[Federal Register: January 31, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 21)]
[Notices]
[Page 5836-5838]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31ja08-59]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8523-3]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations for
Science Advisory Board Panel on Risk and Technology Review Assessments
for Phase II Source Categories
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is
announcing the formation of an SAB Expert panel to review and provide
advice about draft risk assessments that evaluate the effects of
industrial emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) on public
health and the environment in accordance with EPA's Risk and Technology
Review (RTR) Assessment. The SAB Staff Office is soliciting public
nominations of technical experts for this panel.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted by February 21, 2008 per the
instructions below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to
obtain further information regarding the submission of nominations may
contact Dr. Resha M. Putzrath, via telephone at: (202) 343-9978 or e-
mail at: putzrath.resha@epa.gov. The SAB Mailing address is: U.S. EPA
Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
1200
[[Page 5837]]
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. General information
about the SAB as well as any updates concerning this request for
nominations may be found on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/
sab.
Technical Contact: For questions and information concerning the
Agency's draft technical documents and background information, contact
Dr. Dave Guinnup, at: (919) 541-5368, or guinnup.dave@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The SAB was established by 42
U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent scientific and technical advice to
the Administrator on the technical basis for Agency positions and
regulations. The SAB is a Federal Advisory Committee chartered under
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App.
The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB
Staff Office procedural policies.
Section 112(f)(2)(A) of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA)
requires EPA to evaluate whether emission standards that were
previously adopted under the technology-based, Maximum Achievable
Control Technology (MACT) program provide an ample margin of safety to
protect public health and prevent adverse environmental effects (taking
into consideration costs, energy, safety, and other relevant factors).
Within eight years of the promulgation of a MACT standard for the
source category, EPA is mandated by the CAA to assess the risks to
determine whether additional standards are needed.
EPA's Office of Air and Radiation has developed a Risk and
Technology Review (RTR) Assessment Plan (referred to as RTR II) that
has a streamlined approach. The SAB provided advice in a consultation
on the RTR II in December 2006 [Consultation on EPA's Risk and
Technology Review (RTR) Assessment Plan (EPA-SAB-07-009) available at:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/
33152C83D29530F08525730D006C3ABF/$File/sab-07-009.pdf]. The SAB
identified some key scientific issues and provided recommendations for
the Plan. The SAB Panel being formed will review EPA's draft risk
assessments developed under the RTR II approach, as modified to reflect
SAB recommendations. These draft risk assessments will evaluate the
potential risks to human health and the environment that remain after
sources come into compliance with MACT.
Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is requesting
nominations for nationally and internationally recognized, non-EPA
scientists with expertise and experience related to: Airborne (and
possibly multi-pathway) fate-and-transport modeling of organic and
inorganic chemicals; modeling of potential human exposures; modeling of
human health risk; health effects of individual chemicals and mixtures
of chemicals; risk assessment models and practices; uncertainty or
sensitivity analyses; and risk communication theory and practice. The
Agency is particularly interested in nominees with in-depth knowledge
and experience in evaluating effects, exposure, and risk of hazardous
air pollutants.
Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals with
expertise and experience described above for consideration of service
on the SAB Panel on Risk and Technology Review Assessments for Phase II
Source Categories. Nominations should be submitted in electronic format
through the SAB Web site at the following URL: http://yosemite.epa.gov/
sab/sabproduct.nsf/Web/participatepanelformation?OpenDocument. Please
follow the instructions for submitting nominations carefully. To be
considered, nominations should include all of the information required
on the associated forms. Anyone unable to submit nominations using the
electronic form or who has any questions concerning the nomination
process may contact Dr. Resha M. Putzrath, as indicated above in this
notice. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than
February 21, 2008.
To be considered, all nominations should include: A current
curriculum vitae (C.V.) which provides the nominee's background,
qualifications, research expertise, and relevant publications for
service on the Panel; and a brief biographical sketch (``biosketch'').
The biosketch should be no longer than one page and should contain the
following information for the nominee: (a) Current professional
affiliations and positions held; (b) area(s) of expertise, and research
activities and interests relevant to the Panel; (c) leadership
positions in national associations or professional publications or
other significant distinctions; (d) educational background, especially
advanced degrees, including when and from which institutions these were
granted; and (e) service on other advisory committees or professional
societies, especially those associated with issues under discussion in
this review. Incomplete biosketches will not be considered. The EPA SAB
Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations.
The names and biosketches of qualified nominees identified by
respondents to the Federal Register notice and additional experts
identified by the SAB Staff will be posted on the SAB Web site
accessible through a link for this panel at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/
sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebBOARD/CommitteesandMembership?OpenDocument.
Public comments on this ``Short List'' of candidates will be accepted
for 21 calendar days. The public will be requested to provide relevant
information or other documentation on nominees that the SAB Staff
Office should consider in evaluating candidates.
For the EPA SAB Staff Office, a balanced subcommittee or review
panel includes candidates who possess the necessary domains of
knowledge, the relevant scientific perspectives (which, among other
factors, can be influenced by work history and affiliation), and the
collective breadth of experience to adequately address the charge. To
establish individual expert panels for the advisory activities
described above, the SAB Staff Office will consider public comments on
the ``Short List'' of candidates, information provided by the
candidates themselves, and background information independently
gathered by the SAB Staff Office. Specific criteria to be used for
Panel membership include: (a) Scientific and/or technical expertise,
knowledge, and experience (primary factors); (b) availability and
willingness to serve; (c) absence of financial conflicts of interest;
(d) absence of an appearance of a lack of impartiality; and (e) skills
working in committees, subcommittees, and advisory panels; and (f) for
the Panel as a whole, diversity of, and balance among, factors such as
scientific expertise and viewpoints.
The SAB Staff Office's evaluation of an absence of financial
conflicts of interest will include a review of the ``Confidential
Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on
Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency'' (EPA Form 3110-48). This confidential form allows Government
officials to determine whether there is a statutory conflict between
that person's public responsibilities (which includes membership on an
EPA Federal advisory committee) and private interests and activities,
or the appearance of a lack of impartiality, as defined by Federal
regulation. The form
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may be viewed and downloaded from the following URL address: http://
yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebSABSO/ethics?OpenDocument.
The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects
subcommittees and review panels is described in the following document:
Overview of the Panel Formation Process at the Environmental Protection
Agency Science Advisory Board (EPA-SAB-EC-02-010), which is posted on
the SAB Web site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/
WebSABSO/OverviewPanelForm?OpenDocument.
Dated: January 24, 2008.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E8-1772 Filed 1-30-08; 8:45 am]
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