[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 124 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36319-36321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14511]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8685-4]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC); Ozone Review Panel Request for Nominations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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) Review Panel for 
ambient ozone. The SAB Staff Office is soliciting public nominations 
for this Panel.

DATES: New nominations should be submitted by July 17, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Request for Nominations may contact 
Mr. Fred Butterfield, CASAC 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 CASAC can 
be found on the EPA Web site at http://www.epa.gov/casac.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) was 
established under section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) 
(42 U.S.C. 7409) as an independent scientific advisory committee. CASAC

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provides advice, information and recommendations on the scientific and 
technical aspects of 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.
    Section 109(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that EPA 
carry out a periodic review and revision, as appropriate, of the air 
quality criteria and the NAAQS for the six ``criteria'' air pollutants, 
including ambient ozone. With the release of the Final Rule for Ozone 
NAAQS on March 12, 2008, and its subsequent publication in the Federal 
Register (73 FR 16436) on March 27, 2008, the Agency has completed its 
most recent review of the NAAQS for ozone, pursuant to sections 108 and 
109 of the Act. The CASAC's Ozone Review Panel for that three-year 
review was formed in April 2005. The Ozone Panel last met on March 28, 
2008, to offer its additional, unsolicited advice to the Agency on the 
Final Rule for the Ozone NAAQS. The CASAC's letter to the EPA 
Administrator from that teleconference meeting (EPA-CASAC-08-009, dated 
April 7, 2008) is posted on the CASAC's Web Site at http://www.epa.gov/casac.
    This Federal Register notice solicitation is seeking nominations 
for subject matter experts to serve on the CASAC Ozone Review Panel for 
the next review cycle of the Ozone NAAQS that begins in fiscal year 
(FY) 2009. The Panel will be charged with reviewing EPA's science and 
policy assessments that form the basis for updating the NAAQS for 
ozone, and will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate 
SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    Nominator's Assessment of Expertise: The SAB Staff Office requests 
nominees for the CASAC Ozone Review Panel who are nationally-recognized 
experts in one or more of the following disciplines: (a) Atmospheric 
Sciences. Expertise in: (1) Physical and chemical properties of ozone 
and other photochemical oxidants and their precursor substances; (2) 
atmospheric processes involved in the formation, transport, and 
degradation of ozone and other photochemical oxidants in the 
atmosphere, including interaction with global climate and stratospheric 
ozone; (3) evaluation of natural and anthropogenic sources and 
emissions of precursors of tropospheric ozone and other photochemical 
oxidants; (4) monitoring and measurement of ozone and other 
photochemical oxidants; and (5) and spatial and temporal trends in 
atmospheric concentrations of ozone and other photochemical oxidants.
    (b) Exposure Modeling and Assessment. Expertise in measuring human 
population exposure to ozone and/or in modeling human exposure to 
ambient and indoor pollutants. (c) Dosimetry. Expertise in measuring 
and/or estimating tissue doses of reactive gases in human and animal 
populations. (d) Toxicology. Expertise in evaluation of experimental 
toxicological effects and mechanisms of action of ozone and/or other 
photochemical oxidants in animal studies. (e) Controlled Human 
Exposure. Expertise in evaluation of controlled human exposure studies 
and/or ex vivo investigations of the effects of ozone and/or other 
photochemical oxidants on healthy and compromised human adults and 
children. (f) Epidemiology. Expertise in evaluation of the effects of 
exposures to ambient ozone and/or other major ambient air co-pollutants 
on human population groups. (g) Risk Assessment and Biostatistics. 
Expertise in quantitative human health risk assessment and uncertainty 
analysis. (h) Ecological Effects. Expertise in evaluation of the 
effects of ozone on vegetation, terrestrial species and populations, 
and ecological risk assessment. (i) Ecological Resource Valuation. 
Expertise in valuation and benefits assessment approaches and models of 
ecological resource and other welfare effects.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to add 
expertise to the CASAC Ozone Review Panel in the areas of expertise 
described above. Nominations should be submitted in electronic format 
through the CASAC Web site at http://www.epa.gov/casac through the link 
for ``Public Nomination of Experts'' on the blue navigation bar. Please 
follow the instructions for submitting nominations carefully. To be 
considered, nominations should include all of the information 
requested. Anyone unable to submit nominations using the electronic 
form and who has any questions concerning the nomination process may 
contact Mr. Fred Butterfield, CASAC DFO, as indicated above in this 
notice. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than 
July 17, 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: current position, educational 
background, areas of expertise and research activities related to the 
panel activities, service on advisory committees not supported by the 
SAB Staff Office, and involvement professional societies.
    The EPA SAB Staff Office will post the biosketches of qualified 
nominees for public comments on the CASAC Web site at http://www.epa.gov/casac 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 a minimum of 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. In 
establishing the final CASAC Ozone 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

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may be viewed and downloaded from the following SAB Web site at http://
yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebSABSO/Form3110-48/$File/
epaform3110-48.pdf.
    The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects 
subcommittees and review panels is described on the ``Overview of the 
Panel Formation Process'' page on the SAB Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebSABSO/OverviewPanelForm?OpenDocument.

    Dated: June 19, 2008.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
 [FR Doc. E8-14511 Filed 6-25-08; 8:45 am]
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