Board of Scientific Counselors, Drinking Water Subcommittee Meetings

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of meetings.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development (ORD), announces two meetings of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Drinking Water Subcommittee.

DATES:

One teleconference call meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 23, 2005, from 12 noon to 2 p.m.. A face-to-face meeting will be held beginning Tuesday, March 29 (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), continuing on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and concluding on Thursday, March 31, 2005 (8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.). All times noted are Eastern Standard Time. Meetings may adjourn early if all business is completed.

ADDRESSES:

Conference calls: Participation in the conference call will be by teleconference only—meeting rooms will not be used. Members of the public may obtain the call-in number and access code for the teleconference meeting from Edie Coates, whose contact information is listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. Face-to-Face Meeting: The face-to-face meeting will be held at the U.S. EPA, Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center, 26 W. Martin Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268.

Document Availability

Draft agendas for the meetings are available from Edie Coates, whose contact information is listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. Requests for the draft agendas will be accepted up to 2 business days prior to each conference call/meeting date. The draft agendas also can be viewed through EDOCKET, as provided in Unit I.A. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

Any member of the public interested in making an oral presentation at the conference call or at the face-to-face meeting may contact Edie Coates, whose contact information is listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. Requests for making oral presentations will be accepted up to 2 business days prior to each conference call/meeting date. In general, each individual making an oral presentation will be limited to a total of three minutes.

Submitting Comments

Written comments may be submitted electronically, by mail, or through hand delivery/courier. Follow the detailed instructions as provided in Unit I.B. of this section. Written comments will be accepted up to 2 business days prior to each conference call/meeting date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Edie Coates, Designated Federal Officer, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Mail Code B105-03, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone (919) 541-3508; fax (919) 541-3335; e-mail coates.edie@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

This notice announces two meetings of the BOSC Drinking Water Subcommittee. The purpose of the meetings are to evaluate EPA's Drinking Water Research Program. Proposed agenda items for the conference call include, but are not limited to: Charge questions, objective of program reviews, and background on the U.S. EPA's Drinking Water Research Program. Proposed agenda items for the face-to-face meeting include, but are not limited to: Presentations by key EPA staff involved in the Drinking Water Research Program, poster sessions on ORD's Drinking Water research, and preparation of the draft report. The conference call and the face-to-face meeting are open to the public.

Information on Services for the Handicapped: Individuals requiring special accommodations at this meeting should contact Edie Coates, Designated Federal Officer, at (919) 541-3508 at least five business days prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made to facilitate their participation.

A. How Can I Get Copies of Related Information?

1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this action under Docket ID No. ORD-2005-0009. The official public docket consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other information related to this action. Documents in the official public docket are listed in the index in EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EDOCKET. Documents are available either electronically or in hard copy. Electronic documents may be viewed through EDOCKET. Hard copies of the draft agendas may be viewed at the Board of Scientific Counselors, Drinking Water Meetings Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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 ORD Docket is (202) 566-1752.

2. Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register document electronically through the EPA Internet under the “Federal Register” listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.

An electronic version of the public docket is available through EDOCKET. You may use EDOCKET at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the appropriate docket identification number (ORD-2005-0009).

For those wishing to make public comments, it is important to note that EPA's policy is that comments, whether submitted electronically or on paper, will be made available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public docket as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, confidential business information (CBI), or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's electronic public docket. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket.

Public comments submitted on computer disks mailed or delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public docket. Written public comments mailed or delivered to the Docket will be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket.

B. How and To Whom Do I Submit Comments?

You may submit comments electronically, by mail, or through hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate docket identification number (ORD-2005-0009) in the subject line on the first page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified comment period.

1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in the body of your comment. Also include this contact information on the outside of any disk or CD ROM you submit, and in any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the comment, and it allows EPA to contact you if further information on the substance of the comment is needed or if your comment cannot be read due to technical difficulties. EPA's policy is that EPA will not edit your comment, and any identifying or contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the comment placed in the official public docket and made available in EPA's electronic public docket. 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.

i. EDOCKET. Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments. Go directly to EDOCKET at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/,, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. To access EPA's electronic public docket from the EPA Internet Home Page, www.epa.gov,, select “Information Sources,” “Dockets,” and “EDOCKET.” Once in the system, select “search,” and then key in Docket ID No. ORD-2005-0009. The system is an anonymous access system, which means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or other contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.

ii. E-mail. Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to ORD.Docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. ORD-2005-0009. In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an anonymous access system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to the docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.

iii. Disk or CD ROM. You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM mailed to the mailing address identified in Unit I.B.2. These electronic submissions will be accepted in Word, WordPerfect or rich text files. Avoid the use of special characters and any form of encryption.

2. By Mail. Send your comments to: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ORD Docket, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Mailcode: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. ORD-2005-0009.

3. By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Room B102, EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID No. ORD-2005-0009 (Note: This is not a mailing address). Such deliveries are only accepted during the docket's normal hours of operation as identified in Unit I.A.1.