Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 150 / Tuesday, August 5, 1997 / Notices 42121

options before deciding in early 1995 to

defer the regulation in order to better

characterize health effects.

On August 6, 1996, Congress

amended the SDWA, adding section

1412(b)(12)(A) which requires, in part,

that EPA propose a NPDWR for arsenic

by January 1, 2000 and issue a final

regulation by January 1, 2001. The

current maximum contaminant level

(MCL) of 50 ug/L remains in effect until

the effective date of the revised rule.

The 1996 amendments to the SDWA

also directed EPA to develop by

February, 1997, a comprehensive

arsenic research plan to assess health

risks associated with exposure to low

levels of arsenic. In December 1996,

EPA announced the availability of the

arsenic research plan, and the public

had an opportunity to comment on the

paper at a scientific peer review meeting

in January, 1997. EPA reported to

Congress in late January that the plan

was publicly available and would be

revised after consideration of the final

report of the scientific peer review

group, which was subsequently

published May 8, 1997. In conducting

the studies in the arsenic research plan,

EPA will consult with the National

Academy of Sciences, other Federal

agencies, and other interested public

and private parties.

B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement

EPA intends for the proposed NPDWR

for arsenic to incorporate the best

available science, risk assessment,

treatment technologies, occurrence data,

cost/benefit analyses, and stakeholder

input on technical and implementation

issues.

The stakeholders meeting will cover a

broad range of issues including: (1)

Regulatory process; (2) arsenic risk

assessment (exposure, health

assessment, national occurrence); (3)

key technical assessments (treatment

technologies, treatment residuals, cost,

analytical methods); (4) small system

concerns; and (5) future stakeholder

involvement. Background materials on

arsenic in drinking water issues will be

sent to all registered participants in

advance of the meeting.

EPA has announced this public

meeting to hear the views of

stakeholders on EPA’s plans for

activities to develop a NPDWR for

arsenic. The public is invited to provide

comments on the issues listed above

and other issues related to the arsenic in

drinking water regulation during the

September 11 and 12, 1997 meeting or

in writing by October 10, 1997.

Dated: July 30, 1997.

Elizabeth Fellows,

Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and

Drinking Water, Environmental Protection

Agency.

[FR Doc. 97–20580 Filed 8–4–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5868–8]

National Advisory Council for

Environmental Policy and

Technology—Total Maximum Daily

Load Committee: Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: Under the Federal Advisory

Committee Act, PL 92–463, EPA gives

notice of a three day meeting of the

National Advisory Council for

Environmental Policy and Technology’s

(NACEPT) Total Maximum Daily Load

(TMDL) Committee. NACEPT provides

advice and recommendations to the

Administrator of EPA on a broad range

of environmental policy issues. The

TMDL Committee has been charged to

provide recommendations for actions

which will lead to a substantially more

effective TMDL program. This meeting

is being held to enable the Committee

and EPA to hear the views and obtain

the advice of a widely diverse group of

stakeholders in the National Water

Program.

In conjunction with the three day

meeting, the FACA Committee members

and the EPA will host two meetings

designed to afford the general public

greater opportunity to express its views

on TMDL and water related issues.

DATES: The three day public meeting

will be held on September 3–5, 1997, in

Portland, Oregon, at the Fifth Avenue

Suites, 506 S.W. Washington at Fifth

Avenue. The full Committee meeting

begins on Wednesday, September 3,

1997, at 7:30 a.m. with adjournment

scheduled for 5:30 p.m.. The meeting on

Thursday, September 4, 1997, will

reconvene at 7:30 a.m. and is scheduled

to adjourn at 3:00 p.m. On Friday,

September 5, 1997, the Committee

begins deliberations at 7:30 a.m. and is

scheduled to conclude at 4:00 p.m.

The two public input sessions are

scheduled in conjunction with the full

Committee meeting in the same

location. The first will occur on

September 3, 1997, from 7:30–9:00 p.m.

