[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20974-20976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9097]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9295-7; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-0368]
Implications of Climate Change for Bioassessment Programs and
Approaches To Account for Effects
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
[[Page 20975]]
ACTION: Notice of Peer review Workshop and Public Comment Period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), an
EPA contractor for external scientific peer review, will convene an
independent panel of experts and organize and conduct an external peer
review workshop to review the external review draft report titled,
``Implications of Climate Change for Bioassessment Programs and
Approaches to Account for Effects'' (EPA/600/R-11/036A) and its
supporting document, ``Freshwater Biological Traits Database'' (EPA/
600/R-11/038). The EPA also is announcing a 30-day public comment
period for both documents. These draft documents were prepared by the
National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office
of Research and Development.
The main report identifies the components of state and tribal
bioassessment programs that may be affected by climate change. The
study (1) Investigates the potential to identify biological response
signals to climate change within existing bioassessment data from
Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Utah; (2) analyzes how biological
responses can be categorized and interpreted; and, (3) assesses how the
programs may influence decision-making processes. The study focused on
benthic macroinvertebrates, i.e. animals without backbones that are
larger than the size of a pencil point, which are important indicators
used in bioassessments of shallow rivers and streams. The ultimate
goals of the main report are (1) to provide a foundation for
understanding the potential climatic vulnerability of bioassessment
indicators, and, (2) to advance the development of specific strategies
to ensure the effectiveness of monitoring and management plans under
changing conditions. The results of the study support research needs
and key actions identified in the ``National Water Program Strategy: A
Response to Climate Change'' (U.S. EPA, 2008; http://water.epa.gov/scitech/climatechange/strategy.cfm).
The public comment period and the external peer review workshop are
separate processes that provide opportunities for all interested
parties to comment on the documents. EPA intends to forward public
comments that are submitted in accordance with this notice and received
by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 6, 2011, to the external peer review panel
prior to the meeting for their consideration. When finalizing the draft
documents, EPA will consider all public comments received throughout
the 30-day period in accordance with this notice.
EPA is releasing these draft documents solely for the purpose of
pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality
guidelines. These documents have not been formally disseminated by EPA.
They do not represent and should not be construed to represent any
Agency policy or determination.
ERG invites the public to register to attend this workshop as
observers. In addition, ERG invites the public to give oral and/or
provide written comments at the workshop regarding the draft documents
under review. The draft documents and EPA's peer review charge are
available primarily via the Internet on NCEA's home page under the
Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. In preparing final reports, EPA will consider ERG's
report of the comments and recommendations from the external peer
review workshop and any public comments that EPA receives in accordance
with this notice.
DATES: The peer review panel workshop will begin on Wednesday, May 11,
2011, at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. The 30-day public comment
period begins April 14, 2011, and ends May 16, 2011. Technical comments
should be in writing and must be received by EPA by May 16, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The peer review workshop will be held at the Navy League
Building, 2300 Wilson Boulevard, 1st Floor (Mtg. Rm. to the Left of
Concierge Desk), Arlington, VA 22204. The EPA contractor, ERG, is
organizing, convening, and conducting the peer review workshop. To
attend the workshop, register by Wednesday, May 4, 2011, by calling
ERG's subcontractor LCLM at 301-593-2800 (ask for Diedre Watkins),
sending a facsimile to 301-593-5800 (please reference: ``Bioassessment
peer review workshop'' and include your name, title, affiliation, full
address, and contact information, and whether you wish to make oral
comments), or sending an e-mail to [email protected] (subject line:
``Bioassessment peer review workshop'' and include your name, title,
affiliation, full address, and contact information, and whether you
wish to make oral comments). You may also register via the Internet at
http://www.regonline.com/implicationsofclimatechangeforbioassessmentprogram.
The draft report ``Implications of Climate Change for Bioassessment
Programs and Approaches to Account for Effects'' and its supporting
draft document, ``Freshwater Biological Traits Database,'' are
available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for
Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and the
Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited
number of paper copies are available from the Information Management
Team, NCEA; telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-8691. If you
are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing address,
and the document titles, ``Implications of Climate Change for
Bioassessment Programs and Approaches to Account for Effects'' and
``Freshwater Biological Traits Database.'' Copies are not available
from ERG.
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions as provided in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information,
registration, access, or services for individuals with disabilities, or
logistics for the external peer review workshop should be directed to
ERG's subcontractor, LCLM, 1299 Lamberton Drive, Suite 205, Silver
Spring, MD 20902; telephone: 301-593-2800 (ask for Diedre Watkins);
facsimile: 301-593-5800; e-mail: [email protected] (subject line:
Bioassessment peer-review workshop). To request accommodation of a
disability, please contact LCLM (ask for Diedre Watkins), preferably at
least 10 days prior to the meeting, to give as much time as possible to
process your request.
For information on the public comment period, contact the Office of
Environmental Information Docket; telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile:
202-566-1753; or e-mail: [email protected].
If you need technical information about the document, please
contact Britta Bierwagen, National Center for Environmental Assessment
(NCEA); telephone: 703-347-8613; facsimile: 703-347-8694; or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Summary of Information About the Project/Documents
Bioassessment is used for resource management to determine the
ecological consequences of environmental stressors. All states utilize
some form of bioassessment as part of their implementation of the Clean
Water Act. The report identifies the components of state and tribal
bioassessment programs
[[Page 20976]]
that may be affected by climate change. The study describes biological
responses to changes in temperature, precipitation and flow that will,
in the long term, affect the metrics and indices used to define
ecological status. Not all regions are equally threatened or responsive
because of large-scale variability in climate and other environmental
factors. We found that climatically vulnerable components of
bioassessment programs include:
Assessment design (e.g., multi-metric indices [MMIs],
selection of reference sites and determination of reference condition).
Implementation (e.g., data collection and analysis).
Environmental management (e.g., determination of
impairment and water quality standards).
The main report identifies methods that can assist with detecting
climate change-related effects and analytically controlling them. The
appendices to the main report provide more detailed information on
data, analyses and results, while the supporting document describes the
compilation of a species traits database used in the analyses in the
main report. Implementing the recommendations in the main report will
allow programs to continue to meet their goals for resource protection
and restoration in the context of climate change.
II. Workshop Information
Members of the public may attend the workshop as observers, and
there will be a limited time for comments from the public during the
morning session. Please let ERG's subcontractor, LCLM, know if you wish
to make comments during the workshop. Space is limited, and
reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
III. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at
www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2011-
0368, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-1753.
Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 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. Deliveries are only accepted during the
Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be
made for deliveries of boxed information.
If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit
three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number
pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original
and three copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2011-0368. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless a 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The http://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 http://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: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://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 materials,
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: April 7, 2011.
Darrell A. Winner,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2011-9097 Filed 4-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P