[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65627-65629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27073]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9217-8]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations of 
Experts for the Review of EPA's Draft Oil Spill Research Strategy

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office requests 
public

[[Page 65628]]

nominations for technical experts to form a SAB panel to peer review 
the Agency's Draft Oil Spill Research Strategy. EPA's Office of 
Research and Development will be developing the strategy to discuss 
EPA's proposed research and collaborative approaches for four 
activities: dispersants, alternative remediation technologies, coastal 
restoration, and human health effects identified during the Gulf of 
Mexico oil spill.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by November 9, 2010 per 
instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations 
may contact Mr. Thomas Carpenter, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB 
Staff Office, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4885, by fax at 
(202) 565-2098, or via e-mail at [email protected]. General 
information concerning the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA SAB Web site 
at http//www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The SAB (42 U.S.C. 4365) is a 
chartered Federal Advisory Committee that provides independent 
scientific and technical peer review, advice, consultation, and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the technical basis for EPA 
actions. As a Federal Advisory Committee, the SAB conducts business in 
accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. 
App. 2) and related regulations. The SAB will comply with the 
provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural 
policies.
    After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the 
EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office prepared to meet EPA's emerging 
needs for advice relating to science and research linked to oil spills 
by announcing plans on May 19, 2010 to convene work groups of experts 
drawn from the U.S. EPA SAB to provide advice on scientific and 
technical issues related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill (75 FR 28009). 
In a subsequent Federal Register Notice the SAB Staff Office requested 
public nominations of experts to serve on potential work groups or 
panels to advise the Agency on scientific and technical issues related 
to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (75 FR 32769-32770, June 9, 2010). The 
request sought nominations of nationally and internationally recognized 
experts with demonstrated research or operational experience assessing 
the environmental impacts and associated mitigation of impacts due to 
oil spills, oil products, oil constituents, and dispersants in air and 
water (including wetlands) media. The Federal Register Notice sought 
individuals with expertise in one or more of the following disciplines: 
chemistry; fate, transport and exposure assessment; toxicology; public 
health; ecology; ecotoxicology; risk assessment; engineering; and 
economics.
    Since publication of these Federal Register Notices, EPA's ORD has 
requested SAB advice on a Draft Oil Spill Research Strategy and changes 
to EPA's existing Oil Spill Research Program in light of the Deepwater 
Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This notice specifically 
requests public nominations for technical experts to form an SAB panel 
to peer review this Draft Oil Spill Research Strategy.
    ORD was authorized to conduct oil spill research by the Oil 
Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA-90) following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. 
Since 1990, the objective of the research has been to provide 
environmental managers with the tools, models, and methods needed to 
mitigate the effects of oil spills in all ecosystems with emphasis on 
the inland environment. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of 
Mexico has fundamentally different characteristics than previous near-
shore oil spills creating new research needs for oil spill treatment 
methods (e.g., in-situ burning, bioremediation, and the use of 
dispersants), and potential human health and ecological impacts.
    The Deep Water Horizon spill identified the need for additional 
research on alternative spill response technologies; environmental 
impacts of chemical dispersants under deep sea application conditions; 
the fate and toxicity of dispersants and dispersed oil; chronic health 
effects for spill response workers and the public; and shoreline and 
wetland impacts, restoration and recovery. Accordingly, ORD is 
developing a research strategy to address these needs, and has 
requested that the SAB review their draft strategy.
    Availability of the review materials: The Draft Oil Spill Research 
Strategy will be available and posted on the Agency's Web site in the 
near future. General information on EPA's response to the BP Oil Spill 
in the Gulf of Mexico is available at http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/. For 
questions concerning the Draft Oil Spill Research Strategy, please 
contact Dr. Randy Wentsel, National Program Director for Land Research 
Program, Office of Research and Development, US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., MC 8191R, Washington, DC 20460, phone (202) 564-3214 or at 
[email protected].
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists and 
engineers with demonstrated expertise and research in one or more of 
the following areas: Chemistry, fate, transport and exposure 
assessment, public health, toxicology, ecotoxicology risk assessment, 
restoration ecology, environmental engineering, and environmental 
monitoring. We are particularly interested in scientists and engineers 
with direct experience in the oil spill remediation, management, and 
implementation of environmental protection and restoration programs 
that have included development of metrics and environmental indicators 
used to monitor, evaluate, and communicate progress in returning 
ecosystems and communities to conditions that support sustainability.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas 
of expertise described above for possible service on this expert Panel. 
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 below.
    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 grant and/or contract 
support; 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. Thomas Carpenter, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than 
November 9, 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.

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    The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations. 
The names and bio-sketches of qualified nominees identified by 
respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts 
identified by the SAB Staff, will be posted in a List of Candidates on 
the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab. 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 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 forming this expert 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; and (e) skills working in committees, subcommittees and 
advisory panels; and, (f) for the Panel as a whole, diversity of 
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 20, 2010.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-27073 Filed 10-25-10; 8:45 am]
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