[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 124 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35463-35465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12538]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8332-7]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations for 
Science Advisory Board Panels on Uncertainty Analysis and Expert 
Elicitation

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces 
the formation of SAB Panels to address issues related to uncertainty 
analysis and expert elicitation and is soliciting nominations for 
members of the Panels.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by July 19, 2007 per the 
instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain further information regarding this announcement may contact Dr. 
Angela Nugent, Designated Federal Officer, via telephone at: (202) 343-
9981 or e-mail at: [email protected]. The SAB mailing address is: 
U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. General 
information about the SAB as well as any updates concerning this 
request for nominations may be found on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There has been a recent increase in interest 
in the use of uncertainty analysis and expert elicitation as tools to 
be used in regulatory analyses and in support of EPA decision-making. 
At the request of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation and Office of the 
Science Advisor, the SAB plans to form several expert panels, as 
needed, to provide technical advice to EPA through the chartered SAB 
regarding the Agency's ongoing work in uncertainty analyses and expert 
elicitation. The SAB is a chartered Federal Advisory Committee, 
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 policies and actions. The 
SAB expert panels to be formed to address scientific issues related to 
uncertainty analysis and expert elicitation will comply with the 
provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and all 
appropriate SAB procedural policies.
    Several specific reports have called for increased attention to 
quantitative uncertainty analysis and expert elicitation. In 2002, the 
National Research Council (NRC) published a Report to Congress, titled 
``Estimating the Health-Risk-Reduction Benefits of Proposed Air 
Pollution Regulations.'' One of the recommendations of the NRC was that 
``EPA should begin to move the assessment of uncertainties from its 
ancillary analyses into the primary analysis by conducting 
probabilistic, multiple-source uncertainty analyses. This shift will 
require specification of probability distributions for major sources of 
uncertainty. These distributions should be based on available data and 
expert judgment.'' More recently, the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) suggested using expert elicitation as a tool in addressing 
Circular A-4 requirements (OMB, 2004) for probabilistic uncertainty 
analysis and also discussed its use in a Proposed Risk Assessment 
Bulletin (OMB, 2006). Provisions for expert elicitation were also 
included in EPA's recently revised cancer guidelines (2005). EPA's 
experience conducting expert elicitations has been limited, with the 
majority of experience in the Office of Air and Radiation.
    The SAB Staff Office has received requests for advice from the SAB 
on four new advisory activities related to implementation of methods 
related to uncertainty analysis and expert elicitation. These four 
activities are summarized below.
    EPA's Office of Air and Radiation has requested SAB review of a 
draft document, ``Hierarchy of Methods Report,'' that catalogues 
quantitative and qualitative methods available for characterizing 
uncertainty in risk assessments and regulatory impact analyses. The 
document provides guidance for selecting methods, given the type of 
uncertainty being addressed, the quantity and type of available 
evidence or data, and the ability to gather additional data. The 
document summarizes data requirements associated with different 
methods, resource needs, experience and acceptability, and other 
considerations on their use to support regulatory decisions. The Office 
of Air and

[[Page 35464]]

