### 8856 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Notices

types of materials into ocean waters and establishes a permit program for ocean dumping. In addition the MPRSA
establishes the Marine Sanctuaries Program, implemented by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which requires NOAA to designate ocean waters as marine sanctuaries for the purpose of preserving or restoring their conservation, recreational, ecological or
aesthetic values. Pursuant to the Marine Protection and Sanctuaries Act, NOAA has not designated any marine sanctuaries within the area covered by the permit. The permit also prohibits discharges to marine sanctuary areas.

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act.
EPA has determined that reissuance of this general permit is not likely to adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat
established under the 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act. In a letter dated June 17, 2011, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
concurred with the determination that issuance of the permit has no adverse
effect to Essential Fish Habitat.

Coastal Zone Management Act. EPA has determined that the activities which are authorized by this permit are
consistent with the local and state Coastal Zone Management Plans. The
State of Texas issued a letter of consistency on January 26, 2012. It
should be noted that decisions to allow oil and gas exploration and production in the territorial seas are made by the
State of Texas and not the EPA.

State Certification. Under section 401(a)(1) of the CWA. EPA may not issue an NPDES permit until the State in which the discharge will originate grants or waives certification to ensure compliance with appropriate requirements of the Act and State law. Section 301(b)(1)(C) of the CWA requires that NPDES permits contain conditions that ensure compliance with applicable state water quality standards or limitations. The permit contains
limitations intended to ensure compliance with Texas Water Quality Standards and the corresponding implementation guidance. The Texas
Railroad Commission issued the 401 certification on January 26, 2012.

Paperwork Reduction Act. The information collection required by this permit has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., and assigned OMB control numbers 2040–0086 (NPDES permit application) and 2040–0004 (discharge monitoring reports). This reissued permit requires reporting and application requirements for new facilities to comply with cooling water intake structure requirements and therefore it requires more reporting

burdens for new facilities from those under the previous general permit. Since this permit is very similar in reporting and application requirements in discharges which are required to be

monitored as the Western Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) general permit (GMG290000) which also has cooling water intake structure requirements, the paperwork burdens are expected to be nearly identical. EPA

estimated it would take an affected facility three hours to prepare the request for coverage and 3 hours per month to prepare discharge monitoring reports. It is estimated that the time required to prepare the request for coverage and discharge monitoring reports for this permit will be the same. A new facility may need more time to prepare information for cooling water intake structure requirements. This permit requires electronic reporting for discharge monitoring reports, and it will save some reporting time.

However, the alternative to obtaining authorization to discharge under this general permit is to obtain an individual permit. The burden of obtaining authorization to discharge under the general permit is expected to be significantly less than the burden of obtaining an individual permit.

Regulatory Flexibility Act. The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601
et seq, requires that EPA prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for regulations that have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The permit renewal issued today is not a ‘‘rule’’ subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act. EPA prepared a regulatory flexibility analysis, however, on the promulgation of the Offshore Subcategory guidelines on which many of the permit’s effluent limitations are based. That analysis has shown that issuance of this permit would not have a significant impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Authority: Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C.

1251 et seq.

Dated: February 8, 2012.

William K. Honker,
Acting Director, Water Quality Protection Division, EPA Region 6.

[FR Doc. 2012–3584 Filed 2–14–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION** 
**AGENCY**

**[EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0040; FRL–9335–5]**

**FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting** 

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

**ACTION :**  Notice.

**SUMMARY :**  There will be a 4-day meeting of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to consider and review scientific issues concerning chlorpyrifos health effects.

**DATES :**  The meeting will be held on April 10–13, 2012, from approximately 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Comments. The Agency encourages that written comments be submitted by March 27, 2012, and requests for oral comments be submitted by April 3, 2012. However, written comments and requests to make oral comments may be submitted until the date of the meeting, but anyone submitting written comments after March 27, 2012, should contact the Designated Federal Official (DFO) listed under **FOR FURTHER**

**INFORMATION CONTACT**

**.** For additional instructions, see Unit I.C. of the

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION**

.

Nominations. Nominations of
candidates to serve as ad hoc members of FIFRA SAP for this meeting should be provided on or before February 29,

2012.

Webcast. This meeting may be
webcast. Please refer to the FIFRA SAP’s Web site, http://www.epa.gov/scipoly/

sap for information on how to access the
webcast. Please note that the webcast is a supplementary public process provided only for convenience. If difficulties arise resulting in webcasting outages, the meeting will continue as planned.

Special accommodations. For
information on access or services for individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a disability, please contact the DFO listed under **FOR**

**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT** at least 10 days prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.

