[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50505-50506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20521]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL- 9717-1]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office Request for Nominations of 
Experts for the SAB Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel

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 technical experts to form an SAB ad 
hoc panel to provide advice through the chartered SAB on EPA's research 
related to hydraulic fracturing.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by September 11, 2012 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 SAB can be found at the EPA SAB Web site 
at http://www.epa.gov/sab. Any inquiry regarding EPA's planned research 
efforts on the potential public health and environmental protection 
issues that may be associated with hydraulic fracturing should be 
directed to Ms. Cindy Roberts, EPA Office of Research and Development 
(ORD), at [email protected] or (202) 564-1999. Media inquiries 
regarding EPA's hydraulic fracturing research results should be 
directed to Dayna Gibbons, EPA ORD, at [email protected] or (202) 
564-7983.

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.
    Over the past few years, the public has expressed concern regarding 
the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing. In 
response, Congress urged EPA to study the potential impacts of 
hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. In February 2011, EPA 
published its Draft Plan to Study the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic 
Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources. The SAB reviewed this report 
and provided advice to the EPA Administrator (SAB Review of EPA's Draft 
Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan). EPA-SAB-11-012, available on the SAB 
Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/
2BC3CD632FCC0E99852578E2006DF890/$File/EPA-SAB-11-012-unsigned.pdf).
    EPA ORD is currently developing a ``Progress Report: Potential 
Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources,'' expected 
to be released in December 2012, which will describe the status of its 
research on the potential environmental and human health implications 
of hydraulic fracturing. EPA is seeking SAB advice on the status of the 
research described in its Progress Report. EPA plans to use such advice 
for the development of a report of results, estimated to be released in 
2014, which will also be reviewed by the SAB. The SAB Staff Office is 
establishing an ad hoc advisory panel to provide such advice and review 
under the auspices of the SAB. In addition, this SAB Panel may also 
provide advice on other technical documents and issues related to 
hydraulic fracturing upon further request by EPA.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists and 
engineers having experience and expertise related to hydraulic 
fracturing, including but not limited to the following disciplines or 
areas of experience: Natural gas and petroleum engineering and geology; 
natural gas and petroleum well drilling, completion, testing, and 
closure; hydrology/hydrogeology; groundwater and surface water fate/
transport modeling; geochemistry and analytical chemistry; 
environmental monitoring; conducting laboratory and/or field-based 
research in hydraulic fracturing; human health effects and risk 
assessment; civil and environmental engineering; chemical engineering; 
drinking water and waste water treatment systems; water quality; and 
statistics.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas 
of expertise described above. 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,'' http://www.epa.gov/sab provided on the SAB Web site. If you 
wish to nominate yourself or another expert, please follow the 
instructions that 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 http://www.epa.gov/ 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

[[Page 50506]]

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. The bio-
sketches and resume or curriculum vita of nominees identified by 
respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts 
identified by the SAB Staff, will be made available to the public upon 
request.
    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 
September 11, 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: August 10, 2012.
Thomas Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-20521 Filed 8-20-12; 8:45 am]
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