Approaches To Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System; External Review Draft, 60703-60704 [E6-17098]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 199 / Monday, October 16, 2006 / Notices Copies of this application will be made available, upon request, for public inspection and copying at the address provided above, by accessing the program Web site at https:// www.oe.energy.gov/permitting/ electricity_imports_exports.htm, or by emailing Odessa Hopkins at Odessa.hopkins@hq.doe.gov. Issued in Washington, DC, on October 10, 2006. Anthony J. Como, Director, Permitting and Siting, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. [FR Doc. E6–17093 Filed 10–13–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY [Docket No. EA–294–A] Application To Export Electric Energy; TexMex Energy, LLC Office of Fossil Energy, DOE. ACTION: Notice of application. jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES AGENCY: SUMMARY: TexMex Energy, LLC (TexMex) has applied to renew its authorization to transmit electric energy from the United States to Mexico pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act. DATES: Comments, protests or requests to intervene must be submitted on or before November 15, 2006. ADDRESSES: Comments, protests or requests to intervene should be addressed as follows: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Mail Code: OE–20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585–0350 (FAX 202– 586–5860). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Russell (Program Office) 202–586– 9624 or Michael Skinker (Program Attorney) 202–586–2793. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exports of electricity from the United States to a foreign country are regulated and require authorization under section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act (FPA) (16 U.S.C. 824a(e)). On August 25, 2004, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued Order No. EA– 294 authorizing TexMex to transmit electric energy from the United States to Mexico for a two-year term. That authorization expired on August 25, 2006. On September 8, 2006, TexMex filed an application with DOE for renewal of the export authority contained in Order No. EA–294. TexMex proposes to export electric energy to Mexico and to arrange for the delivery of those exports over the VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:16 Oct 13, 2006 Jkt 211001 international transmission facilities presently owned by Central Power and Light Company, Sharyland Utilities, and Comision Federal de Electricidad, the national electric utility of Mexico. In its application TexMex states, without further explanation, that it was unable to file its renewal application prior to the expiration of its current export authorization on August 25, 2006. TexMex requests that its renewal request be granted as soon as possible. DOE notes that TexMex did not utilize its previous authority to export electricity to Mexico during the twoyear term of Order No. EA–294, as verified by quarterly reports filed with DOE by TexMex and as stated in their current renewal application. TexMex’s previous authorization permitted an application for renewal to be filed within six months prior to expiration of its authorization on August 25, 2006. Renewal applications must be filed at least sixty days prior to expiration in order to provide DOE with sufficient time to process an application and provide adequate opportunity for public comment. TexMex has not demonstrated sufficient good cause for DOE to expedite the processing of its renewal application by the use of a shortened public comment period. Therefore, in this notice, DOE has retained the normal thirty-day public comment period for the filing of comments, protests, or petitions to intervene. DOE notes that TexMex shall have no authority to export electricity to Mexico until the conclusion of this proceeding and the issuance of another order granting authority to export. Procedural Matters: Any person desiring to become a party to this proceeding or to be heard by filing comments or protests to this application should file a petition to intervene, comment or protest at the address provided above in accordance with §§ 385.211 or 385.214 of the FERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Fifteen copies of each petition and protest should be filed with the DOE on or before the date listed above. Comments on the TexMex application to export electric energy to Mexico should be clearly marked with Docket EA–294–A. Additional copies are to be filed directly with Guillermo Gonzalez G., c/o Protama S.A. de C.V., Tonala 44, Col. Roma, 06700 Mexico D.F., Mexico and Douglas F. John, John & Hengerer, 1200 12th Street, NW., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036–3013. A final decision will be made on this application after the environmental impacts have been evaluated pursuant PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 60703 to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and a determination is made by the DOE on whether the proposed action would adversely impact on the reliability of the U.S. electric power supply system. Copies of this application will be made available, upon request, for public inspection and copying at the address provided above or by accessing the program’s Web site at https:// www.oe.energy.gov/permitting/ electricity_imports_exports.htm. Issued in Washington, DC, on October 10, 2006. Anthony J. Como, Director, Permitting and Siting, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. [FR Doc. E6–17094 Filed 10–13–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL–8231–2; EPA–HQ–Docket ID No. EPA– ORD–2006–0666] Approaches To Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System; External Review Draft Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of peer-review workshop. AGENCY: SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for external scientific peer review, will convene an independent panel of experts and organize and conduct a twoday external peer-review workshop to review the external review draft document titled, ‘‘Approaches to Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System’’ (EPA/600/R–06/069). On September 15, 2006 (71 FR 54481), EPA announced a 30-day public comment period for the draft document. The public comment period ends October 16, 2006. The draft document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA’s Office of Research and Development. The public comment period and the external peer-review workshop are separate processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the document. In addition to consideration by EPA, all public comments submitted in accordance with this notice will also be forwarded to E:\FR\FM\16OCN1.SGM 16OCN1 jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES 60704 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 