

[Federal Register: August 3, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 149)]
[Notices]               
[Page 43272-43273]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au07-70]                         


[[Page 43272]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8444-7; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-2007-0464]

 
Draft EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment: Highlights of 
National Trends

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 45-day public comment period for the draft 
document entitled, ``EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment: Highlights 
of National Trends'' document (ROE HD). This public comment period is 
coincident to the public, scientific peer review of the draft document 
by The National Advisory Council on Environmental Policy and Technology 
and members of EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB). Notice of public 
meetings of the NACEPT and SAB will be announced via separate Federal 
Register Notices.
    The draft ``EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment: Highlights of 
National Trends'' document was prepared by EPA Program and Regional 
Offices, the Office of Environmental Information (OEI), the Office of 
Research and Development (ORD), the Office of Policy Economics and 
Innovation (OPEI), and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) 
with coordination by the Office of Information Analysis and Access 
within EPA's OEI.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality 
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It 
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency 
policy or determination. EPA will consider any public comments 
submitted in accordance with this notice when revising the document.

DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins August 3, 2007 and ends 
September 17, 2007. Comments should be in writing and must be received 
by EPA by September 17, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment: Highlights 
of National Trends'' is available via the Internet on the EPA Web site 
at http://www.epa.gov/roe    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://.

http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/

courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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: 
OEI.Docket@epa.gov.

    For technical information, contact Suzanne Annand, OIAA; telephone: 
202-566-0639; facsimile: 202-566-0699; or e-mail: 
annand.suzanne@epa.gov.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Project/Document

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed EPA's 2007 
Report on the Environment to help answer questions that are of critical 
importance to its mission to protect human health and the environment. 
The Report on the Environment documents trends in the condition of the 
nation's environment and human health and identifies significant gaps 
in our knowledge. It is not intended to be a report card on EPA's 
programs and activities.
    Written for a general audience, this document, EPA's 2007 Report on 
the Environment: Highlights of National Trends, summarizes some of the 
more important findings from the more comprehensive companion report, 
EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment: Science Report (ROE SR) which was 
released in draft for public comment on May 10, 2007. The environmental 
indicators shown in the ROE HD were selected for inclusion based on 
their importance to the public and scientists, as well as their ability 
to answer a series of key questions about the environment. (For more 
information on the ROE SR, please see Federal Register: May 10, 2007 
(72 FR 26629-26631) or visit http://www.epa.gov/ncea).

    The ROE HD is organized around 25 topics that are important to EPA. 
Each topic page includes a brief summary of what we know--and don't 
know--about conditions and trends in the nation's air, water, land, 
ecological condition, and human health. The information on these topics 
comes from highly reliable indicators and is based on the most recent 
data available from a variety of governmental and non-governmental 
organizations.
    The indicators for EPA's 2007 ROE Science Report that comprise the 
main content of the ROE HD underwent independent scientific peer review 
as well as public review and comment in the summer and fall of 2005 and 
are available at http://www.epa.gov/roeindicators.


II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at 
http://www.regulations.gov


    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI 2007-
0464 by one of the following methods:
      http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 

submitting comments.
     E-mail: OEI.Docket@epa.gov.
     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., N.W.,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. Such 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-OEI-
2007-0464. 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-

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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: July 18, 2007.
Richard A. Martin,
Deputy Director, Office of Information Analysis and Access.
 [FR Doc. E7-15123 Filed 8-2-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
