[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39833-39835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17150]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0448; FRL-9997-71]


Nominations to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides the names, addresses, and professional 
affiliations of persons recently nominated to serve on the Scientific 
Advisory Panel (SAP) established under section 25(d) of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The Panel was 
created on November 28, 1975, and made a permanent Panel by amendment 
to FIFRA, dated October 25, 1988. The Agency, at this time, anticipates 
selecting three new members to serve on the panel because of membership 
terms that will expire during the next year. Public comments on the 
current nominations are invited, as these comments will be used to 
assist the Agency in selecting the new members for the chartered 
Scientific Advisory Panel.

DATES: Comments identified by docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0448, 
must be received on or before September 11, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0448, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not 
electronically submit any information you consider to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute.
     Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 
20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Knott, M.S., Designated Federal 
Officer (DFO), Office of Science Coordination and Policy (7201M), 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 564-0103; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, 
however, be of interest to persons who are or may be required to 
conduct testing of chemical substances under the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) and FIFRA. Given other entities may also be 
interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific 
entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any questions 
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, 
consult the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or email. If your comments contain any information that 
you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, please contact the DFO 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special 
instructions before submitting your comments.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

II. Background

    The FIFRA SAP serves as a scientific peer review mechanism of EPA's 
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and is 
structured to provide independent scientific advice, information, and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on pesticides and pesticide-
related issues as to the impact of regulatory actions on health and the 
environment. The FIFRA SAP is a federal advisory committee established 
in 1975 under FIFRA that operates in accordance with requirements of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix). The FIFRA SAP 
is composed of a permanent panel consisting of seven members who are 
appointed by the EPA Administrator from nominees provided by the 
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation 
(NSF). FIFRA established a Science Review Board (SRB) consisting of at 
least 60 scientists who are available to the FIFRA SAP on an ad hoc 
basis to assist in reviews conducted by the FIFRA SAP. As a scientific 
peer review mechanism, the FIFRA SAP provides comments, evaluations, 
and recommendations to improve the

[[Page 39834]]

effectiveness and quality of analyses made by Agency scientists. 
Members of the FIFRA SAP are scientists who have sufficient 
professional qualifications, including training and experience, to 
provide expert advice and recommendations to the Agency.
    The Agency, at this time, anticipates selecting three new members 
to serve on the panel because of membership terms that will expire 
during the next year. The Agency requested that NIH and NSF nominate 
experts for selection from the fields of ecological and human health 
risk assessment with specific expertise in mathematical biostatistics, 
ecotoxicology and environmental fate and transport of chemicals, and 
neurotoxicity (including developmental neurotoxicity). The Agency also 
noted that experts with specific experience in cheminformatics, 
bioinformatics, and genomics are preferred. Nominees should be well 
published and current in their fields of expertise.

III. Charter

    A Charter for the FIFRA SAP, dated October 17, 2018, was issued in 
accordance with the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 
Public Law 92-463, 86 Stat. 770 (5 U.S.C. Appendix). The Charter 
provides for open meetings with opportunities for public participation.

IV. Nominees

A. Qualifications of Members

    Members are scientists who have sufficient professional 
qualifications, including training and experience, to provide expert 
comments on the impact of pesticides on human health and the 
environment. No persons shall be ineligible to serve on the FIFRA SAP 
by reason of their membership on any other advisory committee to a 
federal department or agency, or their employment by a federal 
department or agency (except the EPA). The Administrator appoints 
individuals to serve on the Panel for staggered terms of up to 3 years. 
Panel members are subject to the provisions of the Standards of Ethical 
Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch at 5 Code of Federal 
Regulations Part 2635, conflict of interest statutes in Title 18 of the 
United States Code, and related regulations. Each nominee selected by 
the Administrator, before being formally appointed, is required to 
submit a confidential statement of employment and financial interest, 
which shall fully disclose, among other financial interests, the 
nominee's sources of research support, if any.
    In accordance with section 25(d)(1) of FIFRA, the Administrator 
shall require nominees to the FIFRA SAP to furnish information 
concerning their professional qualifications, including educational 
background, employment history, and scientific publications. FIFRA 
further stipulates that the Agency publish the name, address, and 
professional affiliation of the nominees in the Federal Register.

B. Applicability of Existing Regulations

    With respect to the requirements of section 25(d) of FIFRA that the 
Administrator promulgate regulations regarding conflicts of interest, 
FIFRA SAP members are subject to the provisions of the Standards of 
Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch at 5 Code of 
Federal Regulations Part 2635, conflict of interest statutes in Title 
18 of the United States Code, and related regulations.

