2013-17567. Request for Nominations of Experts for the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Sulfur Oxides Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Review Panel

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is requesting public nominations for technical experts to form a CASAC ad hoc panel to provide advice through the chartered CASAC on primary (human health-based) air quality standards for sulfur oxides (SO_X).

DATES:

Nominations should be submitted by August 12, 2013 per instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Any member of the public wishing further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations may contact Dr. Diana Wong, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB Staff Office, by telephone/voice mail at [phone] or via email at [e-mail]. General information concerning the EPA CASAC can be found at the EPA CASAC Web site at http://www.epa.gov/​casac.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) was established under section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) (42 U.S.C. 7409) as an independent scientific advisory committee. CASAC provides advice, information and recommendations on the scientific and technical aspects of air quality criteria and National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) under sections 108 and 109 of the Act. The CASAC is a Federal advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). As amended, 5 U.S.C., App. Section 109(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that EPA carry out a periodic review and revision, as appropriate, of the air quality criteria and the NAAQS for the six “criteria” air pollutants, including sulfur oxides. As a Federal Advisory Committee, the CASAC conducts business in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. App. 2) and related regulations. The CASAC will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.

Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists in the science of air pollution related to sulfur oxides. Experts are sought in atmospheric science, human exposure, dosimetry, toxicology, epidemiology, medicine, public health, biostatistics and risk assessment.

Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas of expertise described above. Nominations should be submitted in electronic format (preferred over hard copy) following the instructions for “Nominating Experts to Advisory Panels and Ad Hoc Committees Being Formed,” provided on the CASAC Web site. If you wish to nominate yourself or another expert, please follow the instructions that can be accessed through the “Nomination of Experts” link on the blue navigational bar at the CASAC Web site http://www.epa.gov/​casac. To receive full consideration, nominations should include all of the information requested below.

EPA's SAB Staff Office requests contact information about the person making the nomination; contact information about the nominee; the disciplinary and specific areas of expertise of the nominee; the nominee's resume or curriculum vita; sources of recent grant and/or contract support; and a biographical sketch of the nominee indicating current position, educational background, research activities, and recent service on other national advisory committees or national professional organizations. The bio-sketches and resume or curriculum vita of nominees identified by respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts identified by the SAB Staff, will be made available to the public upon request. Please be advised that information provided in response to the request described in this paragraph is subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act.

Persons having questions about the nomination procedures, or who are unable to submit nominations through the CASAC Web site, should contact Dr. Diana Wong, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than August 12, 2013. EPA values and welcomes diversity. In an effort to obtain nominations of diverse candidates, EPA encourages nominations of women and men of all racial and ethnic groups.

The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations. The names and bio-sketches of qualified nominees identified by respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts identified by the SAB Staff, will be posted in a List of Candidates on the CASAC Web site at http://www.epa.gov/​casac. Public comments on this List of Candidates will be accepted for 21 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 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. In forming this expert panel, the SAB Staff Office will consider public comments on the List of Candidates, information provided by the candidates themselves, and background information independently gathered by the SAB Staff Office. Selection 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; (e) skills working in committees, subcommittees and advisory panels; and, (f) for the panel as a whole, diversity of 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 a 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 may be viewed and downloaded from the following URL address http://www.epa.gov/​sab/​pdf/​epaform3110-48.pdf.

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://www.epa.gov/​sab/​pdf/​ec02010.pdf.

Dated: July 11, 2013.

Thomas Brennan,

Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.