[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 111 (Friday, June 7, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29099-29100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14458]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5516-3]


Strategic Plan for the Office of Research and Development

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the Strategic Plan 
for the Office of Research and Development (EPA-600/R-96/059), prepared 
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research 
and Development (ORD). This document describes the process and criteria 
for selecting ORD's high priority research and defines the foundation 
for ORD's management and budget planning process.

DATES: The Strategic Plan for the Office of Research and Development 
will be available to the public on or about June 7, 1996. Interested 
parties can access the Executive Summary of the Document via the 
Internet on the ORD Home Page (http://www.epa.gov/ORD) on or about June 
3, 1996. In addition, the entire document will be available on the 
Internet on or about June 7, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The document is available for inspection at the EPA 
Headquarters Library, Waterside Mall, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, 
DC. EPA Library hours are 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding holidays. On or about June 7, 1996, interested 
parties can obtain a single copy of the Strategic Plan by contacting: 
ORD Publications Office, Technology Transfer Division, National Risk 
Management Research Lab, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. 
Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268; Telephone: (513-569-
7566.) Please provide your name and mailing address, and request the 
document by the title and EPA Document No. (EPA-600/R-96/059). A 
limited number of paper copies will be available from this source, and 
requests will be filled on a first come-first served basis. After the 
supply is exhausted, copies of the Strategic Plan can be purchased from 
the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) by calling (703) 487-
4650 or sending a facsimile to (703) 321-8547. The NTIS order number 
for the Strategic Plan is (PB96-175385.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sherry Hawkins Office of Research and 
Science Integration, (8104), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Washington, D.C. 20460. Telephone (202) 260-5593; Facsimile (202-260-
0106.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In recent years, many important groups,

[[Page 29100]]

including EPA's Science Advisory Board and blue ribbon panels convened 
by the National Academy of Public Administration and the National 
Research Council, have made many excellent suggestions for improving 
science at EPA. ORD's Strategic Plan incorporates and builds on these 
ideas to provide the course for strong, credible science at EPA into 
the next century.
    This plan is the culmination of a number of strategic changes to 
institute a more effective, risk-based research program at ORD. For 
example, ORD reorganized its nationwide system of laboratories to 
conform to the fundamental components of widely used risk assessment 
and risk management processes. With this Strategic Plan, ORD has 
instituted a new system for determining research priorities based on 
risk assessment and risk management principles. This system will be 
used to sharpen the focus of research by directing resources where they 
will contribute most effectively to understanding and solving 
environmental problems, while supporting EPA in fulfilling its 
mandates. The Plan served as the blueprint for the FY '97 budget 
planning process and will provide the basis for building the FY '98 
budget.
    The goal of ORD's research program is to assure that EPA's 
environmental decisions are based on high quality science, and that 
science is provided in a timely and useful format to users. The Plan 
also lays the foundation for more clearly defining the next generation 
of environmental problems and the research to address those problems.

    Dated: May 28, 1996.
J.K. Alexander,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 96-14458 Filed 6-6-96; 8:45 am]
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