42120 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 150 / Tuesday, August 5, 1997 / Notices

The SA would be in effect for the

duration of the current license term.

Copies of the SA may be obtained

from EDMUD or from the Commission’s

public file in this proceeding.

1. This notice also consists of the

following standard paragraphs: B, C1,

and D2.

B. Comments, Protests, or Motions to

Intervene—Anyone may submit

comments, a protest, or a motion to

intervene in accordance with the

requirements of Rules of Practice and

Procedures, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, .214.

In determining the appropriate action to

take, the Commission will consider all

protests or other comments filed, but

only those who file a motion to

intervene in accordance with the

Commission’s Rules may become a

party to the proceeding. Any comments,

protests, or motions to intervene must

be received on or before the specified

comments date for the particular

application.

C1. Filing and Service of Responsive

Documents—Any filings must bear in

all capital letters the title

‘‘COMMENTS’’,

‘‘RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TERMS

AND CONDITIONS’’, ‘‘PROTEST’’, OR

‘‘MOTION TO INTERVENE’’, as

applicable, and the Project Number of

the particular application to which the

filing refers Any of the above-named

documents must be filed by providing

the original and the number of copies

provided by the Commission’s

regulations to: The Secretary, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

20426. A copy of any motion to

intervene must also be served upon each

representative of the Application

specified in the particular application.

D2. Agency Comments—Federal,

state, and local agencies, are invited to

file comments on the described

application. A copy of the application

may be obtained by agencies directly

from the Applicant. If an agency does

not file comments within the time

specified for filing comments, if will be

presumed to have no comments. One

copy of an agency’s comments must also

be sent to the Applicant’s

representatives.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.,

[FR Doc. 97–20532 Filed 8–4–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5869–2]

Announcement of Stakeholders

Meeting on Arsenic in Drinking Water

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) will be holding a one and

a half day public meeting on September

11 and 12, 1997. 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 arsenic

under the Safe Drinking Water Act

(SDWA) as amended, and solicit public

input on major technical and

implementation issues, and on preferred

approaches for continued public

involvement. This meeting is a

continuation of stakeholder meetings

that started in 1995 to obtain input on

the Agency’s Drinking Water Program.

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,

Tribes, local governments, and the

public. At the upcoming meeting, EPA

is seeking input from state and Tribal

drinking water programs, the regulated

community (public water systems),

public health organizations, academia,

environmental and public interest

groups, engineering firms, and other

stakeholders on a number of issues

related to developing the NPDWR for

arsenic. EPA encourages the full

participation of stakeholders throughout

this process.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on

arsenic in drinking water will be held

on Thursday, September 11, 1997 from

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT and Friday,

September 12, 1997 from 8:00 a.m. to

1:00 p.m. EDT.

ADDRESSES: To register for the meeting,

please contact the Safe Drinking Water

Hotline at 1–800–426–4791 between

9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EDT. Those

registered for the meeting by Tuesday,

September 2, 1997 will receive an

agenda, logistics sheet, and background

materials prior to the meeting. Members

of the public who cannot attend the

meeting in person may participate via

conference call and should register with

the Safe Drinking Water Hotline.

Conference lines will be allocated on

the basis of first-reserved, first served.

Members of the public who cannot

participate via conference call or in

person may submit comments in writing

by October 10, 1997, in order for

comments to be included in the meeting

summary, to Irene Dooley, at the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M St, SW (4607), Washington, DC 20460

or dooley.irene@epamail.epa.gov. The

meeting will be held in Room 6226 at

the Ariel Rios Building, 1200

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20044.

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

arsenic and other EPA activities under

the Safe Drinking Water Act, contact the

Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1–800–

426–4791. A block of rooms is being

held at the Holiday Inn National Airport

(703–416–1600) for September 10th and

11th at the government rate of $124 per

night. Registrants must make their own

reservations by August 13, 1997 and

mention ‘‘EPA Arsenic Meeting’’ to

guarantee the room rate.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring

element found in the human body and

is present in food, water, and air.

Arsenic in drinking water occurs in

ground water and surface water and is

associated with certain natural geologic

conditions, as well as with

contamination from human activities.

Arsenic ingestion is linked to skin

cancer and arsenic inhalation to lung

cancer. In addition, arsenic ingestion

seems to be associated with cancers of

the kidney, bladder, liver, lung, and

other organs. Water primarily contains

inorganic arsenic species (AsV∂ and

AsIII∂), which tend to be more toxic

than organic forms.

In 1976 EPA issued a National Interim

Primary Drinking Water Regulation for

arsenic at 50 parts per billion (ppb; ug/

L). Under the 1986 amendments to

SDWA, Congress directed EPA to

publish Maximum Contaminant Level

Goals (MCLGs) and promulgate National

Primary Drinking Water Regulations

(NPDWRs) for 83 contaminants,

including arsenic. When EPA failed to

meet the statutory deadline for

promulgating an arsenic regulation, a

citizens’ group filed suit to compel EPA

to do so. EPA entered into a consent

decree to issue the regulation. EPA held

internal workgroup meetings throughout

1994, addressing risk assessment,

treatment, analytical methods, arsenic

occurrence, exposure, costs,

implementation issues, and regulatory
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.