[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 29482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11145]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket Number: 080513661-8662-01]


The Draft Report of the NOAA Science Advisory Board Working Group 
To Examine Advisory Options for Improving Communications Among NOAA's 
Partners

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce 
(DOC).

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: NOAA Research (OAR) publishes this notice on behalf of the 
NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB) to announce the availability for 
public comment of the draft report of the SAB Working Group to Examine 
Advisory Options for Improving Communications among NOAA's Partners 
(here called the Partnerships Working Group).

DATES: Comments on this preliminary report must be received by 5 p.m. 
EDT June 20, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The Draft Report of the Working Group will be available on 
the NOAA Science Advisory Board Web site at http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Reports/.
    The public is encouraged to submit comments electronically to 
[email protected]. For individuals who do not have access to 
the Internet, comments may be submitted in writing to: NOAA Science 
Advisory Board (SAB) c/o Dr. Cynthia Decker, 1315 East-West Highway-R/
SAB, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Cynthia Decker, Executive 
Director, Science Advisory Board, NOAA, 1315 East-West Highway-R/SAB, 
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. (Phone: 301-734-1156, Fax: 301-734-1459, 
E-mail: [email protected]) during normal business hours of 9 a.m. 
to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, or visit the NOAA SAB 
Web site at http://www.sab.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The preliminary report of the Partnerships 
Working Group has been drafted pursuant to the request initiated by the 
NOAA Science Advisory Board and approved by the Under Secretary of 
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, to examine advisory options for 
improving communications among the various public, private, and 
academic entities engaged in environmental information matters. The 
Terms of Reference for the Working Group can be found on the SAB Web 
site at http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Working_Groups/current/partnerships/PWG_terms.pdf.
    This report was prepared in response to the charge to the working 
group to examine advisory options including: Expanded use of existing 
NOAA Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committees and/or the 
National Research Council; changing the structure and/or re-chartering 
the existing NOAA FACA committees, including the SAB, into new FACA 
committees or some combinations of approaches. With input from the 
appropriate offices in NOAA and the Department of Commerce, the PWG 
members debated the various options available, ranging from ad hoc 
meetings at various venues on an irregular basis to establishment of a 
formal federal advisory committee to NOAA. The group considered the 
strengths and weaknesses of all these options but agreed that NOAA 
should create a formal and clear mechanism to ensure that a wide 
variety of external stakeholders can provide advice and receive 
feedback from the agency. The PWG recommended that NOAA use a 
combination of approaches, starting with establishment of a Working 
Group under the Science Advisory Board to immediately address concerns 
from the external weather community, assess the success of this 
approach after 1-2 years, and consider at that time whether to 
establish a separate federal advisory committee with a mandate for the 
broader environmental services enterprise. The terms of reference for 
the proposed standing Working Group are included in the appendix of the 
report.
    The Working Group will consider public comments on the draft report 
and incorporate them, as appropriate, in the final report to be 
delivered to the SAB.
    The SAB is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and 
is the only Federal Advisory Committee with the responsibility to 
advise the Under Secretary on long- and short-term strategies for 
research, education, and application of science to resource management 
and environmental assessment and prediction.
    The SAB welcomes all comments on the content of the preliminary 
report. We also request comments on any inconsistencies perceived 
within the report, and possible omissions of important topics or 
issues. This draft report is being issued for comment only and is not 
intended for interim use. For any shortcoming noted within the 
preliminary report, please propose specific remedies. Suggested changes 
will be incorporated where appropriate, and a final report will be 
posted on the SAB Web site.
    Please follow these instructions for preparing and submitting 
comments. Using the format guidance described below will facilitate the 
processing of comments and assure that all comments are appropriately 
considered. Overview comments should be provided first and should be 
numbered. Comments that are specific to particular pages, paragraphs or 
lines of the section should follow any overview comments and should 
identify the page and line numbers to which they apply. Please number 
each page of your comments.

    Dated: May 14, 2008.
Mark E. Brown,
Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-11145 Filed 5-20-08; 8:45 am]
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