74082 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 240 / Monday, December 15, 2014 / Notices 

Changes in the Estimates: Not 

applicable. This is a new information 

collection. 

Courtney Kerwin, 

Acting Director, Collection Strategies 

Division. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29261 Filed 12–12–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9919–98–ORD] 

Announcement of the IRIS Bimonthly 

Public Science Meeting Calendar for 

2015 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of IRIS Bimonthly Public 

Science Meetings for calendar year 

2015. 

SUMMARY: EPA’s Integrated Risk 

Information System (IRIS) Program is 

committed to proactive stakeholder 

engagement, transparency, and using 

the best available science in IRIS 

assessments. In accordance with the 

increased stakeholder engagement 

enhancements adopted by the IRIS 

Program, EPA is announcing a series of 

public science meetings for calendar 

year 2015 to obtain public input at 

specific stages in the process of 

developing an IRIS assessment. 

DATES: The 2015 IRIS Bimonthly Public 

Science Meetings will be held on the 

dates specified below. They will 

generally begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 

5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, or earlier, if 

comments and discussions have been 

completed. A two day time period has 

been reserved for each meeting, but the 

actual duration will be specified when 

the agendas are developed for each 

meeting throughout the year. All future 

announcements and information about 

the meetings planned for 2015, and the 

availability of EPA meeting materials for 

the chemicals undergoing assessment by 

the IRIS Program, will be posted on the 

IRIS Web site (http://www.epa.gov/iris/ 

publicmeeting/). In the event there are 

no materials to be discussed for any of 

the set meeting dates, a notice canceling 

the meeting will be posted on the IRIS 

Web site. 

IRIS Bimonthly Public Science 

Meetings Dates 

February 25–26, 2015 

April 29–30, 2015 

June 17–18, 2015 

September 2–3, 2015 

October 28–29, 2015 

December 16–17, 2015 

ADDRESSES: The public meetings 

announced in this notice will be held at 

the EPA conference center at One 

Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 

South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia, 

22202. To gain entrance to this EPA 

building, attendees must register at the 

security desk in the lobby and present 

photo identification. In accordance with 

the Real ID Act, which went into effect 

on July 2014, driver’s license from 

Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, 

Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, 

Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, and 

Washington will not be accepted as a 

photo ID. Detailed information on photo 

ID requirements are provided on the 

IRIS public meeting Web site. To 

promote the broadest possible 

participation, a webinar and 

teleconference line will also be available 

for registered attendees/discussants. 

EPA will make every effort to 

accommodate persons with disabilities. 

For information on access or services for 

individuals with disabilities, contact 

Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

National Center for Environmental 

Assessment, Mail Code: 8601P; 

telephone: 703–347–8592; facsimile: 

703–347–8689; or email: ross.christine@

epa.gov and include your name and 

contact information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information about IRIS public 

meetings, please contact Christine Ross, 

IRIS Staff, Environmental Protection 

Agency, National Center for 

Environmental Assessment (NCEA), 

Mail Code: 8601P; telephone: 703–347– 

8592; facsimile: 703–347–8689; or 

email: ross.christine@epa.gov. For 

information regarding the subject matter 

of a specific meeting, please contact the 

EPA representative identified on the 

IRIS public meeting Web site that will 

be established for each meeting (http:// 

www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About IRIS 

EPA’s IRIS Program is a human health 

assessment program that evaluates 

quantitative and qualitative risk 

information on effects that may result 

from exposure to chemical substances 

found in the environment. Through the 

IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest 

quality science-based human health 

assessments to support EPA’s regulatory 

activities and decisions to protect public 

health. The IRIS database contains 

information for chemical substances 

that can be used to support the first two 

steps (hazard identification and doseresponse evaluation) of the human 

health risk assessment process. When 

supported by available data, IRIS 

provides health effects information and 

toxicity values for health effects 

(including cancer and effects other than 

cancer). Government and others 

combine IRIS toxicity values with 

exposure information to characterize 

public health risks of chemical 

substances; this information is then 

used to support risk management 

decisions designed to protect public 

health. 

II. IRIS Public Science Meetings 

Conducted in 2013 and 2014 

The IRIS Program began conducting 

Bimonthly Public Science Meetings in 

December 2013 and continued through 

2014. During this period, a total of five 

public science meetings were held. 

These meetings covered 12 chemicals 

undergoing assessment, including 2 

assessments undergoing problem 

formulation, 8 assessments in the step 1 

literature search and evidence table 

phase, and 2 assessments in the step 4 

draft assessment phase as indicated in 

the following table. 

Date Step Chemical 

December 12–13, 2013 ..................... Step 1 Literature Search and Evidence Table ...............

Step 4 Public Comment Draft ........................................

D ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE). 

D Tert-butyl alcohol (tert-butanol). 

D hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX). 

D ethylene oxide (EtO).

D benzo[a]pyrene (BaP).

April 23–24, 2014 ............................... Step 1 Literature Search and Evidence Table ............... D hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). 

D diethyl phthalate (DEP). 

June 25–27, 2014 .............................. Step 1 Literature Search and Evidence Table ............... D inorganic arsenic (iAs). 

D hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 240 / Monday, December 15, 2014 / Notices 74083 

Date Step Chemical 

September 3, 2014 ............................ Step 0 Problem Formulation .......................................... D ethylbenzene. 

D naphthalene. 

October 29–30, 2014 ......................... Step 1 Literature Search and Evidence Table ............... D hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). 

D diisononyl phthalate (DINP). 

Meeting materials for each of these 

meetings are available on the IRIS Web 

site (http://www.epa.gov/iris/

publicmeeting/). A chemical specific 

docket has also been established (http:// 

www.regulations.gov) where public 

comments and presentations are 

available for each of the chemicals 

discussed at an IRIS public science 

meeting. In addition, a general IRIS 

docket (EPA–HQ–ORD–2014–0211) is 

available at Regulations.gov for 

comments on cross-cutting issues 

broadly applicable to IRIS assessments. 

The IRIS public meeting Web site and 

chemical specific dockets are intended 

to provide transparency regarding 

stakeholder input on IRIS assessments. 

Posting of public comments and 

presentations are not an EPA 

endorsement of, or agreement with, any 

information or viewpoints presented in 

the public comments and presentations, 

nor is it an EPA endorsement of the 

quality or correctness of such 

information and viewpoints. In 

addition, mention of any trade names or 

commercial products in posted meeting 

material does not constitute a 

recommendation by EPA for use. 

III. IRIS Public Science Meetings 

Scheduled for 2015 

Public meetings will be held 

approximately every 2 months 

beginning on February 25–26, 2015. 

Materials for the public meetings will 

begin to be posted on the IRIS Web site 

(http://www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/ 

) in advance of the meeting (generally 2– 

3 months). The meetings will provide an 

opportunity for the public to provide 

input on problem formulation and 

preliminary materials prior to 

development of the draft assessment 

and provide input on drafts of 

assessments and charges to the peer 

review panels prior to external peer 

review. The planned meeting dates for 

calendar year 2015 are: February 25–26, 

2015; April 29–30, 2015; June 17–18, 

2015; September 2–3, 2015; October 28– 

29, 2015; and December 16–17, 2015. 

Before an IRIS assessment begins, 

EPA releases scoping and problem 

formulation materials which frame the 

scientific questions and key issues that 

will be addressed in the assessment. In 

step 1 of the IRIS process (development 

of the draft assessment), EPA releases 

preliminary materials comprised of the 

draft literature search strategies, 

describing the processes for identifying 

and screening scientific literature, and 

the literature search results, and the 

preliminary evidence tables and 

preliminary exposure-response arrays 

summarizing key characteristics and 

findings from studies that EPA proposes 

to consider when identifying hazards 

and characterizing exposure-response 

relationships. EPA will hold a public 

meeting to discuss these materials. In 

step 4 of the IRIS process (public review 

and comment/independent expert peer 

review), EPA releases the draft 

assessment and draft peer review charge 

for public comment and also holds a 

public meeting to discuss these 

materials. 

The IRIS Program believes that public 

involvement can be most beneficial at 

the early stages of developing an 

assessment. Releasing problem 

formulation materials, the draft 

literature search strategy, preliminary 

evidence tables, and preliminary 

exposure response arrays early will 

ensure that critical research is not 

omitted and communicates to the public 

the body of literature chosen for further 

evaluation, helping frame major 

scientific questions and ultimately 

leading to more efficient production of 

assessments. Meeting materials 

provided at the early stage of an 

assessment, such as preliminary 

evidence tables, have not been subjected 

to external peer review, and they do not 

constitute EPA policy, support an EPA 

decision or position, or represent any 

EPA determination. Such materials are 

being distributed with the sole objective 

of facilitating a public scientific 

discussion that is intended to promote 

the use of the best available science and 

improve the utility and clarity of IRIS 

assessments. 

IV. Meeting Registration 

Individuals planning to attend an IRIS 

Bimonthly Public Science Meeting must 

register for each Bimonthly meeting. 

Registrants are required to provide their 

name, contact information, company/

organization, and to identify the 

organization they are representing if 

they are attending on behalf of another 

organization. Registrants must also 

indicate whether they would like to 

participate as an opening discussant on 

one or more of the key science questions 

identified by EPA. If a registrant intends 

to request time on the agenda as an 

opening discussant they should register 

no later than 30 days before the meeting. 

All other participants should register no 

later than 7 days before the meeting. 

Details regarding registration procedures 

(in person, via webinar, or 

teleconference) for each meeting will be 

posted on the IRIS Web site (http://

www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/). 

V. Meeting Materials and Meeting 

Format 

The assessment materials and the key 

science questions that will be discussed 

at each public science meeting will be 

posted on the IRIS Web site (http://

www.epa.gov/iris/publicmeeting/) 2 to 3 

months before each meeting. The IRIS 

Program uses a meeting format intended 

to promote public discussion. This 

format emphasizes conversational 

exchanges over presentations, with 

slides used mainly to present concepts 

and data via figures and tables. To 

provide a reasonable opportunity for all 

stakeholders to participate in a 

thoughtful public dialogue on the 

scientific questions, it is important that 

comments and visual aids opening 

discussants intend to use during the 

meeting be made available to the public 

prior to the meeting. Therefore, opening 

discussants are requested to submit 

these materials to the appropriate 

chemical docket, and the meeting 

organizer specified on the IRIS Web site, 

two weeks in advance of the meeting. 

