[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5838-5839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1774]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8522-9]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office, SAB Particulate Matter (PM) 
Research Centers Program Review Panel; Request for Nominations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) 
Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is announcing the formation 
of an SAB panel to advise the Agency concerning the future direction of 
its Particulate Matter (PM) Research Centers Program. The SAB Staff 
Office is soliciting public nominations for this Panel.

DATES: New nominations should be submitted by February 21, 2008.

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 (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice 
mail: (202) 343-9994; fax: (202) 233-0643; or e-mail at: 
[email protected]. General information concerning the EPA 
Science Advisory Board can be found on the EPA Web Site: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide 
independent scientific and technical advice to the Administrator on the 
technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The SAB is a 
Federal advisory Committee chartered under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. The SAB will comply 
with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office 
procedural policies.
    In EPA's 1998 appropriations bill, Congress directed EPA to 
establish as many as five university-based particulate matter (PM) 
research centers as part of the expanded Office of Research and 
Development (ORD) PM research program. The first research centers were 
funded from 1999 to 2005. The total budget for each center over five 
years was $8 million, for a program total of $40 million. In the 
original Request for Applications (RFA), prospective Centers were asked 
to propose an integrated research program on the health effects of PM, 
including exposure, dosimetry, toxicology and epidemiology. In 2004, a 
second competition was held. This RFA asked respondents to address the 
central theme of ``linking health effects to PM sources and 
components,'' and to focus on the research priorities of 
susceptibility, biological mechanisms, exposure-response relationships, 
and source linkages. From the second competition, five current centers 
are funded for 2005-2010 (the budget remains $40 million total).
    ORD's PM Research Centers program was initially shaped by 
recommendations from the National Research Council. The SAB conducted 
an interim review of the Centers program in 2002 (see: http://
yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/6374FD2B32EFE730852570CA007415FE/
$File/ec02008.pdf), which was instrumental in providing additional 
guidance for the second phase of the program (2005-2010). The Agency 
now seeks the advice of an SAB expert panel on the structure and 
strategic direction for the program as ORD contemplates funding a third 
round of air pollution research centers into the future. This Federal 
Register notice solicitation is seeking nominations for the SAB PM 
Research Centers Program Review Panel.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is requesting 
nominations for nationally- and internationally-recognized, non-EPA 
scientists with extensive research program management expertise and 
experience related to airborne pollution and the application of 
research results in reducing air pollution in protection human health 
and the environment. The experts should also have had direct research 
experience related to PM.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to add 
expertise to the SAB PM Research Centers Program Review Panel in the 
areas of expertise listed above. Nominations should be submitted in 
electronic format through the SAB Web site: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/Web/participatepanelformation?OpenDocument. 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 Mr. Fred Butterfield, DFO, as indicated above in 
this notice. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later 
than February 21, 2008.
    To be considered, all nominations should include: A current 
curriculum vitae (C.V.) which provides the nominee's background, 
qualifications, research expertise and relevant publications for 
service on the Panel; and a brief biographical sketch (``biosketch''). 
The biosketch should be no longer than one page and should contain the 
following information for the nominee:
    (a) Current professional affiliations and positions held;
    (b) Area(s) of expertise, and research activities and interests 
relevant to the Panel;
    (c) Leadership positions in national associations or professional 
publications or other significant distinctions;
    (d) Educational background, especially advanced degrees, including 
when and from which institutions these were granted; and
    (e) Service on other advisory committees or professional societies, 
especially those associated with issues under discussion in this 
review.

Incomplete biosketches will not be considered. The EPA SAB Staff Office 
will acknowledge receipt of nominations.
    The EPA SAB Staff Office will post the biosketches of qualified 
nominees for public comment on the SAB Web site. Information will be 
made available via the link to this panel found at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebBoard/SABAdHocCommitteesandPanels?OpenDocument, and will include, for each 
candidate, the nominee's name and their biosketch. Public comments on 
this ``Short List'' of candidates will be accepted for 21 calendar 
days. The

[[Page 5839]]

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. In 
establishing the final SAB PM Research Centers Program Review Panel, 
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 
SAB Web site: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/Web/Ethics?OpenDocument.
    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, September 2002), 
which is posted on the SAB Web site: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebSABSO/OverviewPanelForm?OpenDocument.

    Dated: January 25, 2008.
Anthony Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E8-1774 Filed 1-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P