[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 6, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46602-46604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20034]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL -7540-6 ]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations for 
Experts for a Science Advisory Board Panel on Council for Regulatory 
Environmental Modeling (CREM) Guidance Advisory Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office is announcing the formation of a new SAB panel 
to provide advice on EPA's interim guidance on environmental models and 
development of a models knowledge base, and is soliciting nominations 
for members of the panel.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted no later than August 27, 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 must include the 
information required on that form. Anyone who is unable to submit 
nominations via this form may contact Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, 
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. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, (DFO), U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board Staff 
Office; 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Suite 6450, Washington, DC 20460; 
by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4557; by fax at (202) 501-0582; or 
via e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office is announcing the formation of a new Advisory 
Panel, known as the Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling 
(CREM) Guidance Advisory Panel to provide advice on issues related to 
EPA's Interim Guidance on Environmental Models as well as the 
development of a models knowledge base. The interim guidance is meant 
to outline best practices in the development, evaluation and use of 
environmental models that inform the decision-making process, while the 
knowledge base is a web-accessible inventory of environmental models 
intended to promote transparency in the data, algorithms, assumptions, 
and uncertainties underlying models and to enable developers and 
analysts to more easily identify information needs.
    The CREM Guidance Advisory Panel is being formed to provide advice 
to the Agency, as part of the EPA SAB's mission, established by 42 
U.S.C. 4365, to provide independent scientific and technical advice, 
and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the technical bases for 
EPA decision making. The SAB is a chartered Federal Advisory Committee, 
which reports directly to the Administrator.
    Background: In its mission to protect human health and safeguard 
the natural environment, EPA must often make decisions that attempt to 
minimize the potential human and ecological health risks posed by 
certain activities (e.g., the release of toxic chemicals to the 
environment). EPA uses mathematical models to anticipate possible 
future events, and to simulate the behavior of systems where monitoring 
data are difficult to obtain or limited due to resource constraints.
    In its continuing efforts to assist EPA maintain the scientific 
credibility of its decisions, the SAB has consistently recommended that 
EPA institutionalize a cross-Agency approach to model assessment and 
use. In 1989, the SAB suggested that such an approach would help avoid 
the inappropriate secondary use of models and reduce duplication in 
modeling efforts for similar applications thereby conserving Agency 
resources. In

[[Page 46603]]

subsequent years, the SAB addressed a variety of modeling issues, such 
as the need to conduct sensitivity and uncertainty analyses to better 
characterize the degree of confidence in model outputs. The SAB further 
suggested that EPA should collaborate with internal and external model 
users to obtain feedback that will ultimately facilitate continuous 
improvement in the Agency's modeling efforts. The EPA's Council for 
Regulatory Environmental Modeling (CREM) now seeks input from the SAB 
on two efforts the Agency believes will ultimately strengthen the 
scientific basis for EPA's model-based decisions: (1) Development of an 
Interim Guidance on Environmental Models; and (2) development of a 
Models Knowledge Base.