Materials submitted to the docket will 

become available to the public shortly 

after submission. 

VI. Independent Scientific Experts 

The IRIS Program has benefited from 

the scientific discussions and 

information presented during the 2013 

and 2014 Bimonthly Public Science 

Meetings. In May 2014, the National 

Research Council (NRC) 2014 Report on 

the IRIS Process was released. The NRC 

report recommended EPA continue with 

additional efforts to ensure the full 

breadth of perspectives are made 

available to EPA when discussing the 

IRIS process and specific IRIS 

assessments. To broaden the input the 

IRIS Program receives at the Bimonthly 

Public Science Meetings, EPA has asked 

the National Research Council to 

identify additional scientific experts to 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
74084 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 240 / Monday, December 15, 2014 / Notices 

participate in the Bimonthly Public 

Science Meeting discussions. All 

stakeholders and the public will 

continue to have the same opportunity 

to participate as discussants by 

registering for the meetings under the 

established procedures. Experts 

identified by the National Research 

Council, reviewed for conflict of interest 

and bias, will participate as discussants 

in their own capacity to contribute 

intellectual leadership to discussions on 

critical scientific questions. The final 

determination of who serves as an 

expert participant is made 

independently by the National Research 

Council. 

VII. How to Submit Materials to the 

Docket at http://www.regulations.gov 

EPA invites the public to submit 

comments and other relevant 

information regarding the chemicals 

discussed at a public science meeting to 

the appropriate docket number 

established for each chemical when the 

agenda for each meeting is released. 

Such data, information, or comments 

may be submitted to the appropriate 

docket by one of the following methods: 

• http://www.regulations.gov: Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

materials 

• Email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov 

• Facsimile: 202–566–9744 

• Mail: U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center 

[ORD Docket], (Mail Code: 28221T), 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460. The telephone 

number is 202–566–1752. If you provide 

materials by mail, please submit one 

unbound original with pages numbered 

consecutively, and three copies of the 

materials. For attachments, provide an 

index, number pages consecutively with 

the comments, and submit an unbound 

original and three copies. 

• Hand Delivery: The ORD Docket is 

located in the EPA Headquarters Docket 

Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 

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. If 

you provide comments by hand 

delivery, please submit one unbound 

original with pages numbered 

consecutively, and three copies of the 

comments. For attachments, provide an 

index, number pages consecutively with 

the comments, and submit an unbound 

original and three copies. 

It is EPA’s policy to include all 

materials it receives in the public docket 

without change and to make the 

materials available online at http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

materials include 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 http://

www.regulations.gov or email. Posting 

of materials received in the public 

docket is not an EPA endorsement of, or 

agreement with, any information or 

viewpoints presented in the materials, 

nor is it an EPA endorsement of the 

quality or correctness of such 

information and viewpoints. The http:// 

www.regulations.gov Web site is an 

‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means that EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless 

you provide it in the body of your 

materials. If you send email comments 

directly to EPA without going through 

http://www.regulations.gov, your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and included as part of the materials 

that are placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit electronic materials, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your materials and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA 

cannot read your materials due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, EPA may not be 

able to consider your materials. 

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 http://

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

All documents in the docket are listed 

in the http://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 http://

www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at 

the ORD Docket in the EPA 

Headquarters Docket Center. 

Dated: December 5, 2014. 

Gina Perovich, 

Acting Deputy Director, National Center for 

Environmental Assessment. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29191 Filed 12–12–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9920–43–OARM] 

Senior Executive Service Performance 

Review Board; Membership 

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the 

membership of the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency Performance Review 

Board for 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen D. Higginbotham, Director, 

Executive Resources Division, 3606A, 

Office of Human Resources, Office of 

Administration and Resources 

Management, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460, 

(202) 564–7287. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

4314(c)(1) through (5) of Title 5, U.S.C., 

requires each agency to establish in 

accordance with regulations prescribed 

by the Office of Personnel Management, 

one or more SES performance review 

boards. This board shall review and 

evaluate the initial appraisal of a senior 

executive’s performance by the 

supervisor, along with any 

recommendations to the appointment 

authority relative to the performance of 

the senior executive. 

Members of the 2014 EPA 

Performance Review Board are: 

Richard Albright, Director, Office of 

Environmental Cleanup, Region 10 

Amy Battaglia, Director, Office of 

Program Accountability and 

Resources Management, Office of 

Research and Development 

Denise Benjamin-Sirmons, Director, 

Office of Diversity, Advisory 

Committee Management and 

Outreach, Office of Administration 

and Resources Managment 

Jerry Blancato, Director, Office of 

Science Information Management, 

Office of Research and Development 

David Bloom, Acting Chief Financial 

Officer, Office of the Chief Financial 

Officer 

Jeanne Brisken, Research Program 

Manager, Office of Research and 

Development 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES