[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 40 (Friday, February 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11429-11430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04455]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0138; FRL-9907-31-OW]


Request for Nominations for Peer Reviewers and Notice of Public 
Comment Period for Draft Health Effects Documents for Perfluorooctanoic 
Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Request for nominations for peer reviewers and notice of public 
comment period.

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SUMMARY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites the public to 
nominate scientific experts to be considered as peer reviewers for the 
contractor-managed external peer review of the draft documents 
entitled, ``Health Effects Document for Perfluorooctanoic Acid'' and 
``Health Effects Document for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate.'' In addition, 
EPA is announcing the release of the draft health effects documents for 
public comment. Public comments will be made available to the peer 
reviewers for consideration in their review. The draft documents and 
charge questions were prepared in order to support potential future 
regulatory evaluations and decisions. These draft documents do not 
represent and should not be construed to represent final Agency policy.

DATES: The nomination period for scientific experts begins on February 
28, 2014 and ends on March 21, 2014.
    The public comment period begins on February 28, 2014 and ends on 
April 29, 2014. Technical comments should be submitted to the public 
EPA docket by April 29, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Any interested person or organization may nominate 
scientific experts to be considered as a peer reviewer. Nominations 
should be submitted in time to arrive no later than March 21, 2014. 
Self-nominations will also be accepted. Nominations should be submitted 
to the EPA contractor, Versar, Inc., online using the following URL: 
http://peerreview.versar.com/epa/pfoa. Nominations will also be 
accepted by U.S. Postal mail or by an overnight/priority mail service. 
http://www.versar.com/epa/bristolbaynominationform.html Mailed 
nominations should be addressed to Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, 
Springfield, VA 22151 (ATTN: Betzy Colon) and should include all 
nominee information outlined in Section II of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document. Submit your comments on the draft 
health effects documents and peer review charge questions, identified 
by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0138, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Attention Docket No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2014-0138
     Mail: EPA Water Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 2822-IT, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. 
Please include a total of two copies (including references).
     Hand Delivery: EPA Water Docket, EPA Docket Center, 
William Jefferson Clinton West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20004, Docket No. EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0138. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov 
or email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an email comment directly to EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov your email address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket 
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic 
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact 
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you 
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties 
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to 
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special 
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or 
viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the 
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 
For additional instructions on submitting comments, go to Section III 
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0138 
Docket, EPA/DC, William Jefferson Clinton Building West, Room 3334, 
1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is 
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is 
(202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the EPA Water Docket is 
(202) 566-2426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning the nomination 
process or Web site should be directed to the EPA contractor, Versar, 
Inc., at 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA 22151; by email 
[email protected] (subject line: PFOA/PFOS Peer Review); or by 
phone: (703) 642-6727 (ask for Betzy Colon). For additional information 
concerning the health effects documents, please contact Joyce Donohue 
at U.S. EPA, Office of Water, Health and Ecological Criteria Division 
(Mail Code 4304T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: 202-566-1098; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information on the Draft Health Effects Documents for 
Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate

    EPA has prepared draft health effects documents for 
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) for 
purposes of public comment (scientific views) and peer review. EPA will 
consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this

[[Page 11430]]

notice when finalizing the documents. Once the health effects documents 
are finalized, they will be utilized to develop lifetime health 
advisory values for each chemical. PFOA and PFOS are listed on the 
third contaminant Candidate List (CCL3) \1\ and both chemicals are 
currently being monitored under the third Unregulated Contaminant 
Monitoring Rule (UCMR3) \2\.
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    \1\ CCL3 is a list of contaminants that are currently not 
subject to any proposed or promulgated national primary drinking 
water regulations, that are known or anticipated to occur in public 
water systems, and which may require regulation under the Safe 
Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Additional information about the CCL3 can 
be found at the following Web site: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/dws/ccl/ccl3.cfm.
    \2\ EPA uses the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring (UCM) 
program to collect data for unregulated contaminants suspected to be 
present in drinking water. Results from UCMR3 can be examined as 
they become available at the following Web site: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/ucmr3/.
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II. How To Submit Nominations for Peer Reviewers