The second will occur on September 4,

1997, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

FUTURE MEETING DATES: The Committee

has scheduled one more meeting:

January 21–23, 1998 in Salt Lake City,

Utah.

ADDRESSES: Materials or written

comments may be transmitted to the

Committee through Corinne S. Wellish,

Designated Federal Officer, NACEPT/

TMDL, U.S. EPA, Office of Water, Office

of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds,

Assessment and Watershed Protection

Division (4503F), 401 M Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Corinne S. Wellish, Designated Federal

Officer for the Total Maximum Daily

Load Committee at 202–260–0740.

Dated: July 28, 1997.

Corinne S. Wellish,

Designated Federal Officer

[FR Doc. 97–20581 Filed 8–4–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5869–1]

Announcement of Stakeholders

Meeting on National Primary Drinking

Water Regulation for Radon-222

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) will be holding a one-day

public meeting on Tuesday, September

2, 1997, in San Francisco, CA. The

purpose of this meeting is to present

information on EPA’s plans for activities

to develop a proposed National Primary

Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for

radon-222, and solicit public input on

major technical and implementation

issues, and on preferred approaches for

continued public involvement. This

upcoming meeting is the second of a

series of stakeholders meetings on the

NPDWR for radon. These meetings were

initiated as part of the Drinking Water

Program Redirection efforts to help

refocus EPA’s drinking water priorities

and to support strong, flexible

partnerships among EPA, States, local

governments, and the public. At the

upcoming meeting, EPA is seeking input

from state drinking water and radon

programs, the regulated community

(public water systems), public health

and safety organizations, environmental

and public interest groups, and other

stakeholders on a number of issues

related to developing the NPDWR for

radon. EPA encourages the full

participation of stakeholders throughout

this process.
42122 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 150 / Tuesday, August 5, 1997 / Notices

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on the

NPDWR for radon will be held on

Tuesday, September 2, 1997 from 9:30

a.m. to 5:00 p.m PST. Check-in will

begin at 9:00 a.m.

ADDRESSES: To register for the meeting,

please contact the Safe Drinking Water

Hotline at 1-800–426–4791. Those

registered for the meeting by August 22,

1997 will receive an agenda and

background materials prior to the

meeting. Members of the public who

cannot participate may submit

comments in writing by September 16,

1997 to Sylvia Malm, at the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M. St., SW (4607), Washington, DC

20460. The meeting will be held at the

Environmental Protection Agency

Region IX Office Building in Meeting

Room C, second floor, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

general information on meeting

logistics, please contact the Safe

Drinking Water Hotline at 1–800–426–

4791. For information on the activities

related to developing the NPDWR for

radon and other EPA activities under

the Safe Drinking Water Act, contact the

Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1–800–

426–4791. For information on radon in

indoor air, contact the National Safety

Council’s National Radon Hotline at 1–

800–SOS–RADON.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

On July 18, 1991 (56 FR 33050), EPA

proposed a Maximum Contaminant

Level Goal (MCLG) and National

Primary Drinking Water Regulation

(NPDWR) for radon and other

radionuclides in public water supplies.

EPA proposed to regulate radon at 300

pCi/L. Commenters on the 1991

proposed NPDWR for radon raised

several concerns, including cost of

implementation, especially for small

systems, and the larger risk to public

health from radon in indoor air from

soil under buildings.

On August 6, 1996, Congress passed

amendments to the Safe Drinking Water

Act (SDWA), which establishes a new

charter for the nation’s public water

systems, States, and EPA in protecting

the safety of drinking water. The

amendments [§ 1412(b)(13)] direct EPA

to develop an MCLG and NPDWR for

radon. EPA is required to (1) withdraw

the 1991 proposed MCLG and NPDWR

for radon-222; (2) arrange for the

National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to

conduct an independent risk assessment

for radon in drinking water and an

independent assessment of risk

reduction benefits from various

mitigation measures to reduce radon in

indoor air; (3) publish a radon health

risk reduction and cost analysis for

possible radon Maximum Contaminant

Levels (MCLs) for public comment by

February, 1999; (4) propose an MCLG

and NPDWR for radon by August, 1999;

and (5) publish a final MCLG and

NPDWR for radon by August, 2000.

