[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 70 (Monday, April 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19180-19182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-8224]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7646-5]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC); Ambient Air Monitoring and Methods (AAMM) 
Subcommittee; Request for Nominations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 19181]]


ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) 
Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is announcing the formation 
of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Ambient Air 
Monitoring and Methods (AAMM) Subcommittee (hereinafter, the 
``Subcommittee'') and is hereby soliciting nominations for this 
Subcommittee.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by May 3, 2004 per the 
instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Request for Nominations may contact 
Mr. Fred Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science 
Advisory Board Staff, at telephone/voice mail: (202) 343-9994; or via 
e-mail at: [email protected]. General information concerning the 
CASAC or the SAB can be found on the EPA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The CASAC, which comprises seven members appointed by 
the EPA Administrator, was established under section 109(d)(2) of the 
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409) as an independent scientific advisory 
committee, in part to provide advice, information and recommendations 
on the scientific and technical aspects of issues related to 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. The Subcommittee will comply with the 
provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural 
policies.
    The SAB Staff Office is forming this Subcommittee to provide EPA, 
through the CASAC, with advice and recommendations on topical areas 
related to ambient air monitoring and methods developments. The Clean 
Air Act requires EPA to establish NAAQS and to regulate, as necessary, 
hazardous air pollutants. The Agency uses ambient air monitoring to 
determine current air quality conditions, and to assess progress toward 
meeting these standards and related regulatory goals. EPA has 
traditionally concentrated much of the national air monitoring efforts 
on the six ``criteria air pollutants,'' i.e., ozone, particulate 
matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. 
More recently, the Agency is focusing upon the measurement of toxic air 
pollutants including early work to establish a national air toxics 
monitoring program. Nearly all of the air quality monitoring is 
conducted by State, local, and Tribal agencies through funding provided 
by EPA's matching Federal grants programs. Data needs, and therefore, 
scientific demands upon the ambient air monitoring network are 
increasing. EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), 
within EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, developed a draft national 
ambient air monitoring strategy that will accommodate these changes.
    The CASAC's National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy (NAAMS or 
Strategy) Subcommittee provided an initial review of the draft strategy 
which is available on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/casacl04001.pdf. The CASAC requested that the Agency develop an 
implementation plan that matched the underlying concepts of the 
Strategy. Accordingly, the new Subcommittee will be charged with 
reviewing the monitoring strategy implementation plan, which will 
include specific recommendations of measurements, measurement methods, 
regulatory review and revision, quality assurance/quality control 
standards, and network design.
    Furthermore, EPA's OAQPS has initiated the evaluation of continuous 
monitoring technologies for use in the measurement of coarse particles 
as either a Federal Reference Method (FRM) or a Federal Equivalent 
Method (FEM). These efforts support major regulatory objectives of the 
Clean Air Act as part of the Agency's work in developing a reference 
method for coarse particles to be included in the EPA Review of the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy 
Assessment of Scientific and Technical Information (i.e., the draft 
OAQPS Staff Paper on Particulate Matter), which can be found at the 
following URL: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html. Therefore, the new Subcommittee will also be charged with 
reviewing the coarse particle methods testing study conducted by EPA 
and providing recommendations for use of these methods as reference or 
equivalent methods. The review also will consider how to optimize the 
use of one or more methods to meet multiple monitoring objectives, 
while having a scientifically-acceptable approach to the coarse 
particle reference method.
    Any questions concerning either the ambient air monitoring strategy 
implementation plan or the coarse particle methods evaluation 
activities should be directed to Dr. Richard Scheffe, U.S. EPA OAQPS 
Monitoring and Quality Assurance Group Leader, at phone: (919) 541-
4650; or e-mail: [email protected].
    The SAB Staff Office is soliciting public nominations of national 
and international experts in one or more of the following areas:
    (a) Atmospheric sciences and air quality simulation modeling. Areas 
of expertise include the development and application of regional and 
larger-scale air quality dispersion models to predict atmospheric 
concentrations of ozone, particulate matter and other air pollutants, 
with emphasis placed on the application of such systems to developing 
emission control strategies in support of national-level programs or 
State Implementation Plans (SIPs). Related areas of expertise include 
individuals with expertise in mechanisms of chemical interactions, 
source-receptor modeling, observational-based models and related data 
analysis expertise and conceptual model development.
    (b) Human health effects and exposure assessment. Areas of 
expertise include utilizing ambient monitoring data in epidemiology, 
toxicology, and related disciplines that examine the causative 
relationships between air pollution and adverse health effects in 
indoor and outdoor environments.
    (c) Air quality measurement science. Areas of expertise include 
measurement of criteria and hazardous air pollutants in particulate 
matter and gaseous samples with an understanding of routine monitoring 
conducted by most State and local agencies, an interest in and an 
understanding of integrating advanced methodologies into monitoring 
networks and transferring new technological advances to routine use by 
government air quality agencies.
    (d) Ecological risk assessment. Areas of expertise include the 
assessment of ecosystem exposure to criteria and hazardous air 
pollutants and the use of such data in ecosystem risk assessment.
    (e) State, local agency or Tribal experience. Areas of expertise 
include experience working in a State, local agency or Tribal 
organization familiar with the practical logistics of conducting air 
monitoring operations, as well as in air monitoring network design.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas 
of expertise described above to serve on the Subcommittee the areas of 
expertise described above. Nominations should be submitted in 
electronic format through

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the Form for Nominating Individuals to Panels of the EPA Science 
Advisory Board provided on the SAB Web site, http://www.epa.gov/sab. 
The form can be accessed through a link on the blue navigational bar on 
the SAB Web site, http://www.epa.gov/sab. To be considered, all 
nominations must include the information required on that form.
    Anyone who is unable to submit nominations using this form, and any 
questions concerning any aspects of the nomination process may contact 
Mr. Fred Butterfield, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than May 3, 
2004.
    To be considered, all nominations must include: (a) A current 
biography, curriculum vitae (C.V.) or resume, which provides the 
nominee's background, experience and qualifications for the 
Subcommittee; and (b) a brief biographical sketch (``biosketch''). The 
biosketch should be no longer than one page and must contain the 
following information for the nominee:
    (I) Current professional affiliations and positions held;
    (ii) Area(s) of expertise, and research activities and interests;
    (iii) Leadership positions in national associations or professional 
publications or other significant distinctions;
    (iv) Educational background, especially advanced degrees, including 
when and from which institutions these were granted;
    (v) Service on other advisory committees, professional societies, 
especially those associated with issues under discussion in this 
review; and
    (vi) Sources of recent (i.e., within the preceding two years) grant 
and/or other contract support, from government, industry, academia, 
etc., including the topic area of the funded activity.

Please note that even if there is no responsive information (e.g., no 
recent grant or contract funding), this must be indicated on the 
biosketch (by ``N/A'' or ``None''). Incomplete biosketches will result 
in nomination packages not being accepted.
    The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of the 
nomination. From the nominees identified by respondents to this notice 
(termed the ``Widecast''), the SAB Staff Office 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. 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 Subcommittee.
    For the EPA SAB Staff Office, a balanced subcommittee or review 
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 Subcommittee, along with 
information provided by candidates and information independently-
gathered by the SAB Staff Office 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) availability and willingness to 
serve; (c) absence of financial conflicts of interest; (d) scientific 
credibility and impartiality; and (e) skills working in advisory 
committees, subcommittees and review panels. Subcommittee members will 
likely be asked to attend no more than two public, face-to-face 
meetings and/or public teleconference meetings per year.
    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 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.
    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 on the SAB 
Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf.

    Dated: April 6, 2004.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 04-8224 Filed 4-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P