Radiation requests SAB review of the characterization of methods 
described in the report, including the applicability, limitations and 
resource needs and the soundness of the approaches outlined on how to 
select specific approaches to characterizing uncertainty for risk 
assessments and regulatory impact analyses.
    The Office of Air and Radiation has requested SAB advice on a draft 
``Influence Analysis Report,'' designed to help improve EPA analyses by 
identifying the sources of greatest impact on overall uncertainty. The 
Office of Air and Radiation requests advice on the methodological 
approach for developing the ``Influence Analysis Report'' to ensure 
that the office follows best practices for conducting influence 
analyses and adequately covers the issues contributing to uncertainty 
in analyses related to the benefits of air pollution-related 
environmental protection.
    EPA's Office of the Science Advisor has requested SAB review of an 
``Expert Elicitation (EE) Task Force White Paper.'' The White Paper 
discusses the potential utility of using expert elicitation to support 
EPA regulatory and non-regulatory analyses and decision-making, 
provides recommendations for expert elicitation ``good practices,'' and 
describes steps for a broader application across EPA. The Office of the 
Science Advisor has asked the SAB to provide advice regarding the 
potential usefulness of expert elicitation, how to strengthen the 
scientific basis for its use, and the implications for possible 
implementation at EPA.
    EPA's Office of Air and Radiation has requested SAB review of an 
expert elicitation conducted to estimate the benefits of reduced 
premature mortalities associated with exposures to fine particles in 
the air. This expert elicitation was conducted in support of regulatory 
analyses for an upcoming proposed rulemaking (the Regulatory Impact 
Analysis of the Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards). The Office of Air and Radiation has asked the SAB to review 
the design, implementation, and results of the expert elicitation and 
EPA's interpretation of those results within the particulate matter 
Regulatory Impact Analysis. The Agency seeks SAB advice on whether the 
interpretation and application of the results of the elicitation in the 
Regulatory Impact Analysis are consistent with the recommendations from 
the NRC and whether the results are presented in a valid, clear, and 
concise manner for use by a wide variety of audiences, including 
scientists, policy analysts, decision-makers, and the public.
    Availability of the Review Materials: The EPA draft documents to be 
reviewed by the SAB Panel will be made available by the Office of Air 
and Radiation and Office of the Science Advisor. For questions and 
information concerning the review materials of the documents being 
developed by the Office of Air and Radiation, please contact Dr. Lisa 
Connor, at (919) 541-5060, or [email protected]. For questions and 
information concerning the review materials of the documents being 
developed by the Office of the Science Advisor, please contact Dr. 
Robert Hetes, at (919) 541-1589, or [email protected].
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is requesting 
nominations for nationally and internationally recognized non-EPA 
scientists with expertise and experience related to uncertainty 
analysis or expert elicitation in the following fields: Statistics, 
mathematics, biostatistics, cognitive psychology, decision analysis, 
environmental economics, human health sciences, ecological science, 
epidemiology, policy analysis, risk assessment, and risk communication.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to add 
expertise to the SAB Uncertainty and Expert Elicitation Expert Panels 
in the areas of expertise described above. Nominations should be 
submitted in electronic format through the SAB Web site at the 
following URL: http://www.epa.gov/sab; or directly via the Form for 
Nominating Individuals to Panels of the EPA Science Advisory Board link 
found at URL: http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/paneltopics.html. Please 
follow the instructions for submitting nominations carefully. To be 
considered, nominations should include all of the information required 
on the associated forms. Anyone unable to submit nominations using the 
electronic form and who has any questions concerning the nomination 
process may contact Dr. Angela Nugent, DFO, as indicated above in this 
notice. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than 
July 19, 2007.
    For nominees to be considered, please include: Contact information; 
a curriculum vitae; a biosketch of no more than two paragraphs 
(containing information on the nominee's current position, educational 
background, areas of expertise and research activities, service on 
other advisory committees and professional societies; the candidate's 
special expertise related to the panel being formed; and sources of 
recent grant and/or contract support).
    The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations. 
The names and biosketches of qualified nominees identified by 
respondents to the Federal Register notice and additional experts 
identified by the SAB Staff will be posted on the SAB Web site at: 
http://www.epa.gov/sab. Public comments on this ``Short List'' of 
candidates will be accepted for 21 calendar 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 balanced subcommittee or 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. To 
establish individual expert panels for the advisory activities 
described above, the SAB Staff Office will consider public comments on 
the ``Short List'' of candidates, information provided by the 
candidates themselves, and background information independently 
gathered by the SAB Staff Office. Specific 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; and (e) skills 
working in committees, subcommittees and advisory panels; and, for the 
Panel as a whole, (f) diversity of, and balance among, scientific 
expertise, viewpoints, etc.
    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 
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.

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    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: June 22, 2007.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
 [FR Doc. E7-12538 Filed 6-27-07; 8:45 am]
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