[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 118 (Monday, June 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35026-35027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14890]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9165-4]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office Request for Nominations of 
Experts for a Nutrient Criteria Review Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of request for nominations.

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SUMMARY: The Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is requesting 
public nominations of experts to form an SAB panel to review EPA's 
technical support document on development of numeric nutrient criteria 
for Florida's estuarine and coastal waters, and southern canals.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by July 12, 2010 per 
instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Request for Nominations may contact 
Ms. Stephanie Sanzone, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science 
Advisory Board (1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20460; via telephone/voice mail (202) 343-9697; by fax at (202) 233-
0643; or via e-mail at [email protected]. General information 
concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found on the EPA SAB 
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent 
scientific and technical advice, consultation and recommendations to 
the EPA Administrator on the technical basis for Agency positions and 
regulations. The SAB Staff Office is forming an expert panel to review 
a draft technical support document (TSD) being developed by the Office 
of Water (OW). The draft TSD will describe methods and approaches for 
developing numeric nutrient criteria for Florida's estuarine and 
coastal waters, downstream protection values in streams to protect 
those waters, and criteria for flowing waters in the south Florida 
region (including canals). The Nutrient Criteria Review Panel will be 
asked to review and comment on the scientific validity of the Agency's 
draft TSD. The SAB panel will comply with the provisions of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and all appropriate SAB procedural 
policies. Upon completion, the panel's report will be submitted to the 
chartered SAB for final approval for transmittal to the EPA 
Administrator.
    Availability of the review materials: The EPA draft technical 
support document will be posted on the SAB Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/FL%20Estuaries%20TSD?OpenDocument. For questions concerning the review 
materials, please contact Elizabeth Behl, at (202) 566-0788, or 
[email protected].
    Request for nominations: The SAB Staff Office is requesting 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists 
with specialized expertise and research or management experience in: 
Assessing nutrient effects in freshwater, estuarine and coastal 
ecosystems; ecosystem dynamics; hydrodynamic modeling; and numerical 
approaches for deriving nutrient criteria for the protection of aquatic 
life. The specialized expertise and experience may be in one or more of 
the following disciplines: Biology; chemistry; biogeochemistry; 
ecology; limnology; oceanography; modeling; and statistics.
    Process and deadline for submitting nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals for possible 
service on the Nutrient Criteria 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 Ms. Sanzone, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than July 
12, 2010. 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 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, may be influenced by work history and affiliation), and the 
collective breadth of experience to adequately address the charge. In 
establishing the Nutrient Criteria Review Panel, the SAB Staff Office 
will consider public comments on the 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; (e) 
skills working in advisory committees and panels for the Panel as a 
whole, and (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

[[Page 35027]]

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: June 14, 2010.
Anthony Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-14890 Filed 6-18-10; 8:45 am]
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