[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55548-55549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25987]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8974-7]


EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations 
of Experts for the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Lead 
Review Panel

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

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by November 18, 2009 per 
instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Request for Nominations may contact 
Mr. Aaron Yeow, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB Staff Office, by 
telephone/voice mail at (202) 343-9878; by fax at (202) 233-0643; or 
via e-mail at [email protected]. General information concerning the 
CASAC or the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found on the EPA SAB Web 
site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

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 
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 
periodically review and revise, as appropriate, the air quality 
criteria and the NAAQS for the six ``criteria'' air pollutants, 
including lead. With the release of the final rule for the Lead NAAQS 
on October 15, 2008 and its subsequent publication in the Federal 
Register (73 FR 66964) on November 12, 2008, the Agency has completed 
its most recent review of the NAAQS for lead. EPA formed the CASAC Lead 
Review Panel that supported EPA's 2005-2008 Lead

[[Page 55549]]

NAAQS review in February 2006. Information about EPA's 2005-2008 Lead 
NAAQS Review and the CASAC Lead Review Panel's advice can be found on 
the CASAC Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebProjectsbyTopicCASAC!OpenView.
    This Federal Register notice seeks nominations for subject matter 
experts to serve on a new CASAC Lead Review Panel for the next review 
cycle of the Lead NAAQS that will begin in fiscal year (FY) 2010. The 
Panel will be charged with reviewing EPA's technical and policy 
assessments that support the Agency's review of the NAAQS for lead, 
including drafts of the Integrated Review Plan, Integrated Science 
Assessment, Risk/Exposure Assessment, Policy Assessment, and 
Rulemaking. The CASAC Lead Review Panel will comply with the provisions 
of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is requesting 
nominations of nationally recognized experts with expertise in one or 
more of the following areas, particularly with respect to lead: 
Atmospheric sciences; fate and transport; exposure assessment; 
toxicology; biokinetic modeling; epidemiology; risk assessment; 
biostatistics; ecology; and air quality.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals for possible 
service on the CASAC Lead Review Panel in the areas of expertise 
described above. Nominations should be submitted in electronic format 
(which is preferred over hard copy) following the instructions for 
``Nominating Experts to Advisory Panels and Ad Hoc Committees Being 
Formed'' provided on the SAB Web site. The instructions can be accessed 
through the ``Nomination of Experts'' link on the blue navigational bar 
on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab. To receive full 
consideration, nominations should include all of the information 
requested.
    EPA's SAB Staff Office requests: Contact information about the 
person making the nomination; contact information about the nominee; 
the disciplinary and specific areas of expertise of the nominee; the 
nominee's curriculum vita; sources of recent grants and/or contracts; 
and a biographical sketch of the nominee indicating current position, 
educational background, research activities, and recent service on 
other national advisory committees or national professional 
organizations.
    Persons having questions about the nomination procedures, or who 
are unable to submit nominations through the SAB Web site, should 
contact Mr. Aaron Yeow, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than 
November 18, 2009. EPA values and welcomes diversity. In an effort to 
obtain nominations of diverse candidates, EPA encourages nominations of 
women and men of all racial and ethnic groups.
    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. In 
establishing the CASAC Lead 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. Selection 
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 and viewpoints.
    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.
    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: October 22, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-25987 Filed 10-27-09; 8:45 am]
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