[Federal Register: November 17, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 220)]
[Notices]
[Page 59183]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17no09-59]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OEI-2009-0795, FRL-8976-8]
Office of Environmental Information; Announcement of Availability
and Comment Period for Revised Environmental Sampling, Analysis and
Results Data Standards (ESAR)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of data availability and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: Notice of availability for a 30 day review and comment period
is hereby given for six revised data standards--Well Information Data
Standard, ESAR: Field Activity, ESAR: Monitoring Location, ESAR:
Analysis and Results, ESAR: Project and Quality Assurance and Quality
Control Data Standards.
ESAR, along with the suite of related data standards, enhances the
availability and exchange of monitoring data used for environmental
decision-making. Biological related data elements are largely missing
from ESAR and given the importance and interest in these data, the
Environmental Council of States (ECOS) and US EPA worked together to
adapt/incorporate two Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI)
approved standards into ESAR.
The ACWI approved Water Quality Data Elements for Reporting Results
of Populations/Community Biological Assessments and Toxicity Test
Analyses (TOX and POP) has been adapted for inclusion in ESAR
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 17, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OEI-2009-0795 by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
E-mail: oei-docket@epa.gov
Fax: 202-566-1753
Mail: Announcement of Availability and Comment Period for
Revised, Environmental Sampling, Analysis and Results Data Standards
(ESAR), Environmental Protection Agency, Mail code: 2822T, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total of
four copies.
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include
a total of four copies. Such deliveries are only accepted during the
Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be
made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2009-0795. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your e-mail
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. 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. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket, EPA/DC, EPA
West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The
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 OEI
Docket is (202) 566-1752.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Pendleton, Information
Exchange & Services Division, Office of Environmental Information, U.S.
EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., MC 2823T; Washington, DC 20460; phone
202-566-1658; fax 202-566-1684; e-mail: Pendleton.michael@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Standards are intended for use in
environmental data exchange among States, Tribal entities and U.S. EPA.
They are not meant to dictate or limit data an agency chooses to
collect for its own internal purposes. Adoption of a data standard
should be interpreted to mean that revisions to databases or
information systems are required. What the adoption does mean is that
formats for sharing data with Exchange Network (EN) partners will
change because the EN has adopted Shared Schema Components (SSCs) based
on the data standards. The SSCs are available on the Exchange Network
Web site at: http://www.exchangenetwork.net.
The revised data standards are available through the Docket system
as indicated above and at: http://www.epa.gov/datastandards, and http:/
/www.exchangenetwork.net/standards.
Dated: October 8, 2009.
Connie Dwyer,
Director, Information Exchange & Services Division.
[FR Doc. E9-27605 Filed 11-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P