31328 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 31, 2011 / Notices 

exposure that might be required in a 

comprehensive environmental 

assessment. Any comparisons to 

environmental data collected to assess 

the impact of the BP oil spill on Gulf of 

Mexico estuaries should be limited to 

the indicators and methods presented in 

this report, and to broad generalizations 

about coastal conditions at state, 

regional or national scales. 

Nevertheless, in light of the 2010 BP 

oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, EPA 

recognizes that some may wish to use 

the 2003–2006 data presented in the 

draft NCCR IV as a basis for comparison 

of ecological conditions in Gulf of 

Mexico coastal waters following the oil 

spill. EPA seeks comments from the 

scientific community on the utility and 

limitations of the information presented 

in the draft NCCR IV for this type of 

impact analysis. 

The National Coastal Condition 

Reports represent collaboration among 

EPA (Office of Water (OW) and Office of 

Research and Development (ORD)), the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), 

and coastal state agencies. The first 

National Coastal Condition Report 

published in 2001 in partnership with 

NOAA, USFWS, U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS), and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) included some data 

from about 70% of the U.S. coastal 

waters. Based upon available data from 

1990–1996, the Report concluded that 

the Nation’s coastal waters were in fair 

condition. The second National Coastal 

Condition Report, released in 2005, 

included some data from all of the 

Nation’s coastal waters in the 

conterminous 48 states and Puerto Rico, 

and concluded that these waters 

continued to be in fair condition. The 

third National Coastal Condition Report, 

released in 2008, built upon the 

previous reports and provided 

assessments based on data collected 

from 2001 to 2003. The third Report 

similarly concluded that the overall 

condition of the Nation’s coastal waters 

was fair. According to the draft NCCR 

IV, the overall condition of the Nation’s 

coastal waters continues to be fair, with 

marginal improvement from EPA’s 2008 

National Coastal Condition Report III. 

With each successive report the 

geographic scope of NCA coverage has 

expanded. This fourth edition of the 

NCCR includes for the first time an 

assessment of estuarine condition in 

American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands along with updated 

assessment of coastal waters of the 

conterminous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and 

Puerto Rico. The NCCR IV data were 

collected from 3,144 sites from 2003 

through 2006. This Report serves as a 

useful tool for analyzing the progress of 

coastal programs implemented since the 

first Report and as a ‘‘benchmark’’ for 

future comparisons and therefore allows 

for the analysis of trends in condition 

over time. 

The information presented in the 

NCCR IV is more streamlined than the 

NCCR III, with a greater focus on NCA 

indicators rather than highlights of other 

coastal programs. In addition to 

expanded NCA geographic coverage, the 

NCCR IV also includes several new 

sections: Summaries of offshore ocean 

condition for three areas (Mid-Atlantic 

Bight, South Atlantic Bight, and the 

West Coast) and comparisons of these 

waters with near-shore condition, trends 

in regional beach closures, a Great Lakes 

fisheries section, and a chapter on 

emerging coastal issues. 

The Draft National Coastal Condition 

Report IV is also undergoing an external 

peer review led by EPA’s Office of 

Research and Development. The peer 

review plan, including the peer review 

charge questions, is available upon 

request by contacting Virginia Houk at: 

Houk.Virginia@epa.gov. 

The draft document can be found on 

the Web at: 

http://nccr4.rti.org/ 

Username = nccr4 

Password = Coastal10! 

Dated: May 20, 2011. 

Nancy K. Stoner, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Water. 

[FR Doc. 2011–13400 Filed 5–27–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9313–6] 

Good Neighbor Environmental Board 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Under the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, Public Law 92463, EPA 

gives notice of a meeting of the Good 

Neighbor Environmental Board (Board). 

The Board usually meets three times 

each calendar year, twice at different 

locations along the U.S. border with 

Mexico, and once in Washington, DC. It 

was created in 1992 by the Enterprise 

for the Americas Initiative Act, Public 

Law 102–532, 7 U.S.C. Section 5404. 

Implementing authority was delegated 

to the Administrator of EPA under 

Executive Order 12916. The Board is 

responsible for providing advice to the 

President and the Congress on 

environmental and infrastructure issues 

and needs within the States contiguous 

to Mexico in order to improve the 

quality of life of persons residing on the 

United States side of the border. The 

statute calls for the Board to have 

representatives from U.S. Government 

agencies; the states of Arizona, 

California, New Mexico and Texas; and 

Tribal and private organizations with 

experience in environmental and 

infrastructure issues along the U.S.- 

Mexico border. 

The purpose of the meeting is to 

discuss the Board’s 14th report, which 

will focus on the environmental and 

economic benefits of renewable energy 

development in the border region. A 

copy of the meeting agenda will be 

posted at http://www.epa.gov/ocem/ 

gneb. 

DATES: The Good Neighbor 

Environmental Board will hold an open 

meeting on Thursday, June 16, from 

8:30 a.m. (registration at 8 a.m.) to 6 

p.m. The following day, June 17, the 

Board will meet from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the US Grant Hotel, 326 Broadway, San 

Diego, CA 92101, phone number: 619/ 

232–3121. The meeting is open to the 

public, with limited seating on a firstcome, first-served basis. 

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: If you 

wish to make oral comments or submit 

written comments to the Board, please 

contact Mark Joyce at least five days 

prior to the meeting. 

General Information: Additional 

information concerning the GNEB can 

be found on its Web site at http:// 

www.epa.gov/ocem/gneb. 

Meeting Access: For information on 

access or services for individuals with 

disabilities, please contact Mark Joyce at 

202–564–2130 or by e-mail at 

joyce.mark@epa.gov. To request 

accommodation of a disability, please 

contact Mark Joyce at least 10 days prior 

to the meeting to give EPA as much time 

as possible to process your request. 

Dated: May 23, 2011. 

Mark Joyce, 

Acting Designated Federal Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2011–13406 Filed 5–27–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

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