Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public Meeting of the Environmental Economics Advisory Committee Augmented for Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions, 80048-80049 [2010-31999]

Download as PDF 80048 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 21, 2010 / Notices ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL–9241–6] Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of an Upcoming Meeting of the Science Advisory Board; Ecological Processes and Effects Committee Augmented for Ballast Water Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the SAB Ecological Processes and Effects Committee (EPEC). The SAB EPEC, augmented with other experts, will discuss their draft report about the effectiveness of shipboard ballast water treatment processes and ways to improve future assessments of ballast water treatment systems to minimize the impacts of invasive species in vessel ballast water discharge. DATES: The meeting dates are Tuesday, January 25, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) and Wednesday, January 26, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Eastern Time). ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at The Madison Hotel, 1177 15th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to obtain further information about this meeting may contact Ms. Iris Goodman, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Ms. Goodman may be contacted at the EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; or via telephone/voice mail; (202) 564–2164 fax (202) 265–2098; or e-mail at Goodman.iris@gmail.com. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92–463, notice is hereby given that the SAB EPEC augmented with other experts will hold a public meeting to discuss their draft report that responds to charge questions about the effectiveness and reliability of treatment technologies and systems to meet discharge standard that adequately protect waters from the risk of invasion and are protective of Clean Water Act standards. The SAB was established by 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 srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 20:40 Dec 20, 2010 Jkt 223001 chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. 2. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies. Background: Vessel ballast water discharges are a major source of nonidigenous species introductions to marine, estuarine, and freshwater ecosystems of the United States. Ballast water discharges are regulated by EPA under authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the U.S. Coast Guard under authority of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act, as amended (NANPCA). EPA’s Office of Water (OW) has requested SAB review of technical documents and available data on the effectiveness of ballast water treatment systems and advice on improving the performance of such systems. The SAB panel previously met on July 29–30, 2010 and held public teleconferences on October 26, 2010 and November 4, 2010. Additional information about this advisory activity may be found on the SAB Web site at https:// yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/ fedrgstr_activites/ BW%20discharge?OpenDocument. The purpose of the meeting on January 25– 26, 2011 is for the Committee to discuss their draft report. Availability of Meeting Materials: The meeting agenda and other materials in support of the meeting will be posted on the SAB Web site at https:// www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the meeting. Procedures for Providing Public Input: Public comment for consideration by EPA’s Federal Advisory Committees and Panels has a different purpose from public comment provided to EPA program offices. Therefore, the process for submitting comments to a Federal Advisory Committee is different from the process used to submit comments to an EPA Program office. Federal Advisory Committees and panels, including Scientific Advisory Committees, provide independent advice to EPA. Members of the public can submit comments for a Federal Advisory Committee to consider as it develops advice for EPA. They should send their comments directly to the Designated Federal Officer for the Relevant Advisory Committee. 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 Ms. Goodman, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail) at the contact information noted above by January 18, 2011 to be PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 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 January 18, 2011 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 Ms. Goodman 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: December 14, 2010. Anthony F. Maciorowski, Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office. [FR Doc. 2010–32032 Filed 12–20–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL–9241–5 ] Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public Meeting of the Environmental Economics Advisory Committee Augmented for Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the Environmental Economics Advisory Committee Augmented for Mortality Risk Valuation to conduct a review of EPA’s White Paper ‘‘Valuing Mortality Risk Reduction for Environmental Policy’’ (December 10, 2010). DATES: The public meeting will be held on Thursday, January 20, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time) and Friday, January 21, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Eastern Time). SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\21DEN1.SGM 21DEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 21, 2010 / Notices The public meeting will be held at the Madison Hotel, 1177 15th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. ADDRESSES: Any member of the public who wants further information concerning the meeting may contact Dr. Holly Stallworth, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board (1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/ voice mail (202) 564–2073; fax (202) 565–2098; or e-mail at stallworth.holly@epa.gov. General information concerning the SAB can be found on the EPA Web site at https:// www.epa.gov/sab. srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App., notice is hereby given that the SAB Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (EEAC) Augmented for Mortality Risk Valuation will hold a public meeting to discuss the valuation of mortality risk reduction for regulatory analysis. 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 SAB Staff Office procedural policies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a value of statistical life (VSL) to express the benefits of mortality risk reductions in monetary terms for use in benefit cost analyses of its rules and regulations. EPA has used the same central default value (adjusted for inflation) in its primary analyses since 1999 when the Agency updated its Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses (2000). Prior to the release of the Guidelines, EPA sought advice from the Science Advisory Board’s Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (EEAC) on the appropriateness of this estimate and its derivation. In 2000, EPA also requested advice from the SAB EEAC on the appropriateness of making adjustments to VSL estimates to capture risk and population characteristics associated with fatal cancer risks. The SAB responded with the report, ‘‘An SAB Report on EPA’s White Paper Valuing the Benefits of Fatal Cancer Risk Reduction’’ (EPA–SAB–EEAC–00–010), available on the SAB Web site at https:// yosemite.epa.gov/sab/ SABPRODUCT.NSF/ VerDate Mar<15>2010 20:40 Dec 20, 2010 Jkt 223001 41334524148BCCD6852571 A700516498/$File/eeacf013.pdf. In addition, as part of the recent process for updating its guidance on the conduct of benefit cost analysis, EPA embarked on a series of meetings with the SAB–EEAC on issues related to mortality risk valuation. In 2004, the SAB EEAC held a consultation to discuss the robustness of estimates from the mortality risk valuation literature. In 2006, the SAB EEAC reviewed an EPA paper on the application of metaanalysis techniques to deriving estimates for the value of mortality risk reduction as well as a paper on appropriate and available methods for valuing mortality risk reductions when affected populations have relatively short remaining life expectancy. The ‘‘SAB Advisory on EPA’s Issues in Valuing Mortality Risk Reduction’’ (EPA–SAB–08–001) may be found at: https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/ SABPRODUCT.NSF/4128007E7876B8 F0852573760058A978/$File/sab-08001.pdf. EPA’s National Center for Environmental Economics has requested a review of a White Paper that highlights additional key topics related to the valuation of mortality risks reductions. On July 8, 2009 in 74 FR 32607–32608, the SAB Staff Office solicited nominations of experts to augment the EEAC. Thus, for the January 20–21, 2011 meeting, EEAC will be joined by additional experts to review EPA’s White Paper. Key issues described in the white paper include: —Terminology: Replacing the term ‘‘Value of Statistical Life,’’ which has often been misunderstood as a measure of the value of individual lives, with the term ‘‘Value of Mortality Risk Reductions’’ (VMR). This change in terminology should help to avoid some of the confusion surrounding the interpretation of the VSL. It would not affect the results of the analysis itself, but rather how the benefits of reduced risks are reported and described. —Cancer Differential: Taking into account potential differences in how much people are willing to pay for reductions in their risks of dying from cancer relative to other causes when estimating the benefits of policies that reduce exposure to cancer-causing pollutants. —Altruistic Effects: Taking into account potential differences in individuals’ willingness to pay for ‘‘public’’ risk reductions that may affect many people (such as reductions of pollution to public drinking water) relative to their willingness to pay for PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 80049 ‘‘private’’ risk reductions that only affect the individual (such as choosing to install a water filter in one’s home). Many of the published estimates of willingness to pay are for private risk reductions, but since EPA regulations generally result in ‘‘public’’ risk reductions, accounting for these differences when estimating benefits could be important. Technical Contacts: Any questions concerning EPA’s White Paper should be directed to Dr. Nathalie Simon, NCEE, at (202) 566–2347 or simon.nathalie@epa.gov. Availability of Meeting Materials: EPA’s White Paper may be found posted at https://yosemite.epa.gov/ee/epa/ eerm.nsf/vwAN/EE-0563-1.pdf/$file/ EE-0563-1.pdf. A meeting agenda, charge questions, a roster for the EEAC Augmented for Mortality Risk Valuation and other materials for the meeting will be placed on the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab. Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the public may submit relevant written or oral information for consideration on the topics included in this advisory activity. Oral Statements: To be placed on the public speaker list for the January 20– 21, 2011 meeting, interested parties should notify Dr. Holly Stallworth, DFO, by e-mail no later than January 14, 2011. Individuals making oral statements will be limited to three minutes per speaker. Written Statements: Written statements for the meeting should be received in the SAB Staff Office by January 14, 2011 so that the information may be made available to the SAB Panel for its consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements should be supplied to the DFO via email (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, MS Word, WordPerfect, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM–PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format). Accessibility: For information on access or services for individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Stallworth at the phone number or email 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: December 15, 2010. Anthony F. Maciorowski, Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office. [FR Doc. 2010–31999 Filed 12–20–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P E:\FR\FM\21DEN1.SGM 21DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80048-80049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31999]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9241-5 ]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public 
Meeting of the Environmental Economics Advisory Committee Augmented for 
Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the 
Environmental Economics Advisory Committee Augmented for Mortality Risk 
Valuation to conduct a review of EPA's White Paper ``Valuing Mortality 
Risk Reduction for Environmental Policy'' (December 10, 2010).

