Document ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0701-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments: Four Case Studies of Water Utility Practices
Posted Date: 2010-08-23T04:00Z

[Federal Register: August 23, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 162)]
[Notices]               
[Page 51806-51807]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23au10-50]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9192-2; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0701]

 
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Four Case Studies of 
Water Utility Practices

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 45-day public comment period for the draft 
document titled, ``Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Four Case 
Studies of Water Utility Practices'' (EPA/600/R-10/077a). The document 
was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment within 
EPA's Office of Research and Development.
    This draft report presents a series of case studies describing the 
approaches currently being taken by four water utilities to assess 
their vulnerability to future climate change. The report is intended to 
illustrate the types of analyses, models, and climate change 
information being developed and used by selected utilities that are 
leaders in climate adaptation to understand and respond to climate 
risk.
    The public comment period and the external peer-review workshop, 
which will be scheduled at a later date and announced in the Federal 
Register, are separate processes that provide opportunities for all 
interested parties to comment on the document. EPA intends to forward 
the public comments that are submitted in accordance with this notice 
to the external peer-review panel prior to the meeting for their 
consideration. When finalizing the draft document, EPA intends to 
consider any public comments that EPA receives in accordance with this 
notice.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality 
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It 
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency 
policy or determination.
    The draft document and EPA's peer-review charge are available via 
the Internet on the NCEA home page under the Recent Additions and the 
Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea.

DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins August 23, 2010, and 
ends October 7, 2010. Technical comments should be in writing and must 
be received by EPA by October 7, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Four 
Case Studies of Water Utility Practices'' is available primarily via 
the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessments home 
page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at 
http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available 
from the Information Management Team, NCEA; telephone: 703-347-8561; 
facsimile: 703-347-8691. If you are requesting a paper copy, please 
provide your name, your mailing address, and the document title, 
``Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Four Case Studies of Water 
Utility Practices.'' The EPA's National Service Center for 
Environmental Publications (NSCEP), P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH 
45242; telephone: 1-800-490-9198; facsimile: 301-604-3408; e-mail: 
nscep@bps-lmit.com. Please provide your name, your mailing address, the 
title, and the EPA number of the requested publication.
    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://
www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket; 
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail: 
ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
    For technical information, contact Thomas Johnson, NCEA; telephone: 
703-347-8618; facsimile: 703-347-8694; or e-mail: 
Johnson.thomas@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Project/Document

    This report presents a series of case studies describing the 
approaches currently being taken by four water utilities in the United 
States to assess their vulnerability to climate change. The report is 
not intended to be a comprehensive listing of assessment approaches or 
utilities conducting vulnerability assessments. Rather, its purpose is 
to illustrate a range of issues and current approaches taken by 
selected utilities that are leaders in climate adaptation to understand 
and respond to climate risk. The approaches taken by the different 
utilities to assess their vulnerability to climate change range from 
sophisticated environmental modeling and scenario analysis to 
qualitative methods based on reviews of available literature. The case 
studies illustrate different approaches that reflect specific local 
needs and conditions, existing vulnerabilities, local partnerships, and 
available information about climate change. Information from these case 
studies will be of use to water utilities and other members of the 
water resources community to inform the development of strategies for 
understanding and responding to climate change. The issue of climate 
change is complex and will require ongoing attention and study.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://
www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2010-
0701, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-1753.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center's Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should 
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit 
three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number 
pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original 
and three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2010-0701. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to

[[Page 51807]]

make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided, unless a 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://
www.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 e-mail comment 
directly to EPA without going through http:// www.regulations.gov, your 
e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the public 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. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index. 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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: August 13, 2010.
David Bussard,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-20838 Filed 8-20-10; 8:45 am]
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