C. Process of Obtaining Nominees

    In accordance with the provisions of section 25(d) of FIFRA, EPA, 
on February 25, 2019, requested that the NIH and the NSF nominate 
scientists to fill vacancies occurring on the FIFRA SAP. The Agency 
requested nominations of experts in the fields of ecological and human 
health risk assessment with specific expertise in mathematical 
biostatistics, ecotoxicology and environmental fate and transport of 
chemicals, and neurotoxicity (including developmental neurotoxicity). 
The Agency also noted that experts with specific experience in 
cheminformatics, bioinformatics, and genomics are preferred. NIH and 
NSF responded, providing the Agency with a total of 35 nominees. Two 
nominees, Dr. Dana Barr of Emory University and Dr. Marion Ehrich of 
Virginia Tech, are recent members of the FIFRA SAP and, therefore, were 
not considered further for membership at this time. Of the remaining 33 
nominees, 15 are interested and available to actively participate in 
FIFRA SAP meetings (see Section IV.D.). The following 18 individuals 
are not available:
    1. David Allison, Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
    2. Asa Bradman, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 
California.
    3. Alex Buerkle, Ph.D., University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming.
    4. Atul Butte, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San 
Francisco, California.
    5. Lucio Costa, Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle, 
Washington.
    6. Rebecca Doerge, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania.
    7. Elaine Faustman, Ph.D.., University of Washington, Seattle, 
Washington.
    8. Jodi Flaws, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 
Illinois.
    9. Brandon Gaut, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 
California.
    10. Phillipe Grandjean, M.D., Harvard University, Boston, 
Massachusetts.
    11. Linda Lee, Ph.D., Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
    12. Mary Kay O'Rourke, Ph.D., University of Arizona, Tucson, 
Arizona.
    13. Virginia Rauh, Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, New York.
    14. Rick Relyea, Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New 
York.
    15. Diane Rohlman, Ph.D., University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
    16. Jason Rohr, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 
Indiana.
    17. Caroline Tanner, Ph.D., University of California, San 
Francisco, California.
    18. Cari Vanderpool, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-
Champaign, Illinois.

D. Interested and Available Nominees

    Following are the names, addresses, and professional affiliations 
of current nominees being considered for membership on the FIFRA SAP. 
Selected biographical data for each nominee is available in the public 
docket at www.regulations.gov (ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0448) and 
through the FIFRA SAP website at https://www.epa.gov/sap. The Agency 
anticipates selecting three individuals to fill vacancies occurring 
during the next year.
    1. Jeffrey Bloomquist, Ph.D.: Professor, Entomology and Nematology 
Department, Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, 
Gainesville, Florida.
    2. Maria Braga, D.D.S., Ph.D.: Professor, Department of Anatomy, 
Physiology and Genetics, Uniformed Services University of the Health 
Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
    3. Joseph Braun, R.N., M.S.P.H., Ph.D.: Associate Professor, 
Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
    4. Celia Chen, Ph.D.: Director, Dartmouth Toxic Metals Superfund 
Research Program and Research Professor, Department of Biological 
Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
    5. Susan Fisher, Ph.D.: Professor Emerita, Department of 
Entomology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
    6. Jean Harry, M.S., Ph.D.: Group Leader, Neurotoxicology 
Laboratory, National Toxicology Program, National Institute of 
Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

[[Page 39835]]

    7. Tyrone Hayes, Ph.D.: Professor, Department of Integrative 
Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California.
    8. Lucille Lange, Ph.D.: Research Psychologist, US Army Medical 
Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Aberdeen Proving Ground, 
Maryland.
    9. James Lauderdale, Ph.D.: Associate Professor, Department of 
Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.
    10. Maureen Lichtveld, M.D., M.P.H.: Professor and Chair, 
Department of Global Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public 
Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, 
Louisiana.
    11. Lorenz Neuwirth, Ph.D.: Assistant Professor, Department of 
Psychology and the Neuroscience Research Institute, State University of 
New York (SUNY), Old Westbury, New York.
    12. Edna Pereira, Ph.D.: Associate Professor, Department of 
Epidemiology and Public Health and Director, Division of Translational 
Toxicology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, 
Maryland.
    13. Rebecca Smith, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D.: Assistant Professor, 
Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University 
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
    14. John Swaddle, Ph.D.: Professor and Chair, Biology Department, 
College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
    15. Christopher Weis, Ph.D.: Toxicology Liaison, National 
Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health 
Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et. seq.; 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.

    Dated: August 2, 2019.
Hayley Hughes,
Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-17150 Filed 8-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P