[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2373-2374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-641]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9252-2]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations of 
Experts to Augment the SAB Scientific and Technological Achievement 
Awards Committee

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is 
requesting public nominations for scientists and engineers to augment 
the SAB Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards (STAA) 
Committee.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by February 3, 2011 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. Edward Hanlon, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB 
Staff Office, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2134; by fax at 
(202) 565-2098 or via email at [email protected]. General 
information concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board 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.
    EPA's STAA Program was established in 1980 to recognize Agency 
scientists and engineers who published their work in the peer-reviewed 
literature. The STAA Program is an annual Agency-wide competition to 
promote and recognize scientific and technological achievements by EPA 
employees. The STAA program is administered and managed by EPA's Office 
of Research and Development (ORD). ORD requested SAB to review 
scientific publications nominated by EPA managers and make 
recommendations to the Administrator for STAA awards.
    A STAA Committee was formed in June 2009 to provide recommendations 
to the Administrator regarding the nominated 2009, 2010 and 2011 STAA 
awards. The STAA Committee was augmented with additional experts to 
make recommendations for the 2010 STAA awards (Federal Register Notice 
Volume 75, Number 44, Pages 10481-10482, published on March 8, 2010). 
There is a need to supplement the STAA Committee with additional 
expertise to review the 2011 STAA nominations.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists and 
engineers having experience and expertise in environmental and human 
health sciences, ecology, risk assessment, environmental engineering, 
environmental lifecycle or systems analysis, and in environmental 
sustainability fields such as in green chemistry, green technologies, 
and green building design.
    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 ad hoc 
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.
    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. Edward Hanlon, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than 
February 3, 2011. EPA values and welcomes diversity. In an effort to

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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 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. Public comments on this 
List of Candidates will be accepted for 21 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 
augmenting the SAB STAA Committee, 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, for the 
Panel as a whole, (f) 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 at 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: January 6, 2011.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-641 Filed 1-12-11; 8:45 am]
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