[Federal Register: August 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 161)]
[Notices]
[Page 48546-48547]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21au06-61]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8211-5]
Notification of a Public Meeting of the Science Advisory Board
Environmental Economics Advisory Committee
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is
announcing a public meeting of the SAB Environmental Economics Advisory
Committee (EEAC) to discuss the valuation of mortality risk reduction.
DATES: The meeting will be held from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (EST) on September
14, 2006 and from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. (EST) on September 15, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the SAB Conference Center
located at 1025 F Street, NW., Suite 3700, Washington, DC 20004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing
further information regarding the public meeting may contact Dr. Holly
Stallworth, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), U.S. EPA Science Advisory
Board Staff Office by telephone/voice mail at (202) 343-9867, or via e-
mail at stallworth.holly@epa.gov. The SAB mailing address is: U.S. EPA,
Science Advisory Board (1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460. General information about the SAB, as well as any
updates concerning the meeting announced in this notice, may be found
in the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab. The technical contact
for EPA's work on valuing mortality risk reduction is Dr. Chris Dockins
who may be reached at (202) 566-2286 or dockins.chris@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the SAB
Environmental Economics Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting
to discuss appropriate methods for valuing mortality risks in the
context of cost-benefit analysis. The EEAC will be augmented by
economists from the chartered Science Advisory Board as well as the
Advisory Council on Clean Air Compliance Analysis. 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
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended,
5 U.S.C., App. The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
Background: 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
(SAB-EEAC) on the appropriateness of this estimate and its derivation.
In 2000, EPA also consulted with the SAB-EEAC on the appropriateness of
making adjustments to VSL estimates to capture risk and population
characteristics associated with fatal cancer risks. On May 12-13, 2004,
the Environmental Economics Advisory Committee held a consultation to
discuss the robustness of estimates from the mortality risk valuation
literature.
EPA is now in the process of revising and updating its Guidelines
and as such would like additional guidance on its approach to valuing
mortality risk reductions. The EEAC has been asked to review two papers
related to this topic. The first paper (posted at http://yosemite.epa.gov/EE/epa/eerm.nsf/vwRepNumLookup/EE-0494?OpenDocument
)
addresses the application of meta analysis techniques to the derivation
of estimates for mortality risk reduction. A second paper discusses
appropriate and available methods for valuing mortality risk reductions
when affected populations have varying life expectancies. This paper
will be posted at http://yosemite.epa.gov/EE/epa/eerm.nsf/vwRepNumLookup/EE-0495?OpenDocument
.
Availability of Meeting Materials: Materials in support of this
meeting will be placed on the SAB Web Site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/
in advance of this meeting.
Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the
public may submit relevant written or oral information 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, with no more than a total of one hour for all speakers.
Interested parties should contact Dr. Stallworth, DFO, at the contact
information noted above, by August 31, 2006, to be placed on the public
speaker list for the September 14-15, 2006 meeting.
Written Statements: Written statements should be received in the
SAB Staff Office by August 31, so that the information may be made
available to the SAB for their consideration prior to this meeting.
Written statements
[[Page 48547]]
should be supplied to the DFO in the following formats: one hard copy
with original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail to
stallworth.holly@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).
Meeting Access: For information on access or services for
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Stallworth at (202)
343-9867 or stallworth.holly@epa.gov. To request accommodation of a
disability, please contact Dr. Stallworth, preferably at least 10 days
prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time as possible to process
your request.
Dated: August 11, 2006.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Associate Director for Science, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff
Office.
[FR Doc. E6-13744 Filed 8-18-06; 8:45 am]
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