199 / Monday, October 16, 2006 / Notices EPA’s contractor for the external peerreview panel prior to the workshop. EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of predissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. This draft document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. Versar, Inc., invites the public to register to attend this workshop as observers. In addition, Versar, Inc., invites the public to give oral and/or provide written comments at the workshop regarding the draft document under review. The draft document and EPA’s peer-review charge are available primarily via the Internet on NCEA’s home page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at https://www.epa.gov/ncea. In preparing a final report, EPA intends to consider Versar, Inc.’s report of the comments and recommendations from the external peer-review workshop and any public comments that EPA receives in accordance with this notice. DATES: The peer-review panel workshop will begin on October 26, 2006, at 9 a.m. and end on October 27, 2006, at 5 p.m. The second day of the workshop is closed to the public and to EPA so that the peer-review panel members can consider the draft document and prepare their individual comments. On September 15, 2006, EPA announced a thirty-day public comment period for the draft document, which began September 15, 2006, and ends October 16, 2006 (71 FR 54481). Technical comments should be in writing and must be received by EPA by October 16, 2006. For more information on how to submit comments, please refer to the September 15, 2006, Federal Register notice (71 FR 54481). ADDRESSES: The peer-review workshop will be held at the U.S. EPA, Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC) Building, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268. The EPA contractor, Versar, Inc., is organizing, convening, and conducting the peer-review workshop. To attend the workshop, register by October 20, 2006, by visiting https:// epa.versar.com/waterborne. You can also register by calling Keith E. Drewes at Versar, Inc. (386) 852–8322, sending a facsimile to (386) 322–6051, or sending an e-mail to drewekei@Versar.com. The draft document, ‘‘Approaches to Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne VerDate Aug<31>2005 16:16 Oct 13, 2006 Jkt 211001 Disease Outbreak Surveillance System,’’ is available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment’s home page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at https:// www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available from the Technical Information Staff, NCEACincinnati by telephone: (513) 569–7257 or by facsimile: (513) 569–7916. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing address, and the document title, ‘‘Approaches to Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System.’’ Copies are not available from Versar, Inc. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information, registration, and logistics for the external peer-review workshop should be directed to Keith E. Drewes of Versar, Inc., via e-mail: drewekei@versar.com, telephone: (386) 852–8322, or facsimile: (386) 322–6051. For information on the public comment period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket by telephone: (202) 566–1752, facsimile: (202) 566–1753, or e-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov. If you need technical information about the document, please contact Glenn Rice, National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), by telephone: (513) 569–7813, facsimile: (513) 487–2539, or e-mail: rice.glenn@epa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Summary of Information About the Project/Document Information about waterborne disease outbreaks (WBDOs) in the United States is voluntarily reported by State, territorial and local public health agencies to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC and EPA jointly maintain a WBDO database. The database describes outbreak attributes including, among other things, the drinking water system deficiency, the etiologic agent, and the number of individuals who became ill. Underreporting of such events is assumed but the magnitude of underreporting is unknown. This draft document presents an approach for estimating the epidemiologic and economic burden of disease associated with 665 WBDOs reported in the U.S. between 1971 and 2000. The term disease burden broadly refers to the magnitude of the impact incurred by society as a consequence of PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 disease in the community (e.g., decrements in a population’s health or the associated economic effects) and there are various metrics that can be employed by analysts to quantify burden. In order to capture some of the benefits of drinking water regulations, EPA has typically expressed waterborne disease impacts in terms of epidemiologic and monetary measures; this WBDO burden analysis employs those same measures. Because not all WBDOs in the United States and associated cases of illness are reported, the WBDO database on which this draft document is based is not comprehensive. The extent to which WBDOs are not recognized is unknown and is not examined in this analysis. This draft report develops several quantitative sensitivity analyses to characterize some of the uncertainty in the burden estimates but does not provide an evaluation of the potential impact of under- or overreporting of WBDOs or their associated severity characteristics. The draft report includes recommendations for the collection and reporting of additional outbreak information that would improve the usefulness of the WBDO database for future disease burden estimates. II. Workshop Information Members of the public may attend the workshop as observers, and there will be a limited time for comments from the public in the afternoon. Please let Versar, Inc., know if you wish to make comments during the workshop. Space is limited, and reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The second day of the workshop is closed to the public and to EPA so that the peer-review panel members can consider the draft document and prepare their individual comments. Dated: October 10, 2006. George Alapas, Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment. [FR Doc. E6–17098 Filed 10–13–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA–HQ–OW–2005–0039; FRL–8231–3] Request for Nominations of Drinking Water Contaminants for the Contaminant Candidate List Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting nominations E:\FR\FM\16OCN1.SGM 16OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 199 (Monday, October 16, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60703-60704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17098]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8231-2; EPA-HQ-Docket ID No. EPA-ORD-2006-0666]


