[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66711-66712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18373]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2015-0765; FRL-12151-01-ORD]


Request for Nominations of Experts to the Office of Research and 
Development's Board of Scientific Counselors Advisory Committee

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking 
nominations for technical experts to serve on its Board of Scientific 
Counselors (BOSC), a Federal advisory committee to the Office of 
Research and Development (ORD). Submission of nominations should be 
made via the BOSC website at: https://www.epa.gov/bosc.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by September 6, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please submit nominations by completing the nomination form 
provided on the BOSC website at https://www.epa.gov/bosc.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public needing 
additional information regarding this Notice and Request for 
Nominations may contact Mr. Tom Tracy, Office of Science Advisor, 
Policy and Engagement, Office of Research and Development, Mail Code 
B343-01, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; 
via phone/voice mail at: (919) 541-4334; or via email at: 
[email protected]. General information concerning the BOSC can be found 
at the following website: https://www.epa.gov/bosc.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The BOSC is a chartered Federal Advisory Committee established by 
the EPA to provide independent scientific and technical peer review, 
advice, consultation, and recommendations on ORD's research programs. 
As a Federal Advisory Committee, the BOSC conducts business in 
accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. 
app. 10) and related regulations.
    The BOSC is comprised of an Executive Committee and one or more 
supporting subcommittee(s). Current subcommittees are: Social and 
Community Science, and Climate Change. All the work of BOSC 
subcommittees and ad-hoc panels is conducted under the auspices of the 
chartered BOSC Executive Committee. The BOSC Executive Committee 
members review all BOSC subcommittee and ad-hoc panel draft reports and 
determine whether each meets the BOSC's criteria and high-quality 
standards required to deliver them to the EPA Administrator. General 
information concerning the BOSC, including its charter, current 
membership, and activities can be found on the EPA website at: https://www.epa.gov/bosc.

BOSC Membership

    Members of the BOSC constitute a distinguished body of non-EPA 
scientists, engineers, and economists who are experts in their 
respective fields. EPA will consider nominees from industry, business, 
public and private research institutes or organizations, academia, 
government (Federal, State, local, and Tribal) and non-government 
organizations, and other relevant interest areas. Members are appointed 
by the EPA Administrator to serve as special government employees and 
provide independent expert advice to the agency, for a maximum of six 
years of service. EPA compensates special government employees for 
their time and provides reimbursement for travel and other incidental 
expenses associated with official government business related to the 
BOSC meetings, as allowed.
    Members of the BOSC are subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 
2634, Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, as supplemented by the EPA 
in 5 CFR part 6401. In anticipation of this requirement, each nominee 
will be asked to submit confidential financial information that fully 
discloses, among other financial interests, the candidate's employment, 
stocks and bonds, and where applicable, sources of research support. 
The information provided is strictly confidential and will not be 
disclosed to the public. Before a candidate is considered further for 
service on the BOSC, EPA will evaluate each candidate to assess whether 
there is any conflict of financial interest, appearance of a lack of 
impartiality, or prior involvement with matters likely to be reviewed 
by the Board.

Expertise Sought

    The chartered BOSC provides scientific advice to the EPA 
Administrator on a variety of EPA science and research topics. EPA 
invites nominations of individuals to serve on the chartered BOSC with 
expertise or extensive experience in the following scientific 
disciplines and topic areas as they relate to human health and the 
environment:

Agronomy, Soil Science
Air Quality
Atmospheric Sciences
Biology and Microbiology
Chemistry (including Environmental)
Climate Science and Change
Community Engagement
Contaminated Site Remediation
Disaster Science
Ecology
Ecosystem Services
Emergency Management
Energy and the Environment
Environmental Economics
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Justice
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
Environmental Modeling
Epidemiology
Exposure Science and Assessment
Forestry and Natural Resource Management
Information and Data Science
Materials/Waste Management
New Approach Methods
Novel Analytical Methods
Participatory Science (including Community and Citizen Science)
Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) Modeling
Public Health
Research Program Evaluation
Risk Assessment (including Human Health, Ecological, Environmental)
Science Policy/Public Policy
Social, Behavioral and Decision Sciences
Sustainability
Systems Science
Toxicology
Water Quality (including drinking water, surface water, groundwater)
Water Quantity and Reuse
Watershed Management

Submission of Nominations

    To nominate a candidate for consideration or self-nominate, please 
visit the BOSC website at https://www.epa.gov/bosc to access and 
complete the nomination form. Nominations should be submitted no

[[Page 66712]]

later than 11:59 p.m., September 6, 2024. To receive full 
consideration, nominations should include all information requested. 
EPA's nomination form requests: contact information about the person 
making the nomination; contact information about the nominee; the 
disciplinary and specific areas of expertise of the nominee; committee 
preference; the nominee's curriculum vita and/or resume; and additional 
information that would be useful for considering the nomination such as 
background and qualifications (e.g., current position, educational 
background, expertise, research areas), experience relevant to one or 
more of ORD's research programs, service on other advisory committees 
and professional societies, and availability to participate as a member 
of the Executive Committee and/or Subcommittee. EPA values and welcomes 
diversity. To obtain nominations of diverse candidates, EPA encourages 
all qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender, race, 
disability, or ethnicity, as well as from a variety of backgrounds 
(e.g., tribal, industry, non-profit organizations, academia, and 
government). Persons having questions about the nomination procedures, 
or who are unable to submit nominations through the BOSC website, 
should contact Mr. Tom Tracy, as indicated above under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

Evaluation of Nominations

    The BOSC is a balanced and diverse board of experts designed to 
possess the necessary domains of expertise, depth and breadth of 
knowledge, and diverse and balanced scientific perspectives to best 
support the needs of the EPA's ORD. Nominations will be evaluated on 
the basis of several criteria including: (a) demonstrated scientific 
and/or technical credentials and disciplinary expertise, knowledge, and 
experience in relevant fields; (b) availability to serve and 
willingness to commit time to the committee (approximately one to three 
meetings per year both by teleconferences and possibly face-to-face 
meetings); (c) absence of financial conflicts of interest; (d) absence 
of an appearance of a lack of impartiality; (e) demonstrated ability to 
work constructively and effectively on committees; and (f) background 
and experiences that would contribute to the diversity of viewpoints on 
the Executive Committee, e.g., workforce sector, geographical location, 
social, cultural, and educational backgrounds, and professional 
affiliations.
    To help the Agency in evaluating the effectiveness of its outreach 
efforts, nominees and nominators are requested to inform the Agency of 
how you learned of this opportunity when completing the nomination 
form.
    Final selection of BOSC members is a discretionary function of the 
Agency and will be announced as soon as selections are made on the BOSC 
website at https://www.epa.gov/bosc.

Kathleen Deener,
Acting Director, Office of Science Advisor, Policy and Engagement.
[FR Doc. 2024-18373 Filed 8-15-24; 8:45 am]
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