Throughout the Panel review process, 

there will be several opportunities for 

the public to provide comments. For 

example, the public will have 

opportunity to provide comments to the 

Docket on the SAB Panel’s draft report, 

provide oral statements to the Panel 

during the Panel teleconferences and 

meeting, and in preparation for quality 

review of the SAB Panel’s draft report 

by the Chartered SAB. Members of the 

public wishing to provide written 

comments may submit them to the EPA 

Docket electronically via 

www.regulations.gov, by email, by mail, 

by facsimile, or by hand delivery/

courier. Please follow the detailed 

instructions provided in the written 

statements section of this notice. 

Members of the public wishing to 

provide oral statements to the SAB 

Panel should contact the DFO directly. 

Oral Statements: In general, 

individuals or groups requesting to 

present an oral statement at a public 

teleconference will be limited to three 

minutes per speaker. To be placed on 

the public speaker list for the September 

30, 2015 teleconference, interested 

parties should notify Mr. Edward 

Hanlon, DFO, by email no later than 

September 23, 2015. In general, 

individuals or groups requesting to 

present an oral statement at the face-toface public meeting will be limited to 

five minutes. Interested parties should 

contact Mr. Edward Hanlon, DFO, in 

writing (preferably via email) at the 

contact information noted above by 

October 13, 2015 to be placed on the list 

of public speakers for the October 28– 

30, 2015 meeting. 

Written Statements: SAB Staff Office 

anticipates that a large number of 

written statements will be submitted for 

consideration by the SAB Panel. 

Therefore, written statements for the 

September 30, 2015 teleconference and 

for the October 28–30, 2015 face-to-face 

meeting should be received in the EPA 

Docket by August 28, 2015, so that the 

information may be made available to 

the SAB Panel sufficiently in advance of 

the teleconferences and meeting for the 

Panel’s consideration. 

Written statements should be 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OA–2015–0245 and submitted to the 

Docket at www.regulations.gov by one of 

the following methods: 

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Email: Docket_OEI@epa.gov: 

Include the docket number in the 

subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Office of Environmental 

Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 

28221T), Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OA– 

2015–0245, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. The 

phone number is (202) 566–1752. 

• Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is 

located in the EPA headquarters Docket 

Center, Room 3334, EPA West Building, 

1301 Constitution Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC. The EPA Docket 

Center Public Reading Room is open 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

Public Reading Room is (202) 566–1744. 

Deliveries are only accepted during the 

docket’s normal hours of operation, and 

special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. 

• Fax: (202) 566–9744. 

Public comments submitted after 

August 28, 2015 will be marked late, 

and should be submitted to the Docket 

by email, mail, hand delivery or fax (see 

detailed instructions above). Consistent 

with SAB Staff Office general practice, 

comments received after August 28, 

2015 will be made available to the SAB 

Panel as soon as practicable. 

It is EPA’s policy to include all 

comments received in the public docket 

without change and to make the 

comments available on-line at 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless a 

comment includes information claimed 

to be Confidential Business Information 

(CBI) or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. Do 

not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through www.regulations.gov 

or email. The www.regulations.gov Web 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 2015 / Notices 32113 

site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, 

which means EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless 

you provide it in the body of your 

comment. If you send an email directly 

to EPA without going through 

www.regulations.gov, your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your comments due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, the SAB Panel may 

not be able to consider your comments. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters and any form of 

encryption and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket, visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at 

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

Documents in the docket are listed in 

the www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., CBI or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material will be publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

either electronically at 

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the OEI Docket in the EPA Headquarters 

Docket Center. 

History of SAB Hydraulic Fracturing 

Research Advisory Panel: In April 2012, 

the EPA’s Office of Research and 

Development asked the SAB to conduct 

a peer review and provide advice to the 

agency on the scientific quality of its 

research study report on the potential 

impacts of hydraulic fracturing on 

drinking water resources. In response to 

that request, the SAB Staff Office 

formed the SAB Hydraulic Fracturing 

Research Advisory Panel. In 2013 the 

SAB panel members provided their 

individual expert comments in response 

to charge questions relating to the 

December 2012 progress report entitled, 

Study of the Potential Impacts of 

Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water 

Resources: Progress Report. The panel 

also held a teleconference call in 2013 

to receive public comments on new and 

emerging information related to 

hydraulic fracturing and drinking water 

resources. Information on the formation 

of the panel and its previous activities 

is provided on the SAB Web site at 

http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.

nsf/fedrgstr_activites/HF%20and%20

DW%20Progress%20Report?Open

Document. 

Accessibility: For information on 

access or services for individuals with 

disabilities, please contact Mr. Edward 

Hanlon 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 1, 2015. 

Thomas H. Brennan, 

Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board 

Staff Office. 

[FR Doc. 2015–13674 Filed 6–4–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9928–84–OA] 

Notification of Three Teleconferences 

of the Science Advisory Board 

Biogenic Carbon Emissions Panel 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA or Agency) Science 

Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office 

announces three teleconferences of the 

SAB Biogenic Carbon Emissions Panel 

to review EPA’s Framework for 

Assessing Biogenic CO2 Emissions from 

Stationary Sources (November 2014). 

DATES: The public teleconferences will 

be held on July 6, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. 

to 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), August 6, 

2015 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

(Eastern Time) and September 9, 2015 

from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Eastern 

Time). 

ADDRESSES: The teleconferences will be 

held by telephone only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any 

member of the public wishing further 

information regarding the public 

teleconferences may contact Dr. Holly 

Stallworth, Designated Federal Officer 

(DFO), SAB Staff Office, by telephone/ 

voice mail at (202) 564–2073 or via 

email at stallworth.holly@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. 

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 EPA actions. 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 SAB 

Biogenic Carbon Emissions Panel will 

hold three public teleconferences to 

review its draft report on EPA’s 

Framework for Assessing Biogenic CO2

Emissions from Stationary Sources 

(November 2014). The SAB will comply 

with the provisions of FACA and all 

appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural 

policies. 

As noticed in 80 FR 8867–8868, a 

face-to-face meeting of the Biogenic 

Carbon Emissions Panel was held on 

March 25 and 26, 2015 and a 

teleconference was held on May 29, 

2015. Background on the current 

advisory activity can be found on the 

SAB Web site at http://

yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/

fedrgstr_activites/Biogenic%20CO2%20

Framework?OpenDocument. 

Availability of the meeting materials: 

Agendas and meeting materials will be 

posted on the SAB Web site prior to 

each teleconference. To locate these 

materials, go to epa.gov/sab and click on 

the calendar and then the respective 

teleconference dates. EPA’s review 

document, charge to the Panel and other 

background materials are also available 

at the URL above. For questions 

concerning EPA’s Framework for 

Assessing Biogenic CO2 Emissions from 

Stationary Sources (November 2014), 

please contact Sara Ohrel, Climate 

Change Division, at ohrel.sara@epa.gov 

or (202) 343–9712. 

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 on the topic of this advisory 

activity, including the charge to the 

panel and the EPA review documents, 

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 consists of comments that 

provide specific scientific or technical 

information or analysis for the SAB 


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