Approaches To Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden 
in the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne Disease 
Outbreak Surveillance System; External Review Draft

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of peer-review workshop.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for 
external scientific peer review, will convene an independent panel of 
experts and organize and conduct a two-day external peer-review 
workshop to review the external review draft document titled, 
``Approaches to Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in 
the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne Disease 
Outbreak Surveillance System'' (EPA/600/R-06/069).
    On September 15, 2006 (71 FR 54481), EPA announced a 30-day public 
comment period for the draft document. The public comment period ends 
October 16, 2006. The draft document was prepared by the National 
Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of 
Research and Development.
    The public comment period and the external peer-review workshop are 
separate processes that provide opportunities for all interested 
parties to comment on the document. In addition to consideration by 
EPA, all public comments submitted in accordance with this notice will 
also be forwarded to

[[Page 60704]]

EPA's contractor for the external peer-review panel prior to the 
workshop.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality 
guidelines. This draft document has not been formally disseminated by 
EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any 
Agency policy or determination.
    Versar, Inc., invites the public to register to attend this 
workshop as observers. In addition, Versar, Inc., invites the public to 
give oral and/or provide written comments at the workshop regarding the 
draft document under review. The draft document and EPA's peer-review 
charge are available primarily via the Internet on NCEA's home page 
under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at 
https://www.epa.gov/ncea. In preparing a final report, EPA intends to 
consider Versar, Inc.'s report of the comments and recommendations from 
the external peer-review workshop and any public comments that EPA 
receives in accordance with this notice.

DATES: The peer-review panel workshop will begin on October 26, 2006, 
at 9 a.m. and end on October 27, 2006, at 5 p.m. The second day of the 
workshop is closed to the public and to EPA so that the peer-review 
panel members can consider the draft document and prepare their 
individual comments. On September 15, 2006, EPA announced a thirty-day 
public comment period for the draft document, which began September 15, 
2006, and ends October 16, 2006 (71 FR 54481). Technical comments 
should be in writing and must be received by EPA by October 16, 2006. 
For more information on how to submit comments, please refer to the 
September 15, 2006, Federal Register notice (71 FR 54481).

