[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16026-16028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7978]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPT-2002-0001; FRL-7298-5]


Request for Nominations to the National Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics Advisory Committee (NPPTAC)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Request for nominations.

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SUMMARY: EPA is inviting nominations of qualified candidates to 
consider for appointment to the National Pollution Prevention and 
Toxics Advisory Committee (NPPTAC or Committee). The purpose of NPPTAC 
will be to provide advice and recommendations to EPA regarding the 
overall policy and operations of the programs of the Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT).

DATES: Nominations will be accepted until 5 p.m. on May 2, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Nominations may be submitted electronically, by mail, or 
through hand delivery/courier. Follow the detailed instructions as 
provided in Unit I.C. of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. To protect 
personal information from disclosure to the public do not submit 
nominations materials to the NPPTAC Docket or through any online 
electronic commenting system.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    For general information contact: Barbara Cunningham, Acting 
Director, Environmental Assistance Division (7404M), Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 
564-1404; e-mail address: [email protected].
    For technical information contact: Mary Hanley, Designated Federal 
Official, Environmental Assistance Division (7401M), Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone (202) 564-9891, 
fax (202) 564-0575; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, 
however, be of particular interest to those persons who have an 
interest in or may be required to manage pollution prevention and 
toxics programs, or individuals or groups concerned with children's 
health, animal welfare, or other members of the general public. Since 
various individuals or groups may be interested, the Agency has not 
attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be affected by 
this action. If you have any questions regarding this action, please 
consult the contact the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this 
Document or Other Related Documents?

    1. Electronically. You may access this Federal Register document 
electronically through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register'' 
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
    Information about the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic 
Substances (OPPTS), and OPPTS related programs is available from http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/.
    EPA has established an official public docket for the NPPTAC under 
docket identification (ID) number OPPT-2002-0001. The official public 
docket consists of the documents related to the activities of the 
committee and any public comments received. Although a part of the 
official docket, the public docket does not include Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. To protect personal information from disclosure 
to the public do not submit nominations materials in response to this 
Notice to the docket or through any online electronic commenting 
system. Instead, follow the instructions listed under Unit I.C.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may 
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to access the index 
listing of the contents of the official public docket, and to access 
those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. 
Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you 
may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through 
the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1. Once in the system, 
select ``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket ID number.
    2. In person. The official public docket is the collection of 
materials that is available for public viewing at the EPA Docket 
Center, Rm. B102-Reading Room, EPA West, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The EPA Docket 
Center Reading Room telephone number is (202) 566-1744 and the 
telephone number for the OPPT Docket, which is located in EPA Docket 
Center, is (202) 566-0280.
    3. By mail. You may obtain copies of this document and other 
related documents from the technical contact person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

C. How Can I Nominate Potential Members to this Committee?

    You may nominate qualified persons for membership to this Committee 
electronically, by mail, or in person. Nominations for membership 
should be submitted by the nominating organization, and must include a 
curriculum vitae of the nominee detailing his or her specific area of 
relevant expertise, as described below in Unit I.D., and a designation 
of the type of organization the candidate represents according to Unit 
II.C.
    To protect personal information from disclosure to the public do 
not submit nominations materials to the NPPTAC Docket or through any 
online electronic commenting system. Submit your nomination, marked 
``Attention NPPTAC Nominations'' by one of these methods:
    1. Electronically: [email protected].
    2. By mail: Environmental Protection Agency, Confidental Business 
Information (CBIC), Mail Code 7407M, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW., 
Washington DC, 20460.
    3. By courier: Environmental Protection Agency, Confidential 
Business Information Center (CBIC), EPA East Building, Room 6428, 1201 
Constitution Ave., Washington, DC 20004-3302, contact phone numbers: 
202-564-8930 and 202-564-8940. The room at which submissions are 
accepted is only open until 4 p.m. If a courier service comes after 
that time the service will be turned away. Non-uniformed (bicycle, 
etc.) couriers will be met at the 1201 Constitution Ave. entrance by 
CBIC personnel. Uniformed couriers are admitted to deliver directly to 
the CBIC.

D. What Should I Consider When Making Nominations?

    Potential candidates should have demonstrated leadership experience 
with environmental or public health policy, or issues, or research 
associated with chemicals, pollution prevention, human health, or the 
environment in State, national or international arenas.
    Types of expertise might include:
    [sbull] Chemistry
    [sbull] Pollution prevention

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    [sbull] Toxicology
    [sbull] Ecology
    [sbull] Environmental science
    [sbull] Risk assessment
    [sbull] Risk communication
    [sbull] Risk management
    [sbull] Public health
    [sbull] Environmental policy
    [sbull] Environmental justice
    [sbull] Socio-economic analysis
    [sbull] Public health policy
    [sbull] Animal welfare
    Candidates with interdisciplinary training or experience are 
strongly encouraged to apply.
    In addition, Committee candidates should be willing to:
    [sbull] Commit to attend three meetings per year for 2 years, most 
of them in Washington, DC.
    [sbull] Constructively assess OPPT programs and work 
collaboratively with fellow committee members to help OPPT be 
responsive to the needs of the affected public, non-governmental 
organizations, industry organizations, and State, Tribal, and local 
governments.
    [sbull] Serve also on a subcommittee or working group, as needed.
    Also, nominees not selected for the Committee may be considered for 
membership on subcommittees or working groups.
    When making your nomination, please classify the candidate with 
respect to the types of organizations represented in Unit II.C. and 
identify the types of experience of the candidate according to the list 
above, including interdisciplinary training or experience.

