[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 146 (Wednesday, July 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44761-44762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19352]



[[Page 44761]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7537-6]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations for 
a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board Ad Hoc 
Committee To Be Known as the Homeland Security Advisory Committee 
(HSAC)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces 
the formation of a new SAB ad hoc Committee on Homeland Security known 
as the Homeland Security Advisory Committee (HSAC), and is soliciting 
nominations for members of the Committee.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive by August 20, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Nominations should be submitted in electronic format through 
the Form for Nominating Individuals to Panels of the EPA Science 
Advisory Board provided on the SAB Web site. The form can be accessed 
through a link on the blue navigational bar on the SAB Web site, 
www.epa.gov/sab. To be considered, all nominations should include the 
information requested on that form. Anyone who is unable to access 
nominations on the SAB Web site can obtain a paper copy of the form by 
contacting Dr. Philip Sayre, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), as 
indicated below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Request for Nomination may contact 
Dr. Philip Sayre, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-7673, or via e-
mail at [email protected]. Those unable to access the nomination forms 
through the above Web site can contact Dr. Sayre at the following 
address: Philip Sayre, Ph.D., Science Advisory Board Staff Office, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (Mail Code 1400A), Suite 6450-R, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001. General 
information about the SAB can be found in the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Summary: The EPA SAB Staff Office is 
announcing the formation of a new ad hoc Committee to help provide 
advice through the SAB to the Administrator, and other officials in the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on matters pertaining to EPA's 
mission in protecting against the environmental and health consequences 
of terrorism. The SAB Staff Office is soliciting nominations for 
members of the new Committee.
    This Committee is being formed to help provide advice to the 
Agency, as part of the SAB's mission, established by 42 U.S.C. 4365, to 
provide independent scientific and technical advice, consultation, and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the technical bases for EPA 
regulations.
    The work of this Committee is expected to continue for 
approximately two to three years; the background for the effort is 
described below. Committee members will help provide advice to the 
Agency through the SAB. The EPA Administrator may determine that a 
particular HSAC meeting be partially or fully closed when matters under 
discussion are covered by one of the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 
U.S.C. 552b) open meeting exceptions. The SAB is a chartered Federal 
Advisory Committee that reports directly to the Administrator.
    The HSAC will comply with the openness provisions of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and all appropriate SAB procedural 
policies, including the SAB process for panel formation described in 
the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Panel Formation Process: Immediate 
Steps To Improve Policies and Procedures--An SAB Commentary (EPA-SAB-
EC-COM-002-003), http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ecm02003.pdf.
    Background: EPA is supporting the President's National Strategy for 
Homeland Security and the new Department of Homeland Security in 
specific areas. In keeping with EPA's traditional mission of protecting 
human health and the environment, the Agency's mission includes 
protection of the country against the environmental and health 
consequences of acts of terrorism. EPA is responsible for assisting 
public and private utilities in securing the nation's drinking and 
wastewater infrastructure, for assisting those responsible for indoor 
air, for working with the Department of Homeland Security to support 
the enhancement of security for our chemical industry and hazardous 
materials sector, and for responding to and recovering from acts of 
biological, chemical, certain radiological, and other terrorist 
attacks. For example, recently EPA has monitored environmental 
conditions to help protect workers in and around the World Trade 
Center, and developed and implemented a plan for decontaminating the 
Hart Senate Office Building. For more information on the EPA Homeland 
Security Strategic Plan, please see http://www.epa.gov/epahome/headline_100202.htm.
    The EPA organizations involved in implementation of Homeland 
Security include the following: The Office of Research and Development 
(ORD); the Office of Water (OW); the Office of Solid Waste and 
Emergency Response (OSWER); the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR); the 
Office of Pesticides, Prevention, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS); the 
Office of Environmental Information (OEI); and the Office of 
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA). Further, two new 
organizations within EPA have been formed to address homeland security 
matters: the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) which coordinates 
activities across the Agency, and the Office of Research and 
Development's (ORD's) National Homeland Security Research Center 
(NHSRC). The NHSRC has a 3-year mission to provide appropriate, 
effective and rapid risk assessment guidelines and technologies to help 
decision-makers prepare for, detect, contain, and decontaminate 
chemical and biological attacks directed against buildings and water 
treatment systems.
    The Agency has asked the EPA Science Advisory Board to form an 
expert group to advise senior managers on matters related to homeland 
security. Examples of consultations for the Committee could include the 
following: (1) Detection and characterization of contaminants in water 
and air, response and mitigation, and prevention and protection; (2) 
improvements to rapid risk assessment for terrorist agents such as 
development of information systems and tools, risk estimates and risk 
communication methodologies; and (3) verification of the performance of 
technologies that can be used to monitor and ensure the quality of the 
nation's drinking water supplies, and technologies for use in 
monitoring indoor environments.
    Charge to the Panel: When specific issues are identified for SAB 
advice, a charge to the Panel and the initiation of SAB HSAC activities 
will be announced on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/paneltopics.html.
    Request for Nominations: The EPA SAB Staff Office requests 
nominations of individuals who are regarded as national and 
international level experts in homeland security to serve as Committee 
members. Areas of expertise sought include at least the following: (a) 
Atmospheric sciences and air modeling;

