[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 120 (Friday, June 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33703-33704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13498]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10025-03-OP]


Request for Nominations of Candidates for the Clean Air 
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Particulate Matter (PM) 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 for the CASAC PM Panel. This panel will provide advice through 
the chartered CASAC on updates to the science and policy assessments 
supporting the agency's reconsideration of the December 2020 decision 
to retain the PM National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by July 16, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations 
may contact Mr. Aaron Yeow, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB Staff 
Office, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2050 or via email at 
[email protected].
    General information concerning the CASAC can be found on the 
following website: https://epa.gov/casac.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The CASAC was established pursuant to the Clean Air Act 
(CAA) Amendments of 1977, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7409(d)(2), to review 
air quality criteria and NAAQS and recommend to the EPA Administrator 
any new NAAQS and revisions of existing criteria and NAAQS as may be 
appropriate. The CASAC shall also: Advise the EPA Administrator of 
areas in which additional knowledge is required to appraise the 
adequacy and basis of existing, new, or revised NAAQS; describe the 
research efforts necessary to provide the required information; advise 
the EPA Administrator on the relative contribution to air pollution 
concentrations of natural as well as anthropogenic activity; and advise 
the EPA Administrator of any adverse public health, welfare, social, 
economic, or energy effects which may result from various strategies 
for attainment and maintenance of such NAAQS. As amended, 5 U.S.C., 
App. Section 109(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that EPA 
carry out a periodic review and revision, as appropriate, of the air 
quality criteria and the NAAQS for the six ``criteria'' air pollutants, 
including PM. The ecological effects of PM will be covered as part of 
the ongoing review of the secondary NAAQS for oxides of nitrogen, 
oxides of sulfur, and PM.
    The EPA Administrator recently announced his decision to reconsider 
the December 2020 decision to retain the particulate matter (PM) 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These standards were 
last revised in 2012. EPA is reconsidering the 2020 decision because 
available scientific evidence and technical information suggests that 
the current standards may not be adequate to protect public health and 
welfare. EPA has requested that CASAC review updates to the science and 
policy assessments that will supplement the existing record. The CASAC 
PM Panel will provide advice through the Chartered CASAC.
    The CASAC is a Federal advisory committee chartered under the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). As a Federal Advisory Committee, 
the CASAC conducts business in accordance with the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. App. 2) and related regulations. The 
CASAC and the CASAC PM Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA 
and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists 
with demonstrated expertise and research in the field of air pollution 
related to criteria pollutants. For the CASAC PM Panel, experts are 
being sought in the following fields, especially with respect to PM: 
Air quality and climate responses, atmospheric science and chemistry, 
toxicology, controlled human exposure studies, epidemiology, 
biostatistics, exposure assessment/modeling, risk assessment/modeling, 
and visibility impairment.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas 
of expertise described above. Individuals may self-nominate. 
Nominations should be submitted in electronic format (preferred) using 
the online nomination form under ``Public Input on Membership'' on the 
CASAC web page at https://epa.gov/casac. To be considered, all 
nominations should include the information requested below. EPA values 
and welcomes diversity. All qualified candidates are encouraged to 
apply regardless of sex,

[[Page 33704]]

race, disability or ethnicity. Nominations should be submitted by July 
16, 2021.
    The following information should be provided on the nomination 
form: Contact information for the person making the nomination; contact 
information for the nominee; and the disciplinary and specific areas of 
expertise of the nominee. Nominees will be contacted by the SABSO and 
will be asked to provide a recent curriculum vitae and a narrative 
biographical summary that includes: Current position, educational 
background; research activities; sources of research funding for the 
last two years; and recent service on other national advisory 
committees or national professional organizations. Persons having 
questions about the nomination process or the public comment process 
described below, or who are unable to submit nominations through the 
CASAC website, should contact the DFO, as identified above. 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 on the CASAC 
website at https://epa.gov/casac. Public comments on each List of 
Candidates will be accepted for 21 days from the date the list is 
posted. 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 this 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 lack of impartiality; (e) skills working in committees, 
subcommittees and advisory panels; and, (f) for the panel as a whole, 
diversity of expertise and viewpoints.
    Candidates may be asked to submit the ``Confidential Financial 
Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on Federal 
Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency'' (EPA 
Form 3110-48). This confidential form is required for Special 
Government Employees (SGEs) and allows EPA to determine whether there 
is a statutory conflict between that person's public responsibilities 
as an SGE 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 through the ``Ethics Requirements for Advisors'' 
link on the CASAC home page at https://epa.gov/casac. This form should 
not be submitted as part of a nomination.

Thomas H. Brennan,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-13498 Filed 6-24-21; 8:45 am]
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