II. Background

A. Introduction

    EPA's OPPT is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that 
chemicals made available for sale and use in the United States do not 
pose any unreasonable risks to human health or to the environment. In 
addition, OPPT promotes pollution prevention as the national policy for 
controlling industrial pollution at its source.
    OPPT focuses on the following four components: Promoting pollution 
prevention as the guiding principle for controlling industrial 
pollution; promoting safer chemicals through a combination of 
regulatory and voluntary efforts; promoting risk reduction to minimize 
exposure to existing substances such as lead, asbestos, mercury, 
perfluorooctyl sulfonate (PFOS), and promoting public understanding of 
risks by providing understandable, accessible, and complete information 
on chemical risks to the broadest audience possible.
    While there are both formal and informal mechanisms in place to 
involve the public in OPPT decision-making activities, NPPTAC will 
bring together a broad cross-section of knowledgeable individuals from 
organizations representing diverse views to discuss regulatory, policy, 
and implementation issues. Dialogue with outside groups is essential if 
OPPT is to be responsive to the needs of the affected public; non-
governmental organizations; industry organizations; and State, Tribal, 
and local governments.

B. Committee Purpose

    NPPTAC is being established under the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2 (Public Law 92-463), and copies of the 
Committee Charter have been filed with the appropriate committees of 
Congress and the Library of Congress. NPPTAC will provide advice and 
recommendations to the Agency regarding the overall policy and 
operations of OPPT programs. NPPTAC shall hold meetings, analyze 
issues, conduct reviews, produce reports, make necessary 
recommendations, and undertake other activities necessary to meet its 
responsibilities. The objectives of this Committee are to provide 
advice and recommendations to EPA in areas such as:
    1. Risk assessment/management. Policies for implementation of 
regulatory and voluntary programs that are intended to identify, 
reduce, or eliminate potentially unreasonable risks. This may include 
such issues as gathering information and data relevant to the 
assessment of risks, including hazard and exposure information related 
to a particular chemical substance, as well as methods for evaluating, 
managing, and reducing potential risks. This would include policies for 
implementation of OPPT programs such as the High Production Volume 
(HPV) Challenge Program, the Voluntary Children's Health Testing 
Chemical Evaluation Program (VCCEP), and the Chemical Right-to-Know 
(ChemRTK) Initiative, as well as the establishment of policies to guide 
national program chemicals risk management activities for chemicals 
such as asbestos, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls, PFOS, and mercury.
    2. Risk communication. Means to promote the public's right to know 
about chemicals in their communities, including risk communication and 
access to Agency information systems.
    3. Pollution prevention. Policies to guide the chemical pollution 
prevention priorities and multimedia activities, including OPPT 
programs such as the Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic Initiative 
(PBTI), Green Chemistry, and the Design for the Environment (DfE) 
Program.
    4. Coordination. EPA's framework for integrating its TSCA and 
pollution prevention programs with other EPA and other Federal, State, 
Tribal, and local government programs, and coordinating with non-
governmental organizations, such as public health organizations, 
environmental justice organizations, children's advocates, animal 
welfare groups, industry, environmental organizations, and 
international groups, to ensure full input into the decision-making.
    5. Other issues as identified by EPA related to policies and the 
implementation of related programs within OPPT. The Committee's 
activities will include efforts to provide advice on regulatory and 
non-regulatory approaches, develop options and, where appropriate, more 
clearly define critical policy and technical issues.

C. Composition and Organization

    1. Membership. The Committee will be composed of approximately 15 
members. EPA will have a balanced representation of members in terms of 
the points of view represented and the scope of activities of NPPTAC. 
An EPA employee will act as the Designated Federal Official (DFO) who 
will be responsible for providing the necessary staffing, operations, 
and support for the Committee.
    The Agency is seeking qualified senior-level decision-makers from 
diverse sectors throughout the United States to be considered for 
membership on the Committee. The Agency is seeking representation from 
among the type of organizations listed below. Please indicate in your 
submittal the sector with which your nomination is most closely 
associated:
    [sbull] State and local government agency.
    [sbull] Federally recognized Tribe.
    [sbull] Public health or environmental professional.
    [sbull] Chemical manufacturer and/or user.
    [sbull] Non-governmental organization, such as environmental group, 
environmental justice organization, children's advocate, and animal 
welfare organization.
    [sbull] Other non-governmental entity, as deemed appropriate.
    Establishing a balance and diversity of experience, knowledge, and 
judgement in membership is an important consideration in the selection 
of members.

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    In addition, the Committee will have up to approximately 15 
technical advisors who will be Federal employees or national experts 
that will provide technical advice to the Committee. Technical advisors 
for the Committee may include representatives from the Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Consumer Product Safety 
Commission (CPSC), and such additional officials of the U.S. Government 
who might be necessary for the Committee to carry out its functions.
    2. Subcommittees and workgroups. Subcommittees and workgroups may 
be established on an as-needed basis consisting of Committee members, 
or supplemented with individuals qualified in the area of the 
subcommittee or workgroup.
    3. Meetings and public involvement. All Committee meetings will be 
called, announced, and held in accordance with FACA requirements, 
including public notice of meetings in the Federal Register, open 
meetings, and an opportunity for interested persons to file comments 
before or after meetings, or to make statements during the public 
meetings to the extent time permits.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Chemical health and safety, 
Pollution prevention, National Pollution Prevention and Toxics Advisory 
Committee.

    Dated: March 25, 2003.
Susan B. Hazen,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.
[FR Doc. 03-7978 Filed 4-1-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S