[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 159 (Monday, August 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50020-50022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17903]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0135; FRL-10013-62]


TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals; Request for 
Nominations; Extension of Nomination and Public Comment Periods

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; extension of nomination and public comment periods.

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SUMMARY: On March 20, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
invited the public to nominate scientific experts from a diverse range 
of disciplines to be considered for appointment to the Toxic Substances 
Control Act (TSCA), Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC). On 
April 15, 2020, a federal district court vacated the grants policy 
articulated in EPA's 2017 federal advisory committee membership 
directive. In light of that intervening decision, EPA is extending the 
nomination and public comment periods to receive additional nominees 
and input on prospective candidates for the SACC. Please note that all 
prior nominations and comments will be considered by EPA and do not 
need to be resubmitted.

DATES: 
    Nominations: To be considered for appointment to the SACC 
nominations must be received on or before September 1, 2020. Late 
nominations will not be considered.
    Comments: Public comments on prospective candidates for membership 
on the SACC must be received within 30 days of EPA posting of an 
updated List of Candidates. The availability of the list and the due 
date for public comments will be announced through the Office of 
Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP)'s listservs.

ADDRESSES: 
    Nominations: Submit your nominations, identified by docket 
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0135, by email to 
[email protected].
    Comments: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0135, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: 
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
    Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along 
with more information about dockets generally, is available at http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

    EPA is extending the nomination and public comment periods to 
receive additional nominees and input on prospective candidates to be 
considered for appointment to the SACC. The purpose of the SACC is to 
provide independent advice and expert

[[Page 50021]]

consultation, at the request of the EPA Administrator, with respect to 
the scientific and technical aspects of issues relating to 
implementation of TSCA. EPA anticipates appointing multiple SACC 
members over the next year. Sources in addition to this solicitation 
may be utilized to solicit nominations and identify candidates. Current 
members of the SACC are eligible for reappointment during this period. 
Therefore, the appointments completed over the next year may include a 
mix of newly appointed and reappointed members. As additional 
background, the biographies of current SACC members are available on 
the TSCA SACC website at https://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review/members-science-advisory-committee-chemicals.
    EPA previously solicited nominations for the SACC in the Federal 
Register of March 20, 2020 (85 FR 16095; FRL-10006-50), requesting such 
nominations be submitted such that they were received on or before 
April 20, 2020. On April 15, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the 
Southern District of New York (SDNY) vacated Section 1 of EPA's 2017 
federal advisory committee membership directive (2017 Directive), which 
announced ``a requirement that no member of an EPA federal advisory 
committee be currently in receipt of EPA grants.'' As a result of the 
vacatur, Section 1 is no longer in effect and EPA is following the 
relevant policies as they existed before the 2017 Directive. However, 
because EPA was still seeking nominations when the SDNY vacated Section 
1, EPA is reopening the SACC's membership solicitations and accepting 
further nominations and public comments.

II. Background

    The SACC is a federal advisory committee, established in December 
2016 pursuant to TSCA section 2625(o), and chartered under the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2. EPA established the 
SACC to provide independent advice and recommendations to the EPA 
Administrator on the scientific basis for risk assessments, 
methodologies, and approaches relating to implementation of TSCA. The 
SACC members serve as Special Government Employees (SGEs) or Regular 
Government Employees (RGEs). The SACC expects to meet approximately 4 
to 6 times per year, or as needed and approved by the DFO. Meetings may 
be virtual (e.g., held via telephone and webcast) or they may be held 
in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
    In January 2017, the EPA Administrator appointed 18 members to the 
SACC. After further consideration of the objectives and scope of SACC 
activities, EPA decided to increase the membership of the SACC, and in 
March 2018, completed additional appointments resulting in a total of 
26 members. Subsequently, some SACC members either resigned or declined 
to serve extended appointments. Currently, there are 19 SACC members, 
all with membership terms that will expire over the next year.
    To date, SACC members and ad hoc reviewers have provided their 
expertise and knowledge on the first draft chemical risk evaluations. 
These individuals have dedicated an incredible amount of time to 
provide EPA with thoughtful and important recommendations for improving 
the risk evaluations. At times, SACC members were working on multiple 
chemical evaluations while also preparing for and participating in peer 
review meetings and writing reports. EPA greatly appreciates the 
dedication and commitment to service of the SACC members.
    Given the foundation provided by the SACC recommendations from peer 
reviews of the first 10 chemical risk evaluations, EPA is exploring 
different ways to use the SACC's expertise for providing independent 
advice and expert consultation. The Agency is considering requesting 
that the SACC review significant, cross-cutting science issues on 
exposure, risk, and modeling, similar to how the Agency uses the 
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Scientific 
Advisory Panel (SAP) for health and safety issues related to 
pesticides. Therefore, EPA may not ask the SACC to peer review every 
single draft risk evaluation for the next 20 high priority chemicals. 
With this prospective change in the scope of SACC activities, EPA 
anticipates appointing approximately 15 members to the SACC by March 
2021.

