[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 4043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1417]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket Number 100115026-0026-01]


Science Advisory Board; Draft Report of the NOAA Science Advisory 
Board Oceans and Health Working Group

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 of the 
draft report of the SAB Oceans and Health Working Group (here called 
the OHWG) for public comment. The draft report of the OHWG has been 
prepared pursuant to the request initiated from NOAA for an external 
panel of experts to explore opportunities to enhance NOAA's ongoing 
ocean health efforts and their impacts on ecosystem and public health 
and well-being.

DATES: Comments on this draft report must be received by 5 p.m. on 
February 25, 2010.

ADDRESSES: The Draft Report of the OHWG will be available on the NOAA 
Science Advisory Board Web site at http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Reports/ohwg.
    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) 
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: As part of its charge, the OHWG was tasked 
to consider the following questions and any others that the Working 
Group may decide to entertain:
    (1) What are NOAA's unique and important scientific roles in 
addressing ocean health issues?
    (2) What are the right ocean health science questions, products and 
services for NOAA?
    (3) Are there additional ocean health science issues that should be 
included in the NOAA research portfolio? If so, what are these?
    (4) What are the appropriate steps for NOAA to incorporate and 
advance ocean health as part of its core mission?
    (5) How could NOAA more systematically develop ocean health 
products and services to enhance ecosystem, organism, human, and 
community health?
    (6) How can NOAA better integrate among its major programs, 
including activities conducted within the agency and those supported in 
the external community, to better define and assess ocean health 
issues?
    The complete terms of reference for the working group can be found 
at: http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Working_Groups/current/oceans_health/OCEANSHEALTH_TOR_FINAL.pdf.
    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.
    NOAA welcomes all comments on the content of the draft 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 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: January 20, 2010.
Mark E. Brown,
Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-1417 Filed 1-25-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-KD-P