**ADDRESSES :**  The meeting will be held at the Environmental Protection Agency, Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.

Comments. Submit your comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0040, by one of the following methods:


### 8857 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Notices

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.

• Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington,

DC 20460–0001.

• Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S–4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only accepted during the Docket Facility ’s normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special arrangements should be made
for deliveries of boxed information. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305–5805.

Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012– 0040. If your comments contain any information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, please contact
the DFO listed under **FOR FURTHER**

**INFORMATION CONTACT** to obtain special instructions before submitting your comments. EPA’s policy is that all
comments received will be included in the docket without change and may be
made available on-line at http:// www.regulations.gov , including any personal information provided, unless
the comment includes 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 regulations.gov or email. The regulations.gov Web site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in
the docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your
comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects

or viruses.

Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the docket index available

at http://www.regulations.gov. 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, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either in the
electronic docket at http:// www.regulations.gov , or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S–4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305–5805.

Nominations, requests to present oral comments, and requests for special
accommodations. Submit nominations
to serve as ad hoc members of FIFRA SAP, requests for special seating accommodations, or requests to present
oral comments to the DFO listed under

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT**

**. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT**  **:** Fred Jenkins, Jr., DFO, Office of Science Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone number: (202) 564–3327; fax number: (202) 564– 8382; email address: jenkins.fred@epa.gov

.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :** 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, however, be of interest to persons who are or may be required to conduct testing of chemical substances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), FIFRA, and the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). Since other entities may also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the DFO
listed under **FOR FURTHER INFORMATION**

**CONTACT**

. B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

When submitting comments,
remember to:

1. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).

2. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part
or section number.

3. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and substitute language for your requested changes.

4. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information and/ or data that you used.

5. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be reproduced.

6. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and suggest
alternatives.

7. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of profanity or personal threats.

8. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.

C. How may I participate in this meeting?

You may participate in this meeting by following the instructions in this unit. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0040 in the subject line on the first page of your request.

1. Written comments. The Agency encourages that written comments be submitted, using the instructions in

**ADDRESSES**
**,** no later than March 27, 2012, to provide FIFRA SAP the time necessary to consider and review the

written comments. Written comments are accepted until the date of the meeting, but anyone submitting written comments after March 27, 2012, should
contact the DFO listed under **FOR**

**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT** . Anyone submitting written comments at the meeting should bring 30 copies for
distribution to FIFRA SAP.

2. Oral comments. The Agency encourages that each individual or group wishing to make brief oral
comments to FIFRA SAP submit their request to the DFO listed under **FOR**

**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT** no later than April 3, 2012, in order to be included on the meeting agenda. Requests to present oral comments will be accepted until the date of the meeting and, to the extent that time permits, the Chair of FIFRA SAP may permit the presentation of oral comments at the meeting by interested persons who have not previously requested time. The request should identify the name of the individual making the presentation, the organization (if any) the individual will represent, and any requirements for audiovisual equipment (e.g., overhead projector, 35 mm projector, chalkboard).
Oral comments before FIFRA SAP are


### 8858 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Notices

limited to approximately 5 minutes unless prior arrangements have been made. In addition, each speaker should bring 30 copies of his or her comments and presentation slides for distribution to the FIFRA SAP at the meeting.

3. Seating at the meeting. Seating atthe meeting will be open and on a firstcome basis.

4. Request for nominations to serve as ad hoc members of FIFRA SAP for this meeting. As part of a broader process for developing a pool of candidates for each meeting, FIFRA SAP staff routinely solicits the stakeholder community for nominations of prospective candidates
for service as ad hoc members of FIFRA SAP. Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified
individuals to be considered as prospective candidates for a specific meeting. Individuals nominated for this meeting should have expertise in one or more of the following areas: Cholinergic and non-cholinergic mechanisms, cholinesterase inhibition, developmental neurotoxicity, epidemiology (particularly reproductive/developmental, environmental), exposure assessment of pesticides (both residential and agricultural worker), human biomonitoring data and interpretation of such data, human health risk assessment, mode of action analysis— people with experience with the mode of action framework, and organophosphate pesticides pharmacokinetics. Nominees should be
scientists who have sufficient professional qualifications, including training and experience, to be capable of providing expert comments on the scientific issues for this meeting. Nominees should be identified by name, occupation, position, address, and telephone number. Nominations should be provided to the DFO listed under **FOR**

**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT** on or before February 29, 2012. The Agency
will consider all nominations of prospective candidates for this meeting
that are received on or before this date. However, final selection of ad hoc members for this meeting is a discretionary function of the Agency.