ADDRESSES: The peer-review workshop will be held at the U.S. EPA, 
Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC) Building, 
26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268. The EPA 
contractor, Versar, Inc., is organizing, convening, and conducting the 
peer-review workshop. To attend the workshop, register by October 20, 
2006, by visiting https://epa.versar.com/waterborne. You can also 
register by calling Keith E. Drewes at Versar, Inc. (386) 852-8322, 
sending a facsimile to (386) 322-6051, or sending an e-mail to 
drewekei@Versar.com.
    The draft document, ``Approaches to Estimating the Waterborne 
Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and Limitations of 
the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System,'' is available 
primarily via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and the Data and 
Publications menus at https://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of 
paper copies are available from the Technical Information Staff, NCEA-
Cincinnati by telephone: (513) 569-7257 or by facsimile: (513) 569-
7916. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, 
mailing address, and the document title, ``Approaches to Estimating the 
Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and 
Limitations of the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System.'' 
Copies are not available from Versar, Inc.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information, 
registration, and logistics for the external peer-review workshop 
should be directed to Keith E. Drewes of Versar, Inc., via e-mail: 
drewekei@versar.com, telephone: (386) 852-8322, or facsimile: (386) 
322-6051.
    For information on the public comment period, contact the Office of 
Environmental Information Docket by telephone: (202) 566-1752, 
facsimile: (202) 566-1753, or e-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
    If you need technical information about the document, please 
contact Glenn Rice, National Center for Environmental Assessment 
(NCEA), by telephone: (513) 569-7813, facsimile: (513) 487-2539, or e-
mail: rice.glenn@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Summary of Information About the Project/Document

    Information about waterborne disease outbreaks (WBDOs) in the 
United States is voluntarily reported by State, territorial and local 
public health agencies to the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC). CDC and EPA jointly maintain a WBDO database. The 
database describes outbreak attributes including, among other things, 
the drinking water system deficiency, the etiologic agent, and the 
number of individuals who became ill. Underreporting of such events is 
assumed but the magnitude of underreporting is unknown.
    This draft document presents an approach for estimating the 
epidemiologic and economic burden of disease associated with 665 WBDOs 
reported in the U.S. between 1971 and 2000. The term disease burden 
broadly refers to the magnitude of the impact incurred by society as a 
consequence of disease in the community (e.g., decrements in a 
population's health or the associated economic effects) and there are 
various metrics that can be employed by analysts to quantify burden. In 
order to capture some of the benefits of drinking water regulations, 
EPA has typically expressed waterborne disease impacts in terms of 
epidemiologic and monetary measures; this WBDO burden analysis employs 
those same measures. Because not all WBDOs in the United States and 
associated cases of illness are reported, the WBDO database on which 
this draft document is based is not comprehensive. The extent to which 
WBDOs are not recognized is unknown and is not examined in this 
analysis. This draft report develops several quantitative sensitivity 
analyses to characterize some of the uncertainty in the burden 
estimates but does not provide an evaluation of the potential impact of 
under- or overreporting of WBDOs or their associated severity 
characteristics. The draft report includes recommendations for the 
collection and reporting of additional outbreak information that would 
improve the usefulness of the WBDO database for future disease burden 
estimates.

II. Workshop Information

    Members of the public may attend the workshop as observers, and 
there will be a limited time for comments from the public in the 
afternoon. Please let Versar, Inc., know if you wish to make comments 
during the workshop. Space is limited, and reservations will be 
accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The second day of the 
workshop is closed to the public and to EPA so that the peer-review 
panel members can consider the draft document and prepare their 
individual comments.

    Dated: October 10, 2006.
George Alapas,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E6-17098 Filed 10-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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