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[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 137 (Monday, July 18, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 46672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16929]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9949-20-OA]

Notification of a Public Teleconference of a Work Group Under the 
Auspices of the Chartered Science Advisory Board

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a 
public teleconference of a Work Group under the auspices of the 
Chartered Science Advisory Board to gather and review information on 
shipboard ballast water treatment system efficacy and related 
conclusions in the 2011 SAB report, Efficacy of Ballast Water Treatment 
Systems: A Report by the EPA Science Advisory Board.

DATES: The public teleconference for the Work Group of the Chartered 
SAB will be conducted on Friday, August 12, 2016, from 12:00 p.m. to 
4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).
    Location: The public teleconference will be conducted by telephone 
only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to 
obtain information concerning the public teleconference may contact Mr. 
Thomas Carpenter, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science 
Advisory Board Staff Office (1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; by 
telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4885 or at carpenter.thomas@epa.gov. 
General information about the SAB as well as any updates concerning the 
teleconference announced in this notice may be found on the EPA Web 
site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. At the request of the SAB, a Work Group 
composed of a subset of SAB members will review the underlying data on 
ballast water treatment efficacy to assist the SAB in considering 
information regarding conclusions about shipboard treatment efficacy in 
the SAB report, Efficacy of Ballast Water Treatment Systems: A Report 
by the Science Advisory Board (EPA-SAB-11-009). The Work Group will 
gather and review information, analyze the report's underlying data and 
related conclusions and develop recommendations for deliberation by the 
Chartered Science Advisory Board at a future meeting. The SAB is not 
seeking new data regarding ballast water treatment system efficacy and 
will focus its inquiry on analyzing the data underlying the report and 
the related conclusions. The SAB Staff Office notes that neither the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) nor EPA policy requires meetings 
of Work Groups under the auspices of a chartered federal advisory 
committee to provide notice or conduct public meetings. Public notice 
of this meeting of the Work Group is being provided to assist the Work 
Group in obtaining public comment from interested parties on the topic 
under consideration.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The agenda and materials in 
support of this teleconference will be available on the EPA Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the teleconference.
    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 comments for a federal advisory committee to consider 
as it develops advice for EPA. Input from the public to the SAB will 
have the most impact if it provides specific scientific or technical 
information or analysis for SAB panels to consider or if it relates to 
the clarity or accuracy of the technical information. Oral Statements: 
In general, individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a 
teleconference will be limited to three minutes. Each person making an 
oral statement should consider providing written comments as well as 
their oral statement so that the points presented orally can be 
expanded upon in writing. Interested parties should contact Mr. Thomas 
Carpenter, DFO, in writing (preferably via email) at the contact 
information noted above, by August 4, 2016 to be placed on the list of 
public speakers. Written Statements: Written statements should be 
supplied to the DFO, preferably via email, at the contact information 
noted above one week before the teleconference so that the information 
may be made available to the Board members for their consideration. It 
is the SAB Staff Office general policy to post written comments on the 
Web page for the advisory meeting or teleconference. Submitters are 
requested to provide an unsigned version of each document because the 
SAB Staff Office does not publish documents with signatures on its Web 
sites. Members of the public should be aware that their personal 
contact information, if included in any written comments, may be posted 
to the SAB Web site. Copyrighted material will not be posted without 
explicit permission of the copyright holder.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Thomas Carpenter at 
(202) 564-4885 or carpenter.thomas@epa.gov. To request accommodation of 
a disability, please contact Mr. Carpenter preferably at least ten days 
prior to the teleconference to give EPA as much time as possible to 
process your request.

    Dated: July 11, 2016.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-16929 Filed 7-15-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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