[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 113 (Monday, June 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35771-35772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12703]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL 9921-01-OA]


Request for Nominations for a Science Advisory Board Panel on 
BenMAP and Benefits Methods

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office is expanding its request for nominations 
previously announced on April 5, 2022. The EPA SAB Staff Office 
previously requested nominations of scientific experts to form a panel 
to review EPA's new cloud-based Environmental Benefits and Mapping 
(BenMAP) tool, an open-source computer program that calculates 
estimated air pollution-related deaths and illnesses and their 
associated economic values. In that notice, the SAB Staff Office 
indicated its intention to announce a separate panel that would address 
the approach EPA takes for selecting and applying evidence in its 
PM2.5 and Ozone (O3) benefits assessments. 
Because the two panels would require substantially similar expertise, 
the SAB Staff Office has now determined that it is appropriate to 
combine them into a single panel with a more comprehensive charge. The 
Science Advisory Board Staff Office is soliciting additional candidates 
to complement those nominated for the review of BenMAP.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by June 27, 2002 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. Bryan Bloomer, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA 
Science Advisory Board via telephone/voice mail (202) 564-4222, or 
email at [email protected]. General information concerning the EPA 
SAB can be found at https://sab.epa.gov. For information concerning 
EPA's technical support document, please contact Mr. Neal Fann via 
telephone/voice mail at (919) 541-0209 or email at [email protected].

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 SAB BenMAP and Benefits 
Methods Panel, under the auspices of the Chartered SAB. The BenMAP and 
Benefits Methods Panel will provide advice through the chartered SAB. 
The SAB will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB 
Staff Office procedural policies.
    The SAB BenMAP and Benefits Methods Panel will conduct the review 
of EPA's BenMAP tool as described previously in 87 FR 19680-19681. 
BenMAP is an open-source computer program that calculates the number 
and economic value of air pollution-related deaths and illnesses. In 
addition, the SAB BenMAP and Benefits Methods Panel will review EPA's 
technical support document Estimating PM2.5- and Ozone-Attributable 
Health Benefits as requested by the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. 
Collectively, the SAB BenMAP and Benefits Methods Panel will review 
both EPA's approach for selecting and applying the evidence used to 
quantify and monetize air pollution-related effects and how the BenMAP 
tool performs these calculations. With today's notice, the SAB Staff 
Office is expanding its solicitation of April 5, 2022 (87 FR 19680-
19681) so that a broader panel, the BenMAP and Benefits Methods Panel, 
can also review EPA's selection of human health endpoints, risk 
estimates and monetized values in an air pollution benefits assessment, 
as well as the agency's characterization of uncertainty inherent in EPA 
benefits assessments. These additional topics will be in combination 
with the panel's review of the BenMAP tool.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists 
with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines: air pollution 
epidemiology; biostatistics; risk assessment; demographics; public 
health data science; uncertainty analysis; and environmental economics, 
particularly, the valuation of benefits from pollution reductions. The 
SAB Staff Office is seeking nominees from the listed disciplines above, 
with expertise that emphasizes the health effects of air pollution and 
the development of economic values for reductions in air pollution.
    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. 
Individuals may self-nominate. Nominations should be submitted in 
electronic format (preferred) using the online nomination form on the 
SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov (see the ``Public Input on 
Membership'' list under ``Committees, Panels, and Membership'' 
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 
https://sab.epa.gov). To be considered, nominations should include the 
information requested below. EPA values and welcomes diversity. All 
qualified candidates are encouraged to apply regardless of sex, race, 
disability, or ethnicity. Nominations should be submitted in time to 
arrive no later than June 27, 2022.
    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 SAB Staff 
Office and will be asked to provide a recent curriculum vitae and a 
narrative biographical summary that include the following: current 
position, educational background; research activities; sources of 
research funding for the last two years; and recent service on other

[[Page 35772]]

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 DFO at the contact information noted 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 for the panel on 
the SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov. 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 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 Lists 
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 is 
required and 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 
through the ``Ethics Requirements for Advisors'' link on the SAB 
website at https://sab.epa.gov. This form should not be submitted as 
part of a nomination.
    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://sab.epa.gov.

Thomas H. Brennan,
Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-12703 Filed 6-10-22; 8:45 am]
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