Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Drinking Water Committee, 41697-41698 [E9-19752]

Download as PDF jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Notices quality standards. Nutrients (i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus) have been one of the leading causes of surface water quality impairment in the U.S. Therefore, development of numeric nutrient criteria and assisting States in the adoption of numeric nutrient criteria into their water quality standards is a high priority for OW. EPA published peer reviewed technical guidance for developing nutrient criteria for lakes and reservoirs in April 2000, rivers and streams in July 2000, estuaries and coastal marine waters in October 2001, and Wetlands in June 2008. These guidance documents are available at the following Web site at https:// www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/ nutrient/guidance/. The basic analytical approaches for nutrient criteria derivation described in these previously published guidance documents include: (1) The reference condition approach, (2) stressorresponse analysis, and (3) mechanistic modeling. Because many states are currently pursuing the use of empirically-derived stressor-response relationships as the basis for developing numeric nutrient endpoints for water quality standards, OW has developed the draft guidance document, Empirical Approaches for Nutrient Criteria Derivation, to augment EPA’s published guidance manuals. OW has asked the Science Advisory Board to review the draft guidance document and comment on the technical soundness of proposed empirical approaches as the basis for future development of numeric nutrient criteria. On April 27, 2009 the SAB Staff Office published a Federal Register Notice (74 FR 19084–19085) requesting public nominations of scientists in fields such as ecology, biology, environmental science, risk assessment, statistics, and zoology to augment the SAB Ecological Processes and Effects Committee. In particular, the SAB Staff Office requested nominations of scientists with specialized knowledge and expertise in the use of empiricallyderived stressor-response relationships to develop nutrient assessment endpoints. The augmented Ecological Processes and Effects Committee will conduct the review of EPA’s draft Empirical Approaches for Nutrient Criteria Derivation. Availability of Meeting Materials: The meeting agenda, SAB Committee roster, charge to the Committee, and other meeting material will be posted on the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the meeting. Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the public may submit relevant written or oral VerDate Nov<24>2008 16:30 Aug 17, 2009 Jkt 217001 information on the topic of this advisory activity, and/or the group conducting the activity, for the SAB to consider during the advisory process. Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a public meeting will be limited to five minutes per speaker. Interested parties should contact Dr. Armitage, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail) at the contact information noted above by September 1, 2009 to be placed on a list of public speakers for the meeting. Written Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff Office no later than September 4, 2009 so that the information may be made available to the SAB Committee members for their consideration. Written statements should be supplied to the DFO in the following formats: One hard copy with original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM–PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format). Submitters are requested to provide two versions of each document submitted with and without signatures, because the SAB Staff Office does not publish documents with signatures on its Web sites. Accessibility: For information on access or services for individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Armitage at the phone number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten days prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request. Dated: August 11, 2009. Anthony F. Maciorowski, Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office. [FR Doc. E9–19759 Filed 8–17–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL–8946–6] Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Drinking Water Committee AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public face-to-face meeting of the SAB Drinking Water Committee (DWC) to provide advice on the Agency’s draft PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 41697 Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media and to discuss its draft advisory report on the Agency’s supporting analysis for the proposed revised Total Coliform Rule. DATES: The SAB will hold the public face-to-face meeting on September 21, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time) and will continue on September 22, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Eastern Time). ADDRESSES: The September 21–22, 2009 face-to-face meeting will be held at the SAB Conference Center, 1025 F Street, NW., Room 3705, Washington, DC 20004. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to obtain general information concerning this public meeting should contact Mr. Aaron Yeow, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice mail: (202) 343–9878; fax: (202) 233–0643; or e-mail at yeow.aaron@epa.gov. General information concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found on the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/ sab. Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C., App. 2 (FACA), notice is hereby given that the SAB Drinking Water Committee (DWC) will hold a public meeting to provide advice on the Agency’s draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media and to discuss its draft advisory report on the Agency’s supporting analysis for the proposed revised Total Coliform Rule. The SAB was established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent scientific and technical advice to the Administrator on the technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The SAB is a Federal Advisory Committee chartered under FACA. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate EPA and SAB Staff Office procedural policies. Background: EPA’s Office of Water (OW) is responsible for protecting human health and the environment from contaminants in water. To achieve this goal, OW conducts risk assessments that apply scientific principles and methods to determine the nature and magnitude of health risks from contaminant exposures. OW performs microbial risk assessments (MRA) to support new regulations for microbial SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\18AUN1.SGM 18AUN1 jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES 41698 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Notices pathogens in drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). MRAs also support the development of healthbased ambient water quality criteria and biosolids criteria under the Clean Water Act (CWA). These criteria protect against adverse human exposures to infectious disease microorganisms in recreational waters, shellfish growing waters, and wastewater biosolids. Because of the importance of MRAs, OW developed a Microbial Risk Assessment Framework and is developing a draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media to provide Agency guidance for performing microbial risk assessments. Current Agency risk assessment guidance is geared towards chemical risk assessment. MRAs do not fit easily within that framework because of microbial and host factors that do not affect chemical risk assessments. A separate protocol is needed to help risk assessors address these factors in a consistent way. The draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media will be used as guidance for preparing qualitative or quantitative MRAs for recreational water exposures, evaluation of biosolids application to land, and drinking water regulation development applications. OW may also make the Protocol available to States, nongovernmental organizations, and international agencies to use in conducting risk assessments related to water media. In addition to supporting new regulations under the SDWA and supporting the development of criteria under the CWA, the MRA Protocol may also be used for a number of different applications such as assessing the potential human health risks associated with a known pathogen, determining critical control points for risk mitigation/control measures, identifying and prioritizing research and development, assisting in epidemiological investigations, and determining consequences of management options to reduce risk. The Office of Water is requesting that the SAB provide advice on the draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media and to provide recommendations on: how to improve the overall approach, the applicability of the Protocol, the reasonableness of the protocol, the clarity of the Protocol, the completeness and robustness of the protocol, and the ease of use of the Protocol for conducting water-based microbial risk assessments. VerDate Nov<24>2008 17:38 Aug 17, 2009 Jkt 217001 The SAB DWC will also discuss its draft advisory report on the Agency’s supporting analysis for the proposed revised Total Coliform Rule during this meeting. The Committee met previously on May 20, 2009 and on June 9–June 10, 2009 to deliberate on the Agency’s charge questions regarding the supporting analysis. A Federal Register Notice dated May 1, 2009 (74 FR 20297– 20298) announced these meetings and provided background information on this advisory activity. Availability of Meeting Materials: The meeting agenda and other materials, including a link to access the EPA review document(s) related to the draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media and draft advisory report on the Agency’s supporting analysis for the proposed revised Total Coliform Rule, will be posted on the SAB Web site (https://www.epa.gov/sab) in advance of the meeting. For questions and information concerning the Agency’s documents relating to the Protocol, please contact Dr. Stephen Schaub at (202) 566–1126 or schaub.stephen@epa.gov. For questions and information concerning the SAB’s draft advisory report on EPA’s proposed Total Coliform Rule revisions, please contact Dr. Suhair Shallal at (202) 343– 9977 or shallal.suhair@epa.gov. Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the public may submit relevant written or oral information for the SAB to consider on the topics included in this advisory activity and/or group conducting the activity. Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a public SAB face-to-face meeting will be limited to five minutes, with no more than a total of one hour for all speakers. To be placed on the public speaker list for the Microbial Risk Assessment Protocol, interested parties should contact Mr. Aaron Yeow, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail), by September 14, 2009 at the contact information noted above. To be placed on the public speaker list for the draft SAB advisory report on the Total Coliform Rule revisions, interested parties should contact Dr. Suhair Shallal, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail), by September 14, 2009 at the contact information noted above. Written Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff Office by September 14, 2009, so that the information may be made available to the SAB for their consideration prior to the face-to-face meeting. Written statements on the Microbial Risk Assessment Protocol should be supplied to the DFO via e- PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 mail to yeow.aaron@epa.gov and written statements on the draft SAB advisory report on the Total Coliform Rule Revisions should be supplied to the DFO via e-mail to shallal.suhair@epa.gov (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM–PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format). Submitters are requested to provide two versions of each document submitted with and without signatures, because the SAB Staff Office does not publish documents with signatures on its Web sites. Accessibility: For information on access or services for individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Aaron Yeow at (202) 343–9878 or yeow.aaron@epa.gov. To request accommodation of a disability, please contact Mr. Yeow preferably at least ten days prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request. Dated: August 6, 2009. Anthony F. Maciorowski, Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office. [FR Doc. E9–19752 Filed 8–17–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications, Comments Requested AGENCY: Federal Communications Commision SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520) Public Law No. 104–13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. Subject to the PRA, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission’s burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance E:\FR\FM\18AUN1.SGM 18AUN1