The selection of scientists to serve on
FIFRA SAP is based on the function of the panel and the expertise needed to address the Agency’s charge to the panel. No interested scientists shall be ineligible to serve by reason of their membership on any other advisory committee to a Federal department or agency or their employment by a Federal department or agency except the EPA. Other factors considered during the selection process include availability of the potential panel member to fully participate in the panel’s reviews, absence of any conflicts of interest or appearance of lack of impartiality, independence with respect to the matters under review, and lack of bias. Although financial conflicts of interest, the appearance of lack of impartiality, lack of independence, and bias may result in disqualification, the
absence of such concerns does not
assure that a candidate will be selected

to serve on FIFRA SAP. Numerous qualified candidates are identified for each panel. Therefore, selection decisions involve carefully weighing a number of factors including the candidates’ areas of expertise and professional qualifications and achieving an overall balance of different scientific perspectives on the panel. In
order to have the collective breadth of experience needed to address the Agency’s charge for this meeting, the Agency anticipates selecting approximately 10 ad hoc scientists.

FIFRA SAP members are subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 2634, Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, as supplemented by the EPA in 5 CFR part 6401. In anticipation of this requirement, prospective candidates for
service on the FIFRA SAP will be asked
to submit confidential financial information which shall fully disclose, among other financial interests, the candidate’s employment, stocks and bonds, and where applicable, sources of research support. The EPA will evaluate
the candidates financial disclosure form
to assess whether there are financial conflicts of interest, appearance of a lack of impartiality or any prior involvement with the development of
the documents under consideration (including previous scientific peer review) before the candidate is
considered further for service on FIFRA
SAP. Those who are selected from the pool of prospective candidates will be asked to attend the public meetings and to participate in the discussion of key issues and assumptions at these meetings. In addition, they will be asked to review and to help finalize the meeting minutes. The list of FIFRA SAP members participating at this meeting will be posted on the FIFRA SAP Web

site at http://epa.gov/scipoly/sap or may be obtained from the OPP Regulatory
Public Docket at http:// www.regulations.gov.

II. Background

A. Purpose of FIFRA SAP

FIFRA SAP serves as the primary scientific peer review mechanism of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and is structured to provide scientific advice,
information and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on pesticides and pesticide-related issues as to the impact of regulatory actions on health
and the environment. FIFRA SAP is a Federal advisory committee established in 1975 under FIFRA that operates in accordance with requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. FIFRA SAP is composed of a permanent panel consisting of seven members who are appointed by the EPA Administrator from nominees provided by the National
Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. FIFRA, as amended by FQPA, established a Science Review Board consisting of at
least 60 scientists who are available to
the SAP on an ad hoc basis to assist in reviews conducted by the SAP. As a peer review mechanism, FIFRA SAP provides comments, evaluations and recommendations to improve the effectiveness and quality of analyses made by Agency scientists. Members of
FIFRA SAP are scientists who have sufficient professional qualifications, including training and experience, to provide expert advice and recommendation to the Agency.

B. Public Meeting

Chlorpyrifos (0,0-diethyl-0-3,5,6- trichloro-2-pyridyl phosphorothioate) is a broad-spectrum, chlorinated organophosphate (OP) insecticide. Like other OPs, chlorpyrifos binds to and phosphorylates the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in both the central (brain) and peripheral nervous systems. This can lead to accumulation of acetylcholine and, ultimately, at sufficiently high doses, to clinical signs of toxicity. In 2011, the Agency released a preliminary human health risk assessment for chlorpyrifos. The focus
of this assessment was on the cholinesterase (ChE) inhibiting potential of chlorpyrifos. Consistent with this focus, EPA evaluated the extensive database of ChE data for multiple lifestages and selected points of departure (PoDs) based on consideration of all quality and reliable data. There is, however, a growing body of literature with laboratory animals (rats and mice) indicating that gestational and/or early postnatal exposure to chlorpyrifos may cause persistent effects into adulthood.
The results of both in vivo and in vitro studies on chlorpyrifos have led some research groups to propose that changes in brain connectivity and/or neurochemistry may underlie these changes into adulthood. In addition, there are epidemiology studies evaluating pre- and post-natal chlorpyrifos or other OP exposure in


### 8859 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Notices

mother-infant pairs that have reported associations with birth outcomes,
childhood neurobehavioral and neurodevelopment outcomes in the offspring when evaluated in neonates, infants, and young children.