Proposed Charge to the SAB CREM Advisory Panel

    Charge Issues Related to the Interim guidance on Environmental 
Models: As noted above, the SAB recommended that EPA establish policies 
and procedures for the development, evaluation, and use of 
environmental regulatory models. The EPA's CREM is drafting interim 
Agency guidance on the development and use of environmental models. 
These guidelines will ultimately address both policy and science 
issues, and EPA now turns to the SAB for advice on the latter set of 
issues. With regard to the Interim Guidance on Environmental Models, 
EPA proposes the following charge to the SAB:
    Charge Question 1: Has EPA sufficiently and appropriately 
identified the best practices, such that decisions based on models 
developed and used in accordance with these practices may be said to be 
based on the best available, practicable science?
    Charge Question 2: Has EPA sufficiently and appropriately described 
the goals and methods, and in adequate detail, such that the guidance 
serves as a practical, relevant, and useful tool for model developers 
and users? If not, what else would you recommend to achieve these ends?
    Charge Question 3: Has EPA sufficiently and appropriately proposed 
a graded approach, such that users of the guidance can determine the 
appropriate level of evaluation for a particular model use. If there 
are deficiencies in the proposed approach, what would you recommend to 
correct it, and why?
    Charge Question 4: Has EPA sufficiently and appropriately provided 
practicable advice for decision-makers who must deal with the 
uncertainty inherent in environmental models and their application? 
What additional advice should EPA consider in dealing with uncertainty, 
and why?
    Charge Issues Related to a Models Knowledge Base: As noted above, 
the SAB recommended that the CREM coordinate EPA efforts to collaborate 
and seek input from model developers and users both inside and outside 
EPA. One mechanism to implement this collaboration is through a web-
accessible knowledge base for environmental models. EPA is developing 
such a knowledge base to communicate more clearly the data, algorithms, 
assumptions, and uncertainties underlying each model; to facilitate the 
use of individual models or the combined use of multiple models; and to 
enable developers and analysts to more easily identify information 
needs. With regard to the Models Knowledge Base, EPA proposes the 
following charge to the SAB:
    Charge Question 5: Has EPA identified, structured and developed the 
optimal set of information to request from model developers and users, 
i.e., the amount of information that best minimizes the burden on 
information providers while maximizing the utility derived from the 
information?
    Charge Question 6: Has EPA provided the appropriate nomenclature 
needed to elicit specific information from model developers that will 
allow broad intercomparisons of model performance and application 
without bias toward a particular field or discipline?
    Charge Queston 7: Through the development of this knowledge base, 
has EPA succeeded in providing: (7a) Easily accessible resource 
material for new model developers that will help to eliminate 
duplication in efforts among the offices/regions where there is overlap 
in the modeling efforts and sometimes communication is limited? (7b ) 
Details of the temporal and spatial scales of data used to construct 
each model as well as endogenous assumptions made during model 
formulation such that users may evaluate their utility in combination 
with other models and propagation of error due to differences in data 
resolution can be addressed? (7c) Examples of ``successful'' models 
(e.g., widely applied, have been tested, peer reviewed etc.)? (7d) A 
forum for feedback on model uses outside Agency applications and 
external suggestion for updating/improving model structure?
    Document Availability: Readers who wish to be introduced to the 
substance of this review may find the review documents at: http://www.epa.gov/crem/sab when they are available. Additional background 
information is also posted at the EPA's CREM site: http://www.epa.gov/crem.
    Request for Nominations: Any interested person or organization may 
nominate qualified individuals for Membership on the Subcommittee. 
Individuals should have expertise and experience in modeling activities 
related to one or more of the following areas:
    (a) Hazardous waste,
    (b) Atmospheric Transport, Transformations and Removal,
    (c) Groundwater Hydrology,
    (d) Water Quality,
    (e) Indoor Air,
    (f) Multi-Media Environmental Fate and Transport,
    (g) Environmental Management,
    (h) Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology,
    (i) Epidemiology,
    (j) Public Health,
    (k) Sensitivity Analysis,
    (l) Uncertainty Analysis,
    (m) Exposure and Risk Assessment,
    (n) Environmental Law,
    (o) Decision Analysis,
    (p) Economics,
    (q) Computer Sciences,
    (r) Spatial Modeling,
    (s) Model documentation,
    (t) Nomenclature for Environmental Models,
    (u) Statistics, and
    (v) Information Quality Guidelines, Data Quality and Quality 
Assurance Procedures.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to add 
expertise in the above areas for the Panel. 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 must include the information required on 
that form.
    The EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office will acknowledge 
receipt of the nomination and inform nominators of the panel selected. 
From the nominees identified by respondents to this Federal Register 
notice (termed the ``Widecast''), SAB Staff will develop a smaller 
subset (known as the ``Short List'') for more detailed consideration. 
Criteria used by the SAB Staff in developing this Short List are given 
at the end of the following paragraph. 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.

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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 should consider in evaluating candidates for Panel.
    For the EPA SAB, a balanced advisory panel 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 panel, along with information provided by candidates 
and information gathered by EPA SAB Staff 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 an 
individual subcommittee member 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.
    Short List candidates will also 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, which is submitted by EPA SAB Members and Consultants, 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 may be viewed and downloaded from the 
following URL address: (http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/epaform3110-48.pdf). 
Panel members will likely be asked to attend a least one public face-
to-face meeting and several public conference call meetings over the 
anticipated course of the review.

    Dated: July 31, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-20034 Filed 8-5-03; 8:45 am]
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