Another public comment opportunity from EPA: Input sought on peer-review questions by June 26

As the public continues to comment on EPA’s draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment, the agency has announced another chance to offer feedback: this time on a list of questions it is asking the peer review panel to consider in its evaluation of the assessment.

This list – consisting of 12 “charge” questions – is a tool EPA is using to guide the peer review panel’s comments on specific aspects of the assessment. Members of the public can comment on the existing questions and suggest additional questions that are relevant to the watershed assessment objectives.

In general, the questions address different topics from the assessment, asking whether each topic was appropriately addressed, described or characterized – or, if not, what improvements peer reviewers would suggest.

The EPA also published names of the peer review panelists, including experts in several fields from the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest and British Columbia.

Deadline for commenting is June 26. For full details, including the list of questions and the docket number to use when commenting on these questions, refer to the complete Federal Register listing. (Please note: the docket for these comments is different from the docket being used for the overall draft assessment.)
The public comment deadline for the overall draft watershed assessment is July 23.