[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 113 (Wednesday, June 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27327-27328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12410]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9995-15-OA]


Request for Nominations of Candidates for EPA's Science Advisory 
Board Economic Guidelines Review Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science 
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office invites nominations of environmental 
economists to be considered for appointment to the SAB's Economic 
Guidelines Review Panel.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than 
July 3, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations 
may contact Dr. Holly Stallworth, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA 
Science Advisory Board Staff Office (1400R), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
by telephone at (202) 564-2073 or at [email protected].
    General information concerning the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA 
SAB website 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 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 Economic 
Guidelines Review Panel will be an ad hoc panel of the SAB that 
provides advice through the chartered SAB. It will be charged with 
reviewing revised chapters of the Guidelines for Preparing Economic 
Analyses by EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE). 
The EPA relies on the Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses when 
evaluating the economic consequences of its regulations and policies 
and it is critical that the Guidelines reflect the most current, peer-
reviewed and established practices in the economics profession. The 
NCEE has been working to improve the Guidelines by updating and 
revising selected chapters as appropriate. While most chapters will be 
revised, NCEE anticipates more substantive changes in chapters 
addressing the following topics: baselines and other analytic design 
considerations, discounting future benefits and costs, analyzing 
benefits (including health, ecosystem services valuation and benefit 
transfer), analyzing costs, economic impact analysis (including 
employment effects), distributional effects (including environmental 
justice). The Economic Guidelines Review Panel will comply with the 
provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural 
policies. The SAB Economic Guidelines Review Panel will operate under 
the auspices of the SAB.
    Request For Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of environmental economists with extensive experience and 
expertise estimating benefits and/or costs of environmental outcomes, 
conducting and/or evaluating benefit cost analyses, and assessing 
distributional effects, including economic impacts of environmental 
regulation. Peer reviewed economics journal publications within the 
last ten years focused on cost estimation, benefits valuation, 
evaluation of benefit cost analyses or economic impact analyses is 
highly desirable.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals with relevant 
experience for possible service on the SAB Economic Guidelines Review 
Panel identified in this notice. Nominations should be submitted in 
electronic format (preferred) following the instructions for 
``Nominating Experts to Advisory Panels and Ad hoc Committees Being 
Formed,'' provided on the SAB website (see the ``Nomination of 
Experts'' link under ``Current Activities'') at http://www.epa.gov.sab.
    To receive full consideration, 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 vitae; 
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 website, should 
contact Dr. Holly Stallworth as indicated above in this notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than July 3, 
2019. EPA values and welcomes diversity. All qualified candidates are 
encouraged to apply regardless of sex, race, disability, or ethnicity.
    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 website at http://www.epa.gov/sab. Public comments on the 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

[[Page 27328]]

should consider in evaluating candidates.
    For the EPA SAB Staff Office, a balanced 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. 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), e.g., journal publications within the last ten years 
on cost estimation/benefits valuation, evaluation of benefit cost 
analyses or economic impacts of environmental regulation; (b) 
availability and willingness to serve; (c) absence of financial 
conflicts of interest; (d) absence of an appearance of a loss of 
impartiality; and (e) skills working in panels and advisory committees; 
and, (f) for the panel as a whole, diversity of expertise and 
scientific points of view.
    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'' (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 include membership on an EPA federal 
advisory committee) and private interests and activities, or the 
appearance of a loss of impartiality, as defined by federal regulation. 
The form may be viewed and downloaded from the following URL address 
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/Web/ethics?OpenDocument.

    Dated: June 5, 2019.
Khanna Johnston,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2019-12410 Filed 6-11-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P