    Expertise Sought: EPA is seeking candidates who are nationally and/
or internationally recognized scientific experts to serve as external 
peer reviewers for the draft health effects documents for PFOA and 
PFOS. Nominees should possess and demonstrate background knowledge and 
experience in one or more of the following areas: (1) Epidemiology, (2) 
toxicology (liver effects, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, developmental 
and reproductive toxicology, etc.), (3) membrane transport, (4) human 
health risk assessment, (5) pharmacokinetic models, and (6) mode-of-
action for cancer and noncancer effects.
    Selection Criteria: Selection criteria for individuals nominated to 
serve as external peer reviewers of the draft documents include the 
following: (1) Demonstrated expertise through relevant peer reviewed 
publications, (2) professional accomplishments and recognition by 
professional societies, (3) demonstrated ability to work constructively 
and effectively in a committee setting, (4) absence of financial 
conflicts of interest, (5) no actual conflicts of interest or the 
appearance of lack of impartiality, (6) willingness to commit adequate 
time for the thorough review of the draft health effects documents for 
PFOA and PFOS commencing in June 2014 (exact date to be determined), 
and (7) availability to participate in-person in a two-day peer review 
meeting in the Washington, DC metro area in July or August 2014 (exact 
date will be published in the Federal Register at least 30 days prior 
to the external peer review meeting). Further information regarding the 
external peer review meeting will be announced at a later date in the 
Federal Register.
    Peer reviewer candidates must not have previously provided comments 
on the draft health effects documents for PFOA and PFOS; that is, 
anyone wishing to be considered as a peer reviewer must not submit 
comments during the 60-day public comment period. However, candidates 
not selected for the panel peer review will be given a limited 
opportunity to submit public comments once the final peer reviewers are 
selected by Versar, Inc., the EPA contractor managing this peer review 
process.
    Required Nominee Information: To receive full consideration, the 
following information should be provided on the nomination form 
available at the Versar URL: (1) Contact information for the person 
making the nomination; (2) contact information for the nominee; (3) the 
disciplinary and specific areas of expertise of the nominee; (4) the 
nominee's curriculum vita; and (4) a biographical sketch of the nominee 
indicating current position, educational background, past and current 
research activities, and recent service on other advisory committees, 
peer review panels, editorial boards, or professional organizations, 
sources of recent grant and/or contract support, and other comments on 
the relevance of the nominee's expertise to this peer review topic. 
Compensation of non-federal peer reviewers will be provided by EPA's 
contractor.
    Selection Process: EPA's contractor, Versar, will notify candidates 
of selection or non-selection. Versar may also conduct an independent 
search for candidates to assemble a balanced group representing the 
expertise needed to fully evaluate EPA's draft documents. Versar will 
consider and screen all candidates against the criteria listed above. 
Following the screening process, Versar will narrow the list of 
potential reviewers to 12-15 candidates. Prior to selecting the final 
peer reviewers, a second Federal Register notice will be published 
(exact date to be determined) to solicit comments on the interim list 
of 12-15 candidates. The public will be requested to provide relevant 
information or documentation on the nominees that Versar should 
consider in evaluating the candidates within 21 days of following the 
announcement of the interim candidates. Once the public comments on the 
interim list of candidates have been reviewed, Versar will select the 
final six to seven peer reviewers who, collectively, best provide 
expertise spanning the multiple areas listed above and, to the extent 
feasible, best provide a balance of perspectives. Additional 
information on the nomination process can be found at: http://peerreview.versar.com/epa/pfoa.

III. How to Submit Comments (Scientific Views) on the Draft Health 
Effects Documents

    The draft documents ``Health Effects Document for Perfluorooctanoic 
Acid'' and ``Health Effects Document for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate'' 
and charge questions are available electronically by the following 
methods: (1) Public Docket at http://www.regulations.gov (Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OW-2014-0138) or (2) Versar's peer review Web site at http://peerreview.versar.com/epa/pfoa. Oral or written comments will not be 
accepted during the external peer review meeting, so it is important 
that all comments be submitted during the public comment period. As 
stated in Section II, anyone wishing to be considered as a peer 
reviewer must not submit comments during the 60-day public comment 
period. No comments will be accepted after the closing of the comment 
period except from those nominated as a potential peer reviewer but not 
selected as a final peer reviewer.

    Dated: February 24, 2014.
Nancy K. Stoner,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2014-04455 Filed 2-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P