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[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 158 (Tuesday, August 18, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41697-41698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-19752]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8946-6]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Meeting of 
the Science Advisory Board Drinking Water Committee

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public face-to-face meeting of the 
SAB Drinking Water Committee (DWC) to provide advice on the Agency's 
draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human Health 
Protection for Water-Based Media and to discuss its draft advisory 
report on the Agency's supporting analysis for the proposed revised 
Total Coliform Rule.

DATES: The SAB will hold the public face-to-face meeting on September 
21, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time) and will continue on 
September 22, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The September 21-22, 2009 face-to-face meeting will be held 
at the SAB Conference Center, 1025 F Street, NW., Room 3705, 
Washington, DC 20004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to 
obtain general information concerning this public meeting should 
contact Mr. Aaron Yeow, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science 
Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice 
mail: (202) 343-9878; fax: (202) 233-0643; or e-mail at 
yeow.aaron@epa.gov. General information concerning the EPA Science 
Advisory Board can be found on the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act, 5 U.S.C., App. 2 (FACA), notice is hereby given that the SAB 
Drinking Water Committee (DWC) will hold a public meeting to provide 
advice on the Agency's draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to 
Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media and to discuss 
its draft advisory report on the Agency's supporting analysis for the 
proposed revised Total Coliform Rule. The SAB was established pursuant 
to 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent scientific and technical 
advice to the Administrator on the technical basis for Agency positions 
and regulations. The SAB is a Federal Advisory Committee chartered 
under FACA. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all 
appropriate EPA and SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    Background: EPA's Office of Water (OW) is responsible for 
protecting human health and the environment from contaminants in water. 
To achieve this goal, OW conducts risk assessments that apply 
scientific principles and methods to determine the nature and magnitude 
of health risks from contaminant exposures. OW performs microbial risk 
assessments (MRA) to support new regulations for microbial

