[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 242 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78256-78257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32279]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9508-2]


Request for Nominations of Experts for the Review of Approaches 
To Derive a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal for Perchlorate

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office requests 
public nominations for technical experts to form an SAB panel to review 
the agency's approaches for a deriving maximum contaminant level goal 
(MCLG) for perchlorate.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by January 13, 2012.

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 email 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. In response to EPA's 
request, the SAB Staff Office will form an expert panel to review EPA's 
approaches to derive an MCLG for perchlorate.
    In 2011, EPA announced its decision (76 FR 7762-7767) to regulate 
perchlorate under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and publish a 
proposal no later than February 2013. SDWA requires EPA to request 
comments from the SAB prior to proposal of a maximum contaminant level 
goal (MCLG) and national primary drinking water regulation. EPA has 
therefore requested an SAB review of the scientific and technical bases 
for the approaches being considered to derive an MCLG for perchlorate. 
The agency seeks review of a draft Health Effects Support Document for 
Perchlorate. This draft document is under development and is expected 
to be available in early 2012. The document will include the following 
information: EPA's use and interpretation of reference doses (RfDs); 
statutory requirements for MCLGs and approaches for deriving MCLGs that 
EPA has used in the past; a discussion of the 2005 National Research 
Council report, ``Health Implications of Perchlorate Ingestion;'' and 
discussion of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling 
related to perchlorate health effects.
    Availability of the review materials: The draft Health Effects 
Support Document for perchlorate will be available and posted on the 
agency's Web site in the near future. For questions concerning the 
draft Health Effects Support Document for Perchlorate, please contact 
either Mr. Eric Burneson, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, 
U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., MC 4607M, Washington, DC 20460, 
phone (202) 564-5250 or at [email protected] or Mr. Daniel Olson, 
Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., MC 4607M, Washington, DC 20460, phone (202) 564-5239 or at 
[email protected]

[[Page 78257]]

    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: drinking water, public health, epidemiology, 
toxicology, endocrinology, requirements and approaches to derive MCLGs, 
PBPK models, and health implications of perchlorate ingestion.
    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 (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 at the SAB Web site 
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 resume or 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 January 
13, 2012. 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 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. 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 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; (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 a 
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: December 9, 2011.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-32279 Filed 12-15-11; 8:45 am]
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