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Thursday, January 20, 2011 
from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time) and Friday, January 21, 2011 
from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Eastern Time).

[[Page 80049]]


ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Madison Hotel, 1177 
15th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants 
further information concerning the meeting may contact Dr. Holly 
Stallworth, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory 
Board (1400R), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1300 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice mail (202) 564-
2073; fax (202) 565-2098; or e-mail at stallworth.holly@epa.gov. 
General information concerning the SAB can be found on the EPA Web site 
at https://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App., notice is hereby 
given that the SAB Environmental Economics Advisory Committee (EEAC) 
Augmented for Mortality Risk Valuation will hold a public meeting to 
discuss the valuation of mortality risk reduction for regulatory 
analysis. 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 SAB Staff Office 
procedural policies.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a value of 
statistical life (VSL) to express the benefits of mortality risk 
reductions in monetary terms for use in benefit cost analyses of its 
rules and regulations. EPA has used the same central default value 
(adjusted for inflation) in its primary analyses since 1999 when the 
Agency updated its Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses (2000). 
Prior to the release of the Guidelines, EPA sought advice from the 
Science Advisory Board's Environmental Economics Advisory Committee 
(EEAC) on the appropriateness of this estimate and its derivation. In 
2000, EPA also requested advice from the SAB EEAC on the 
appropriateness of making adjustments to VSL estimates to capture risk 
and population characteristics associated with fatal cancer risks. The 
SAB responded with the report, ``An SAB Report on EPA's White Paper 
Valuing the Benefits of Fatal Cancer Risk Reduction'' (EPA-SAB-EEAC-00-
010), available on the SAB Web site at https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/
SABPRODUCT.NSF/41334524148BCCD6852571A700516498/$File/eeacf013.pdf.
    In addition, as part of the recent process for updating its 
guidance on the conduct of benefit cost analysis, EPA embarked on a 
series of meetings with the SAB-EEAC on issues related to mortality 
risk valuation. In 2004, the SAB EEAC held a consultation to discuss 
the robustness of estimates from the mortality risk valuation 
literature. In 2006, the SAB EEAC reviewed an EPA paper on the 
application of meta-analysis techniques to deriving estimates for the 
value of mortality risk reduction as well as a paper on appropriate and 
available methods for valuing mortality risk reductions when affected 
populations have relatively short remaining life expectancy. The ``SAB 
Advisory on EPA's Issues in Valuing Mortality Risk Reduction'' (EPA-
SAB-08-001) may be found at: https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/
SABPRODUCT.NSF/4128007E7876B8F0852573760058A978/$File/sab-08-001.pdf.
    EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics has requested a 
review of a White Paper that highlights additional key topics related 
to the valuation of mortality risks reductions. On July 8, 2009 in 74 
FR 32607-32608, the SAB Staff Office solicited nominations of experts 
to augment the EEAC. Thus, for the January 20-21, 2011 meeting, EEAC 
will be joined by additional experts to review EPA's White Paper. Key 
issues described in the white paper include:

--Terminology: Replacing the term ``Value of Statistical Life,'' which 
has often been misunderstood as a measure of the value of individual 
lives, with the term ``Value of Mortality Risk Reductions'' (VMR). This 
change in terminology should help to avoid some of the confusion 
surrounding the interpretation of the VSL. It would not affect the 
results of the analysis itself, but rather how the benefits of reduced 
risks are reported and described.
--Cancer Differential: Taking into account potential differences in how 
much people are willing to pay for reductions in their risks of dying 
from cancer relative to other causes when estimating the benefits of 
policies that reduce exposure to cancer-causing pollutants.
--Altruistic Effects: Taking into account potential differences in 
individuals' willingness to pay for ``public'' risk reductions that may 
affect many people (such as reductions of pollution to public drinking 
water) relative to their willingness to pay for ``private'' risk 
reductions that only affect the individual (such as choosing to install 
a water filter in one's home). Many of the published estimates of 
willingness to pay are for private risk reductions, but since EPA 
regulations generally result in ``public'' risk reductions, accounting 
for these differences when estimating benefits could be important.

    Technical Contacts: Any questions concerning EPA's White Paper 
should be directed to Dr. Nathalie Simon, NCEE, at (202) 566-2347 or 
simon.nathalie@epa.gov.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: EPA's White Paper may be found 
posted at https://yosemite.epa.gov/ee/epa/eerm.nsf/vwAN/EE-0563-1.pdf/
$file/ EE-0563-1.pdf. A meeting agenda, charge questions, a roster for 
the EEAC Augmented for Mortality Risk Valuation and other materials for 
the meeting will be placed on the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for 
consideration on the topics included in this advisory activity. Oral 
Statements: To be placed on the public speaker list for the January 20-
21, 2011 meeting, interested parties should notify Dr. Holly 
Stallworth, DFO, by e-mail no later than January 14, 2011. Individuals 
making oral statements will be limited to three minutes per speaker. 
Written Statements: Written statements for the meeting should be 
received in the SAB Staff Office by January 14, 2011 so that the 
information may be made available to the SAB Panel for its 
consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements should be 
supplied to the DFO via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat 
PDF, MS Word, WordPerfect, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format).
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Stallworth 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: December 15, 2010.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
 Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-31999 Filed 12-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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