[[Page 41698]]

pathogens in drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). 
MRAs also support the development of health-based ambient water quality 
criteria and biosolids criteria under the Clean Water Act (CWA). These 
criteria protect against adverse human exposures to infectious disease 
microorganisms in recreational waters, shellfish growing waters, and 
wastewater biosolids.
    Because of the importance of MRAs, OW developed a Microbial Risk 
Assessment Framework and is developing a draft Protocol for Microbial 
Risk Assessment to Support Human Health Protection for Water-Based 
Media to provide Agency guidance for performing microbial risk 
assessments. Current Agency risk assessment guidance is geared towards 
chemical risk assessment. MRAs do not fit easily within that framework 
because of microbial and host factors that do not affect chemical risk 
assessments. A separate protocol is needed to help risk assessors 
address these factors in a consistent way.
    The draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human 
Health Protection for Water-Based Media will be used as guidance for 
preparing qualitative or quantitative MRAs for recreational water 
exposures, evaluation of biosolids application to land, and drinking 
water regulation development applications. OW may also make the 
Protocol available to States, non-governmental organizations, and 
international agencies to use in conducting risk assessments related to 
water media. In addition to supporting new regulations under the SDWA 
and supporting the development of criteria under the CWA, the MRA 
Protocol may also be used for a number of different applications such 
as assessing the potential human health risks associated with a known 
pathogen, determining critical control points for risk mitigation/
control measures, identifying and prioritizing research and 
development, assisting in epidemiological investigations, and 
determining consequences of management options to reduce risk.
    The Office of Water is requesting that the SAB provide advice on 
the draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support Human 
Health Protection for Water-Based Media and to provide recommendations 
on: how to improve the overall approach, the applicability of the 
Protocol, the reasonableness of the protocol, the clarity of the 
Protocol, the completeness and robustness of the protocol, and the ease 
of use of the Protocol for conducting water-based microbial risk 
assessments.
    The SAB DWC will also discuss its draft advisory report on the 
Agency's supporting analysis for the proposed revised Total Coliform 
Rule during this meeting. The Committee met previously on May 20, 2009 
and on June 9-June 10, 2009 to deliberate on the Agency's charge 
questions regarding the supporting analysis. A Federal Register Notice 
dated May 1, 2009 (74 FR 20297-20298) announced these meetings and 
provided background information on this advisory activity.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The meeting agenda and other 
materials, including a link to access the EPA review document(s) 
related to the draft Protocol for Microbial Risk Assessment to Support 
Human Health Protection for Water-Based Media and draft advisory report 
on the Agency's supporting analysis for the proposed revised Total 
Coliform Rule, will be posted on the SAB Web site (https://www.epa.gov/sab) in advance of the meeting. For questions and information 
concerning the Agency's documents relating to the Protocol, please 
contact Dr. Stephen Schaub at (202) 566-1126 or schaub.stephen@epa.gov. 
For questions and information concerning the SAB's draft advisory 
report on EPA's proposed Total Coliform Rule revisions, please contact 
Dr. Suhair Shallal at (202) 343-9977 or shallal.suhair@epa.gov.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the SAB to 
consider on the topics included in this advisory activity and/or group 
conducting the activity. Oral Statements: In general, individuals or 
groups requesting an oral presentation at a public SAB face-to-face 
meeting will be limited to five minutes, with no more than a total of 
one hour for all speakers. To be placed on the public speaker list for 
the Microbial Risk Assessment Protocol, interested parties should 
contact Mr. Aaron Yeow, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail), by 
September 14, 2009 at the contact information noted above. To be placed 
on the public speaker list for the draft SAB advisory report on the 
Total Coliform Rule revisions, interested parties should contact Dr. 
Suhair Shallal, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail), by September 
14, 2009 at the contact information noted above.
    Written Statements: Written statements should be received in the 
SAB Staff Office by September 14, 2009, so that the information may be 
made available to the SAB for their consideration prior to the face-to-
face meeting. Written statements on the Microbial Risk Assessment 
Protocol should be supplied to the DFO via e-mail to yeow.aaron@epa.gov 
and written statements on the draft SAB advisory report on the Total 
Coliform Rule Revisions should be supplied to the DFO via e-mail to 
shallal.suhair@epa.gov (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, 
WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format). Submitters are requested to provide two 
versions of each document submitted with and without signatures, 
because the SAB Staff Office does not publish documents with signatures 
on its Web sites.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Aaron Yeow at (202) 
343-9878 or yeow.aaron@epa.gov. To request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact Mr. Yeow preferably at least ten days prior 
to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your 
request.

    Dated: August 6, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-19752 Filed 8-17-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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