[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 160 (Friday, August 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51090-51091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17871]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10133-01-OA]


Request for Nominations of Candidates for the Science Advisory 
Board Clean Air Status and Trends Network

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 EPA Clean Air Status and Trends 
Network (CASTNET). This panel will review Agency presentations on the 
history, operation, contributions, and options for future operation of 
the monitoring network to offer advice regarding the future of this 
monitoring network.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by September 9, 2022 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 J. Bloomer, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA 
Science Advisory Board Staff Office by telephone/voice mail (202) 564-
4222, or email at [email protected]. General information concerning 
the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov.

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 CASTNET review panel, 
under the auspices of the Chartered SAB. The CASTNET review panel will 
provide advice through the chartered SAB. The SAB and the CASTNET 
review panel will comply with the provisions of FACA and all 
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    The CASTNET review panel will conduct the review of the monitoring 
network operated by the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). The 
Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET) is a national long-term 
monitoring network that provides data to characterize ambient pollutant 
concentrations in rural communities, estimate atmospheric deposition of 
air pollutants and quantify their ecological effects, and assess the 
effectiveness of the Agency's regulatory programs (e.g., air quality 
and deposition trends). The CASTNET Review Panel will conduct the 
review of CASTNET as requested by the EPA's Office of Air and 
Radiation. CASTNET measurements were initially designed, and are 
currently used, to evaluate the efficacy of regional and national air 
pollution control programs (e.g., atmospheric deposition and to inform 
ozone NAAQS attainment). Over the last 15 years, measurements were also 
used to review, set, and assess compliance with the primary and 
secondary NAAQS (i.e., O3, PM, 
SOX,NOX); support scientific advances in 
understanding the fate and regional transport of ozone and 
PM2.5 precursors, including evaluating the possible impact 
of climate change on air pollution; and underpin development, 
evaluation, and application of air quality models used by the Agency to 
establish effective regulations. The rural network is unique from, and 
complimentary to, state regulatory measurements (e.g., SLAMS) that are 
typically located within urban population centers. CASTNET is managed 
and operated in cooperation with the National Park Service, Bureau of 
Land Management, and other partners, including federal, state, and 
local agencies, and seven Native American tribes. The CASTNET program 
of EPA/OAR is a major contributor to the National Acid Deposition 
Program (NADP), a long-term cooperative environmental monitoring effort 
of federal, state, and tribal agencies, educational institutions, non-
governmental organizations, and private companies. These programs 
monitor atmospheric concentrations and deposition of pollutants and 
their effects on ecosystems. NADP consists of more than 250 sites 
across North America, including the National Trends Network (NTN), 
which monitors precipitation chemistry, and the Ammonia Monitoring 
Network (AMoN), which monitors ambient ammonia concentrations. EPA/OAR 
supports 28 NTN sites and 61 AMoN sites. Many of the CASTNET and NADP/
NTN sites have been operating for more than 30 years and have been used 
to observe climate and changing weather impacts on air quality and air 
pollution.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists 
with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines: Atmospheric 
Sciences, Air Quality Monitoring, Atmospheric Modeling, Atmospheric 
Chemistry, Ecology, Geostatistics, Biogeochemical Cycling, and Climate 
Change.
    Strongest consideration will be given to individuals with 
demonstrated experience (as documented in their curriculum vitae and 
publication history) with atmospheric chemical and particle wet and dry 
deposition; nitrogen impacts in ecosystems; critical loads; climate 
change impacts on air quality; differences in rural and urban air 
quality; photochemistry; atmospheric ammonia measurements, modeling and 
emission inventories; analysis of long-term environmental trends; 
forest ecology; soil chemistry; stream and lake chemistry; and 
biological monitoring of acid sensitive species.

[[Page 51091]]

    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 September 9, 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 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 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.

V Khanna Johnston,
Deputy Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-17871 Filed 8-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P