III. Nominations

    EPA values and welcomes diversity and encourages nominations of 
women and men of all racial and ethnic groups. Any interested person or 
organization may nominate qualified persons to be considered for 
appointment to this advisory committee. Individuals also may self-
nominate. Nominations should be submitted in accordance with the 
instructions under ADDRESSES.
    Nominations should include candidates who have demonstrated high 
levels of competence, knowledge, and expertise in scientific/technical 
fields relevant to chemical safety and risk assessment. In particular, 
the nominees should include representation of the following 
disciplines, including, but not limited to: Human health and ecological 
risk assessment, biostatistics, epidemiology, pediatrics, 
physiologically-based pharmacokinetics (PBPK), toxicology and pathology 
(including neurotoxicology, developmental/reproductive toxicology, and 
carcinogenesis), and the relationship of chemical exposures to women, 
children, and other potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations.
    EPA requests that nominations include the following information: 
Current contact information for the nominee (including the nominee's 
name, organization, current business address, email address, and 
daytime telephone number); the disciplinary and specific areas of 
expertise of the nominee; the nominee's curriculum vitae; and a 
biographical sketch of the nominee developed using the template 
available at https://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review/science-advisory-committee-chemicals-basic-information. Persons having questions about 
the nomination process should contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The names and biographical sketches of all interested and available 
candidates will be added to an updated List of Candidates that will be 
posted in the docket at http://www.regulations.gov and a link to this 
document will be provided on the SACC website at http://www.epa.gov/tsca-peer-review. Please note that no interested and available 
candidates will be excluded from the list based on prescreening using 
the selection criteria described in the next section. The availability 
of the list will be announced through the Office of Chemical Safety and 
Pollution Prevention (OCSPP)'s listservs. You may subscribe to these 
listservs at the following website: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USAEPAOPPT/subscriber/new?topic_id=USAEPAOPPT_101. Public 
comments on the List of Candidates will be accepted for 30 days from 
the date the updated list is posted. Public comments should be 
submitted in accordance with the instructions under ADDRESSES. The 
public will be requested to provide relevant information or other 
documentation on nominees that the EPA should consider in evaluating 
candidates.

IV. Selection Criteria

    In addition to scientific expertise, in selecting members, EPA will 
consider the differing perspectives and the breadth of collective 
experience needed to address EPA's charge to the SACC, as well as the 
following:

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     Background and experiences that would contribute to the 
diversity of scientific viewpoints on the committee, including 
professional experiences in government, labor, public health, public 
interest, animal protection, industry, and other groups, as the EPA 
Administrator determines to be advisable (e.g., geographical location; 
social and cultural backgrounds; and professional affiliations);
     Skills and experience working on committees and advisory 
panels including demonstrated ability to work constructively and 
effectively in a committee setting;
     Absence of financial conflicts of interest or the 
appearance of a loss of impartiality;
     Willingness to commit adequate time for the thorough 
review of materials provided to the committee; and
     Availability to participate in committee meetings.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2625 et seq.; 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2 et seq.

    Dated: August 10, 2020.
Hayley Hughes,
Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020-17903 Filed 8-14-20; 8:45 am]
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