[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 46 (Friday, March 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10752-10753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4294]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OW-2007-0019; FRL-8285-7]
Draft National Coastal Condition Report III
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Notice of availability is hereby given for a 60-day public
comment period on the draft National Coastal Condition Report III
describing the condition of the Nation's coastal waters. Coastal waters
are valuable from both an environmental and economic perspective. These
waters are vulnerable to pollution from diverse sources. EPA expects
this report will increase public awareness of the extent and
seriousness of pollution and advance efforts to protect and restore
coastal waters. EPA seeks public input concerning the information in
the report, the availability of additional data, and the
appropriateness of conclusions drawn from the information presented.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 8, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2007-0019, by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
E-mail: [email protected],
Mail: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Environmental Protection Agency,
Water Docket,
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery: EPA/DC, Water Docket, Environmental Protection
Agency, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC 20004. 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-OW-2007-
0019. 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 or e-mail.
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
[[Page 10753]]
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 Water 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 Water
Docket is (202) 566-2426.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Burgan, Ocean and Coastal
Protection Division, Office of Water, 4504T, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, telephone
number: 202-566-1242; fax number: 202-566-1336; e-mail address:
[email protected] or Virginia Engle, Gulf Ecology Division, Office
of Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine
Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, Florida 32561; telephone number: (850) 934-
9354; fax number: (850) 934-9201; e-mail address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
General Information
In 2001, the first National Coastal Condition Report was released,
characterizing about 70% of the estuarine resources of the United
States. Using available data from 1990-1996, EPA, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) determined that the Nation's estuarine resources
were in fair condition and presented this information in the first
Report. The second National Coastal Condition Report, released in 2005,
described the condition of 100% of the Nation's estuaries in the
contiguous 48 states and Puerto Rico. This third edition of the
National Coastal Condition Report serves as a continuing foundation for
the Nation's efforts to protect, manage, and restore coastal
ecosystems. Four Federal agencies (EPA, NOAA, USGS and the USFWS) and
several state and regional/local organizations have come together to
report on the current condition of the Nation's coasts.
The draft National Coastal Condition Report III describes the
condition of coastal waters based on several available data sets from
different agencies and areas of the country and summarizes them to
present a continuing picture of the condition of coastal waters.
Although the data sets presented do not cover all coastal areas (e.g.,
no data were collected in Alaska other than south central Alaska and
the Trust Territories), they do provide a multi-regional assessment of
coastal condition in the conterminous United States and Puerto Rico.
For example, EPA's National Coastal Assessment is conducting estuarine
monitoring in all 23 coastal states and Puerto Rico, accounting for
99.8% of estuarine acreage in the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Data from several regional and national programs conducted by NOAA,
USGS and the USFWS are included in this assessment of coastal
condition. This report serves as a useful tool for analyzing the
progress of coastal programs implemented since the first Report and as
a benchmark for the future and provides trends in condition over time.
This report will be followed in subsequent years by reports focusing on
continuing assessments of ecological condition, examinations of the
trends in coastal condition, and assessments of more specialized
coastal issues.
The draft National Coastal Condition Report III will undergo an
external peer review conducted by EPA's Office of Research and
Development. The peer review plan, including peer review charge
questions, is available on EPA's Science Inventory Web site (http://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_record_view.cfm?dirEntryID=161923). You may view
and download the draft Report on EPA's Internet site at the Office of
Water homepage at http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nccr3/index.html under
Recent Additions.
Dated: March 2, 2007.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. E7-4294 Filed 3-8-07; 8:45 am]
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