### 36533 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 19, 2012 / Notices

conference in the above-referenced proceedings on Tuesday, July 17, 2012, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT) in the Commission Meeting Room at the offices of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. Members of the Commission may attend the conference, which will also be open for the public to attend. Advance registration is not required, but is encouraged. We will provide nametags for those who register on or before July 10, 2012. Participants may register at the following Web page: https://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/ registration/small-generator-7-17-12- form.asp. The purpose of this conference is to discuss issues related to a petition for rulemaking recently submitted by the Solar Energy Industries Association (Docket No. RM12–10–000).

This conference is not intended to address the substance of any particular case pending before the Commission. However, discussions at the conference may address matters at issue in the following Commission proceedings that are either pending or within their rehearing period: California Independent System Operator Corporation, Docket No. ER12–502–001 and Docket No. ER12–502–002; PJM Interconnection, LLC, Docket No. ER12– 1177–001; California Independent System Operator Corporation, Docket No. ER12–1855–000.

Those interested in speaking at the conference should notify the Commission by close of business June 22, 2012, by completing an online form identifying the topic(s) that they wish to address: https://www.ferc.gov/whatsnew/registration/small-generator-7-17- 12-speaker-form.asp. Due to time constraints, we may not be able to accommodate all those interested in speaking. The Commission will issue a subsequent notice that will provide the detailed agenda for the conference, including panel speakers, and a comment date for filing post-conference
comments.

The conference will be transcribed and available by webcast. Transcripts will be available immediately for a fee from Ace Reporting Company (202– 347–3700 or 1–800–336–6646). A free webcast of the technical conference in this proceeding is also available. Anyone with Internet access interested in viewing this conference can do so by navigating to the FERC Calendar of Events at www.ferc.gov and locating this event in the Calendar. The event will contain a link to its webcast. The Capitol Connection provides technical support for the webcasts and offers the option of listening to the conferences via phone-bridge for a fee. If you have any questions, visit www.CapitolConnection.org or call (703)
993–3100.

FERC conferences are accessible under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please send an email
to accessibility@ferc.gov or call toll free 1–866–208–3372 (voice) or 202–208– 8659 (TTY), or send a fax to 202–208– 2106 with the required accommodations.

For information related to the agenda, please contact Leslie Kerr at leslie.kerr@ferc.gov or (202) 502–8540. For information related to logistics, please contact Sarah McKinley at sarah.mckinley@ferc.gov or (202)
502–8368.

Dated: June 13, 2012. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012–14885 Filed 6–18–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6717–01–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY** 

**[FRL–9688–7]**

**Notice of Availability of the Benchmark Dose Technical Guidance** 

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

**ACTION :**  Notice of Availability.

**SUMMARY :**  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the availability of Benchmark Dose Technical Guidance (BMD). This document was developed as part of an agency-wide guidance development program by a technical panel of the EPA’s Risk Assessment Forum. Drafts were peer reviewed internally by EPA scientists and externally by experts from academia, industry, and other federal and state government agencies. When appropriate, the EPA intends to use the guidance prospectively in conducting risk assessments.

**ADDRESSES :**  The BMD document is available electronically through the EPA’s Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ raf/publications/benchmarkdose.htm

. **FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Dr. Michael W. Broder, Risk Assessment Forum, Office of the Science Advisor (8105R), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; on telephone number (202) 564–3393; facsimile number (202) 564–2070; or email broder.michael@epa.gov

. **SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  In support of its mission to protect human health and the environment, the EPA routinely conducts risk assessments on chemical agents that may be toxic to humans. A key component of the risk assessmentprocess involves evaluating the doseresponse relationship between exposure to the agent and the observed effect. The dose-response assessment is a two-step process: (1) Defining a point of departure (POD); and (2) extrapolating from the POD for relevance to environmental exposures. Traditionally, the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) or lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) methods were used for establishing the POD for noncancer endpoints. The BMD method gained favor within the risk assessment community over time because it incorporates and conveys more information than the NOAEL/LOAEL methods. The EPA conducted workshops and symposia about the application of BMD methodology and the development of relevant guidance.

The BMD document focuses on the use of the BMD methodology for human health risk assessments. The document discusses computation of BMD values and their confidence limits, data requirements, dose-response assessment, and reporting recommendations that are specific to BMD values. Although the EPA has generated its own BMD software (http://www.epa.gov/ncea/BMDS/ index.html), this document supports the use of other relevant, well-documented software packages.

Dated: June 6, 2012. Glenn Paulson,
Science Advisor.
[FR Doc. 2012–14897 Filed 6–18–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6560–50–P**

**ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY** 

**[EPA–R01–OW–2012–0201, FRL–9688–9]**

**Massachusetts Marine Sanitation Device Standard—Notice of**  **Determination**

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

**ACTION :**  Notice of Determination.

**SUMMARY :**  The Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency—New England Region, has determined that adequate facilities for the safe and sanitary removal and treatment of sewage from all vessels are reasonably available for the waters of Dighton, Berkley, Freetown, Somerset, Swansea, and Fall River collectively termed Mount Hope Bay.