[[Page 44762]]

(b) engineering expertise for the design and operation of building 
systems for air treatment and handling; (c) engineering expertise for 
the design and operation of water treatment and dispersal systems; (d) 
analytical chemistry for chemical detection methodologies; (e) 
microbiology related to detection techniques for microbial pathogens; 
(f) expertise in inactivation and disposal techniques for bulk amounts 
of materials containing chemical, radiological, and biological agents; 
(g) radiation health; (h) toxicology; (i) clinical toxicology; (j) 
microbial pathology; (k) epidemiology; and (l) risk assessment.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to serve as 
committee members in the areas described above. The nominating form 
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; and a general 
biosketch of the nominee indicating education, expertise, past 
research, recent service on other advisory committees or with 
professional associations, and recent grant and/or contract support.
    Anyone who is unable to submit nominations through the SAB Web 
site, or has questions concerning any aspect of the nomination process, 
may contact Dr. Philip Sayre as indicated above in this FR notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than August 
20, 2003.
    The EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office will acknowledge 
receipt of the nominations. From the nominees identified by respondents 
to this Federal Register notice and through other sources (termed the 
``Widecast''), SAB Staff Office will develop a smaller subset (known as 
the ``Short List'') for more detailed consideration. Criteria used by 
the SAB Staff Office in developing this Short List are given at the end 
of the following paragraph. The SAB Staff Office will contact 
individuals who are considered for inclusion in the Short List to 
determine whether they are willing to serve on the Committee. The Short 
List will be posted on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab, and 
will include, for each candidate, the nominee's name and their 
biosketch. The Short List also will be available from Dr. Sayre at the 
address listed above. Public comments will be accepted for 21 calendar 
days on the Short List. During this comment period, the public will be 
requested to provide information, analysis or other documentation on 
nominees that the SAB Staff Office should consider in evaluating 
candidates for the Committee.
    For the EPA SAB, a balanced Committee is characterized by inclusion 
of 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. Public responses to the 
Short List candidates will be considered in the selection of the 
Committee members, along with information provided by candidates and 
information gathered by EPA SAB Staff Office independently on the 
background of each candidate (e.g., financial disclosure information 
and computer searches to evaluate a nominee's prior involvement with 
the topic under review). Specific criteria to be used in evaluating 
individual nominees include: (a) Scientific and/or technical expertise, 
knowledge, and experience (primary factors); (b) absence of financial 
conflicts of interest; (c) scientific credibility and impartiality; (d) 
availability and willingness to serve; and (e) ability to work 
constructively and effectively in committees.
    Those Short List candidates ultimately chosen to serve on the 
Committee will be appointed as Special Government Employees. Therefore, 
all Short List candidates will be required to fill out 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 as a 
Special Government Employee 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. Finally, 
some members may need to complete national security clearance forms to 
obtain access to sensitive or classified homeland security information. 
Committee members will likely be asked to attend one to two meetings 
and public conferences per year over the anticipated course of the 
advisory activity.

    Dated: July 24, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-19352 Filed 7-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P