In 2008, the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) reviewed a draft science issue paper on the human health effects of chlorpyrifos which provided a preliminary review of the scientific literature on experimental toxicology and epidemiology studies available at that time. In 2010, the Agency developed a draft ‘‘Framework for Incorporating Human Epidemiologic
& Incident Data in Health Risk Assessment’’ which provides the conceptual foundation for evaluating multiple lines of scientific evidence in the context of the understanding of the adverse outcome pathway (or mode of action). This draft framework uses
modified Bradford Hill Criteria to evaluate the sufficiency of evidence to establish key events within a mode of action(s) and explicitly considers such concepts as strength, consistency, dose response, temporal concordance and biological plausibility. Since the 2008 SAP on chlorpyrifos, the Agency has performed further analyses on the existing and new epidemiology results in mothers and children, available biomonitoring data, and experimental toxicology studies evaluating proposed adverse outcome pathways in the
context of human health risk assessment. Specifically, the Agency is evaluating available literature on the potential for chlorpyrifos to cause long term adverse effects from early life

exposure, in vivo and in vitro studies evaluating mechanistic aspects of chlorpyrifos, and the potential for
adverse effects below doses established
from ChE inhibition that are used for regulatory purposes. At this time, the Agency is working towards a weight of evidence evaluation integrating the epidemiology studies with the experimental toxicology studies for the neurodevelopmental outcomes. This analysis is complex and multifaceted as
it involves different lines of scientific evidence (i.e., in vivo and in vitro experimental toxicology studies, explicit consideration of adverse outcome pathways, exposure, epidemiology, and biomonitoring data). As such, the Agency believes that peer
review on the status of the current analysis is important.

C. FIFRA SAP Documents and Meeting

Minutes

EPA’s background paper, related supporting materials, charge/questions to FIFRA SAP, FIFRA SAP composition (i.e., members and ad hoc members for this meeting), and the meeting agendawill be available by approximately midMarch. In addition, the Agency may provide additional background
documents as the materials become available. You may obtain electronic copies of these documents, and certain other related documents that might be available electronically, at http:// www.regulations.gov and the FIFRA SAP homepage at http://www.epa.gov/ scipoly/sap.

FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting minutes summarizing its recommendations to the Agency approximately 90 days after the meeting. The meeting minutes will be posted on the FIFRA SAP Web site or may be obtained from the OPP Regulatory Public Docket at http:// www.regulations.gov.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

Dated: February 2, 2012.

Frank Sanders, Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.

[FR Doc. 2012–3280 Filed 2–14–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION**
**AGENCY**

**[FRL–9632–4]**

**National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology** 

**AGENCY :**  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

**ACTION :**  Cancellation and Rescheduling of National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) Committee Meeting.

**SUMMARY :**  EPA announced in the Federal Register on January 12, 2012 [FRL–9617–7] a National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) Meeting to be
held at the EPA Potomac Yard Conference Center, One Potomac Yard, 2777 S. Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92463, EPA gives notice of cancellation and rescheduling of that public meeting for the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT). NACEPT provides advice to the EPA Administrator on a broad range of environmental policy, technology, and management issues. NACEPT members represent academia, industry, non-governmental organizations, and local, state, and tribal governments. The purpose of this meeting is to begin developing recommendations to the Administrator regarding actions that EPA can take in response to the National Academy of Sciences Report on ‘‘Incorporating Sustainability in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.’’ A copy of the agenda for the meeting will be posted at http://www.epa.govofacmo/nacept/calnacept.htm.

**DATES :**  NACEPT has cancelled the twoday public meeting scheduled for February 13, 2012, from February 14,

2012. NACEPT will now hold the twoday public meeting on Monday, March 26, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (EST) and Tuesday, March 27, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (EST).

**ADDRESSES :**  The meeting will be held at the EPA East Building Room 1153, 1201 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,

DC 20004.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Mark Joyce, Acting Designated Federal Officer, joyce.mark@epa.gov, (202) 564– 2130, U.S. EPA, Office of Federal Advisory Committee Management and Outreach (1601M), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  Requests to make oral comments or to provide written comments for the March 26–27, 2012, NACEPT meeting should be sent to Eugene Green at green.eugene@epa.gov by Monday, March 19, 2012. The meeting is open to the public, with limited seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of the public wishing to attend should contact Eugene Green at green.eugene@epa.gov or (202) 564– 2432 by March 19, 2012.

Meeting Access: Information regarding accessibility and/or accommodations for

individuals with disabilities should be directed to Eugene Green at the email address or phone number listed above. To ensure adequate time for processing, please make requests for accommodations at least 10 days prior to the meeting.

Dated: February 7, 2012.
Mark Joyce,
Acting Designated Federal Officer.

[FR Doc. 2012–3533 Filed 2–14–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P**