[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 231 (Tuesday, December 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77211-77212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26472]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10017-92-OA]


Request for Nominations for a Science Advisory Board Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office requests public nominations of scientific 
experts to form a Panel to review the BenMAP model, an open-source 
computer program that calculates estimated air pollution-related deaths 
and illnesses and their associated economic value. BenMAP is a 
shorthand title referring to the Environmental Benefits Mapping and 
Analysis Program. The Panel will review the latest available public 
release version of the BenMAP software.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by December 29, 2020 per the 
instructions below.

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 via telephone/voice mail (202) 564-2073, or 
email 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 Staff Office is forming an expert panel, 
the BenMAP Review Panel under the auspices of the Chartered SAB. The 
BenMAP Review Panel will provide advice through the chartered SAB. The 
SAB and the BenMAP Review Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA 
and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies. The BenMAP 
Review Panel will conduct the review of BenMAP as requested by the 
EPA's Office of Air and Radiation.
    Technical Contact for EPA's draft report: For information 
concerning BenMAP-Community Edition v1.5, please contact Neal Fann by 
email at [email protected] or phone (919) 541-0209.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists 
with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines: Software 
development (including C#/.Net and SQL databases); Geographic 
Information Systems and Geostatistics; Demographics; Risk Assessment; 
Statistics/Biostatistics; Photochemical Air Quality Modeling; 
Economics/Non-Market Valuation. The Panel will be asked to examine the 
C# code in BenMAP and independently validate results so panelists will 
need the appropriate software experience and general risk assessment 
experience to conduct this review. Questions regarding this advisory 
activity should be directed to the DFO, Dr. Holly Stallworth, listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas 
of expertise described above for possible service on the SAB Panel 
identified in this notice. Individuals may self-nominate. Nominations 
should be submitted in electronic format (preferred over hard copy) 
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

[[Page 77212]]

under ``Current Activities'' at http://www.epa.gov/sab). To receive 
full consideration, nominations should include all of the information 
requested below. Nominators unable to submit nominations electronically 
as described above may contact the DFO, Dr. Holly Stallworth, listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    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 the, Dr. Holly Stallworth, listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later 
than December 29, 2020. EPA values and welcomes diversity. In an effort 
to obtain nominations of diverse candidates, EPA encourages nominations 
of women and men of all racial and ethnic groups.
    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 Office, will be posted in a List of 
Candidates for the Panel on the SAB website at http://www.epa.gov/sab. 
Public comments on the List of Candidates will be accepted for 15 days. 
The public will be requested to provide relevant information or other 
documentation on nominees that the SAB Staff Office 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 to adequately address the charge. In forming the expert 
panel, 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); (b) availability and willingness to serve; (c) 
absence of financial conflicts of interest; (d) absence of an 
appearance of a loss of impartiality; (e) skills working in committees, 
subcommittees and advisory panels; 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 Environmental Protection Agency 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.
    The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects members 
for subcommittees and review panels is described in the following 
document: Overview of the Panel Formation Process at the Environmental 
Protection Agency Science Advisory Board (EPA-SAB-EC-02-010), which is 
posted on the SAB website at https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/
sabproduct.nsf/WebFiles/OverviewPanelForm/$File/ec02010.pdf.

Thomas Brennan,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-26472 Filed 11-30-20; 8:45 am]
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