[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]
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