Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 191 / Thursday, October 2, 1997 / Notices 51657

of such evaluations. EPA recently

performed an end-of-year evaluation of

one state air pollution control program

(Georgia Environmental Protection

Division). This audit was conducted to

assess the agency’s performance under

the grant made to them by EPA pursuant

to section 105 of the Clean Air Act. EPA

Region 4, has prepared a report for the

state of Georgia identified above and is

now available for public inspection.

ADDRESSES: The report may be

examined at the EPA’s Region 4 office,

61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia

30303, in the Air, Pesticides, and Toxics

Management Division.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda Thomas, (404) 562–9064, at the

above Region 4 address.

Dated: September 24, 1997.

Michael V. Peyton,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–26184 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5901–6]

National Drinking Water Advisory

Council; Notice of Open Meetings

Under section 10(a)(2) of Pub. L. 92–

423, ‘‘The Federal Advisory Committee

Act,’’ notice is hereby given that a

meeting of the National Drinking Water

Advisory Council established under the

Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended

(42 U.S.C. S300f et seq.), will be held on

October 15, 1997 from 10 a.m. until 6

p.m. and October 16, 1997, from 9 a.m.

until 5 p.m., at the Ramada Plaza Hotel

Pentagon, 4641 Kenmore Avenue,

Alexandria, Virginia 22304. The

purpose of this meeting will be to

provide the Council with the

recommendations from the Operator

Certification Working Group Report and

to discuss with the Council the

effectiveness and continued use of its

working groups. Other issues to be

covered at the meeting will include: A

status on the activities of the Microbial

Disinfectants/Disinfection By-products

Federal Advisory Committee, SDWA

implementation issues, accountability

and performance measures.

This meeting is open to the public.

The Council encourages the hearing of

outside statements and will allocate one

hour on October 15, 1997, for this

purpose. Oral statements will be limited

to ten minutes and it is preferred that

only one person present the statement.

Any outside parties interested in

presenting an oral statement should

petition the Council by telephone at

(202) 260–2285 or by E-Mail at

shaw.charlene@epamail.epa.gov by

October 14, 1997.

Any person who wishes to file a

written statement can do so before or

after a Council meeting. Written

statements received prior to the meeting

will be distributed to all members of the

Council before any final discussion or

vote is completed. Any statements

received after the meeting will become

part of the permanent meeting file and

will be forwarded to the Council

members for their information.

Members of the public that would like

to attend the meeting, present an oral

statement, or submit a written

statement, should contact Ms. Charlene

Shaw, Designated Federal Officer,

National Drinking Water Advisory

Council, U.S. EPA, Office of Ground

Water and Drinking Water (4601), 401 M

Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20460. The

telephone number is Area Code (202)

260–2285 or E-Mail

shaw.charlene@epamail.epa.gov.

Dated: September 26, 1997.

Elizabeth Fellows,

Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and

Drinking Water.

[FR Doc. 97–26179 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5900–8]

Announcement of Stakeholders

Meeting on the National Primary

Drinking Water Regulation for Radon222

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholders meeting.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) will be holding a one-day

public meeting on Thursday, October

30, 1997, in Boston, MA. 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 radon222, and solicit public input on major

technical and implementation issues,

and on preferred approaches for

continued public involvement. This

upcoming meeting is the third of a

series of stakeholders meetings on the

NPDWR for radon. The first meeting

was held on June 26, 1997 in

Washington, DC and the second meeting

on September 2, 1997 in San Francisco,

CA. 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 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.

DATES: The stakeholder meeting on the

NPDWR for radon will be held on

Thursday, October 30, 1997 from 9:00

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

begin at 8:30 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 October 17,

1997 will receive an agenda, logistics

sheet, and background materials prior to

the meeting. The agenda and

background materials will be similar to

the previous stakeholders meetings on

radon held in Washington, DC and San

Francisco, CA. Members of the public

who cannot participate may submit

comments in writing by November 14,

1997 to Sylvia Malm, at the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

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

20460. The meeting will be held in

Boston, MA. The address of the meeting

site will be included with the

background materials or available from

the Hotline.

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
51658 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 191 / Thursday, October 2, 1997 / Notices

systems, and the larger risk to public

health from radon in indoor air from

soil under buildings.

On August 6, 1996, amendments to

the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

were enacted, which establish a new

charter for the nation’s public water

systems, States, and EPA in protecting

the safety of drinking water. The

amendments [section 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 (the proposed

rule for radon was withdrawn on

August 6, 1997; 62 FR 42221); (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

October 30, 1997 meeting or in writing

by November 14, 1997.

Dated: September 23, 1997.

Elizabeth Fellows,

Acting Director, Office of Ground Water and

Drinking Water.

[FR Doc. 97–25878 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5901–8]

Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC)

Subcommittee; Review of the National

Center for Environmental Research

and Quality Assurance

AGENCY: Environmental protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of meeting of the Board

of Scientific Counselors (BOSC)

Subcommittee to Review the National

Center for Environmental Research and

Quality Assurance (NCERQA).

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal

Advisory Committee Act, Pub. L. 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 (BOSC) Subcommittee will

meet to review the National Center for

Environmental Research and Quality

Assurance on Monday, October 20 and

Tuesday, October 21, 1997. The meeting

will be held at the Ariel Rios Building,

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room

7216, Washington, DC 20004 and will

begin at 8 a.m. and recess at

approximately 5 p.m. on Monday,

October 20, 1997. On Tuesday, October

21, 1997, a Subcommittee writing

session will begin at 8 a.m. and adjourn

at 1 p.m. Following the writing session,

a warp-up discussion summarizing the

preliminary findings and conclusions of

the Subcommittee will be held from 1

p.m.–3 p.m. on Tuesday. The BOSC

Subcommittee Review meeting will

adjourn at 3 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 R. Hamilton, Designated

Federal Official, Office of Research and

Development (8701R), 401 M Street,

S.W., Washington, DC 20460; by

telephone at (202) 564–6853. In general,

each individual making an oral

presentation will be limited to three

minutes. Anyone desiring a draft BOSC

meeting agenda may fax their request to

Shirley R. Hamilton at (202) 565–2444.

DATES: The meeting will be held

October 20–21, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in

the EPA Ariel Rios Building, 1200

Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room

7216, Washington, DC 20004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shirley R. Hamilton, Designated Federal

Official, Office of Research and

Development (8701R), 401 M Street,

S.W., Washington, DC 20460; by

telephone at (202) 564–6853.

Dated: September 19, 1997.

Henry L. Longest II,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Research

and Development.

[FR Doc. 97–26180 Filed 10–1–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–M