Document ID: EPA-HQ-OEI-2009-0795-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Office of Environmental Information; Announcement of Availability and Comment Period for Revised Environmental Sampling, Analysis and Results Data Standards (ESAR)
Posted Date: 2009-11-17T05:00Z

[Federal Register: November 17, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 220)]
[Notices]               
[Page 59183]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17no09-59]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OEI-2009-0795, FRL-8976-8]

 
Office of Environmental Information; Announcement of Availability 
and Comment Period for Revised Environmental Sampling, Analysis and 
Results Data Standards (ESAR)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice of availability for a 30 day review and comment period 
is hereby given for six revised data standards--Well Information Data 
Standard, ESAR: Field Activity, ESAR: Monitoring Location, ESAR: 
Analysis and Results, ESAR: Project and Quality Assurance and Quality 
Control Data Standards.
    ESAR, along with the suite of related data standards, enhances the 
availability and exchange of monitoring data used for environmental 
decision-making. Biological related data elements are largely missing 
from ESAR and given the importance and interest in these data, the 
Environmental Council of States (ECOS) and US EPA worked together to 
adapt/incorporate two Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) 
approved standards into ESAR.
    The ACWI approved Water Quality Data Elements for Reporting Results 
of Populations/Community Biological Assessments and Toxicity Test 
Analyses (TOX and POP) has been adapted for inclusion in ESAR

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 17, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OEI-2009-0795 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: oei-docket@epa.gov
     Fax: 202-566-1753
     Mail: Announcement of Availability and Comment Period for 
Revised, Environmental Sampling, Analysis and Results Data Standards 
(ESAR), Environmental Protection Agency, Mail code: 2822T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total of 
four copies.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include 
a total of four copies. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 
Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be 
made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2009-0795. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the 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 www.regulations.gov. The 
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 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: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
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 material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket, EPA/DC, EPA 
West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The 
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, and the telephone number for the OEI 
Docket is (202) 566-1752.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Pendleton, Information 
Exchange & Services Division, Office of Environmental Information, U.S. 
EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., MC 2823T; Washington, DC 20460; phone 
202-566-1658; fax 202-566-1684; e-mail: Pendleton.michael@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Standards are intended for use in 
environmental data exchange among States, Tribal entities and U.S. EPA. 
They are not meant to dictate or limit data an agency chooses to 
collect for its own internal purposes. Adoption of a data standard 
should be interpreted to mean that revisions to databases or 
information systems are required. What the adoption does mean is that 
formats for sharing data with Exchange Network (EN) partners will 
change because the EN has adopted Shared Schema Components (SSCs) based 
on the data standards. The SSCs are available on the Exchange Network 
Web site at: http://www.exchangenetwork.net.
    The revised data standards are available through the Docket system 
as indicated above and at: http://www.epa.gov/datastandards, and http:/
/www.exchangenetwork.net/standards.

    Dated: October 8, 2009.
Connie Dwyer,
Director, Information Exchange & Services Division.
[FR Doc. E9-27605 Filed 11-16-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P