If the MCL is ‘‘more stringent than

necessary to reduce the contribution to

radon in indoor air from drinking water

to a concentration that is equivalent to

the national average concentration of

radon in outdoor air,’’ EPA is also

required to promulgate an alternative

MCL and publish guidelines for state

multimedia mitigation programs to

mitigate radon levels in indoor air. The

alternative MCL would ‘‘result in a

contribution of radon from drinking

water to radon levels in indoor air

equivalent to the national average

concentration of radon in outdoor air.’’

States may develop and submit to EPA

for approval a multimedia mitigation

program to mitigate radon levels in

indoor air. EPA shall approve State

multimedia mitigation programs if they

are expected to achieve equivalent or

greater health risk reduction benefits

than compliance with the MCL. If EPA

approves a State multimedia mitigation

program, public water supply systems

within the State may comply with the

alternative MCL. If EPA does not

approve a State program, or the State

does not propose a program, public

water supply systems may propose

multimedia mitigation programs to EPA,

under the same procedures outlined for

States.

B. Request for Stakeholder Involvement

EPA intends for the proposed NPDWR

for radon to incorporate the best

available science, treatment

technologies, occurrence data, cost/

benefit analyses, and stakeholder input

on technical and implementation issues.

EPA has evaluated comments on the

1991 proposed NPDWR for radon and

will be considering those comments in

developing the regulation.

The meeting will cover a broad range

of issues including: (1) Radon in

drinking water MCL development

(treatment technologies, occurrence,

analytical methods); (2) multimedia

mitigation program; and (3) stakeholder

involvement processes. Background

materials on radon in drinking water

issues will be sent to all registered

participants in advance of the meeting.

Issues for discussion and stakeholder

input will be based on the materials

provided and include (but may not be

limited to) the following:

(1) Any new information or data;

(2) Issues and concerns related to rule

development;

(3) Issues and concerns related to

implementing a multimedia mitigation

program from the perspective of your

state, water systems, public health and

safety organizations, environmental and

public interest groups, and the public;

and

(4) Recommendations on the most

beneficial points in the process for

stakeholder input and preferred

approaches for stakeholder input.

EPA has announced this public

meeting to hear the views of

stakeholders on EPA’s plans for

activities to develop a NPDWR for

radon. The public is invited to provide

comments on the issues listed above

and other issues related to the radon in

drinking water regulation during the

September 2, 1997 meeting or in writing

by September 16, 1997. EPA is in the

process of planning another

stakeholders meeting in the New

England region in the Fall of 1997.

Dated: July 30, 1997.

Elizabeth Fellows,

Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and

Drinking Water, Environmental Protection

Agency.

[FR Doc. 97–20579 Filed 8–4–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5868–9]

Notice of Meeting, Board of Scientific

Counselors (BOSC) Subcommittee

Review of National Risk Management

Research Laboratory (NRMRL)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal

Advisory Committee Act, Public Law

92–463, as amended (5 U.S.C., App. 2),

notice is hereby given that the

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA), Office of Research and

Development (ORD), Board of Scientific

Counselors Subcommittee will meet to

review the National Risk Management

Research Laboratory, August 18–19,

1997, at the Andrew W. Breidenbach

Environmental Research Center, 26 W.

Martin Luther King Drive, Room 120–

126 and will start at 8:00 a.m. and recess

at 5:00 p.m. on August 18, 1997. On

August 19, 1997, a writing session will

start at 8:00 a.m. and adjourn at 1:00

p.m. All times are eastern time. The

meeting is open to the public. Any

member of the public wishing to make

comments at the meeting should contact

Shirley Hamilton, Designated Federal