53278 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 7, 2005 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

(OAR) Assistant Administrator; 

Evaluation of NOAA’s Response to the 

August 6, 2004 Research Review 

Report 

AGENCY: The Office of Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice and request for public 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Research publishes this 

notice to announce the availability for 

public comment of the Science 

Advisory Board’s (SAB) draft report on 

the evaluation of NOAA’s response to 

the Research Review Report. ‘‘The 

Evaluation of NOAA’s Response to the 

Research Review Report’’ can be found 

at: http://www.sab.NOAA.gov/reports/ 

reports.html. 

DATES: Comments on this draft 

document must be submitted by October 

7, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: The draft report on the 

evaluation of NOAA’s response to the 

Science Advisory Board’s Research 

Review Report will be available on the 

SAB Web site at http:// 

www.sab.NOAA.gov/reports/ 

reports.html on September 7, 2005. 

The public is encouraged to submit 

comments electronically to 

research.review@noaa.gov For 

commenters who do not have access to 

a computer, comments may be 

submitted in writing to: NOAA 

Research, Science Advisory Board 

(SAB), c/o Ms. M. Whitcomb, Silver 

Spring Metro Center Bldg 3 Room 

11419, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 

Spring, Maryland 20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

M. Whitcomb, Silver Spring Metro 

Center Bldg 3 Room 11419, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 

20910 (phone 301–713–2454 x173), 

during normal business hours of 8 a.m. 

to 5 p.m. eastern time, Monday through 

Friday, or visit the SAB Web site at: 

http://www.sab.NOAA.gov/reports/ 

reports.html. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research 

(OAR) publishes this notice to announce 

the availability of a draft report that 

evaluates NOAA’s response to the 

August 6, 2004 Research Review Report. 

The SAB will post the draft report on 

‘‘The Evaluation of NOAA’s Response to 

the Research Review Report’’, for public 

comment on September 7, 2005. The 

Science Advisory Board is seeking 

public comment from all interested 

parties. This draft report is being issued 

for comment only and is not intended 

for interim use. Suggested changes will 

be incorporated, where appropriate, in 

the final report being submitted to the 

NOAA Administrator. 

NOAA asked the SAB to appoint an 

external panel to review progress in 

implementing recommendations from 

the Research Review Report. On August 

16 and 17, a five person review panel 

met in Silver Spring, Maryland, to 

evaluate the progress made. This panel 

is tasked with evaluating the NOAA 

response to the August 2004 report’s 

findings and recommendations. The 

panel is also tasked with providing 

additional recommendations to the 

Administrator to improve the efficiency 

and effectiveness of the NOAA research 

organization. This review panel will be 

disbanded once its final report to the 

NOAA Science Advisory Board is 

issued. 

The draft report will be posted on the 

SAB Web site on September 7, 2005 for 

public comment. Public comments may 

be submitted for 30 days, from 

September 7, 2005 to October 7, 2005. 

NOAA welcomes all comments on the 

content of the report. We request 

comments on any inconsistencies 

perceived within the report, and 

possible omissions of important topics 

or issues. For any shortcoming noted 

within the draft report, please propose 

specific remedies. 

The public is encouraged to submit 

comments electronically to 

research.review@noaa.gov. 

Please follow these instructions for 

preparing and submitting comments. 

Using the format guidance described 

below will facilitate the processing of 

reviewer comments and assure that all 

comments are appropriately considered. 

Please provide background information 

about yourself on the first page of your 

comments: your name(s), 

organization(s), area(s) of expertise, 

mailing address(es), telephone and fax 

numbers, email address(es). Overview 

comments should follow your 

background information and should be 

numbered. Comments that are specific 

to particular pages, paragraphs, or lines 

should follow any overview comments 

and should identify the page numbers to 

which they apply. Please number all 

pages (on the upper right hand of each 

page) and print identifying information 

at the top of each page. Comments may 

also be submitted in writing to: NOAA 

Research, Science Advisory Board 

(SAB), c/o Ms. M. Whitcomb, Silver 

Spring Metro Center Bldg 3 Room 

11419, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 

Spring, Maryland 20910. 

Dated: August 31, 2005. 

Louisa Koch, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

[FR Doc. 05–17654 Filed 9–6–05; 8:45 am] 

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