[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58383-58385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23982]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9205-5]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office Request for Nominations of
Experts for the Review of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action
Plan
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is
requesting public nominations for technical experts to form an SAB
panel to review the interagency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
(GLRI) Action Plan which describes restoration priorities, goals,
objectives, measurable ecological targets, and specific actions.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted by October 15, 2010 per
instructions below.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations
may contact Ms. Iris Goodman, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB
Staff Office, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2164, by fax at
(202) 565-2098, or via e-mail at goodman.iris@epa.gov. General
information concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found at
the EPA SAB Web site 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, consultation, 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 will comply with the
provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural
policies.
EPA is leading an interagency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
(GLRI) to protect and restore the chemical, biological, and physical
integrity of the Great Lakes. The GLRI is designed to target the most
significant environmental problems in the region, as documented in
extensive scientific studies and by stakeholder review. To guide the
efforts of the GLRI, EPA and its Federal partners, through the Great
Lakes Interagency Task Force, developed a comprehensive multi-year
Action Plan. The GLRI Action Plan identifies outcome-oriented
performance goals, objectives, measurable ecological targets, and
specific actions for five major focus areas: toxic substances and areas
of concern; invasive species; near-shore health and nonpoint source
pollution; habitat and wildlife protection and restoration; and
accountability, education, monitoring, evaluation, communication, and
partnerships.
The EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager has requested the SAB
to review the GLRI Action Plan to assess the appropriateness of its
measures and actions to achieve its stated priorities and goals. The
SAB Staff Office will form an expert panel to review the Plan and its
targeted priorities.
Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists and
engineers with demonstrated expertise and research or management
experience in one or more of the following areas: Limnology, landscape
ecology, restoration ecology, ecotoxicology, population biology,
aquatic biology, fisheries and wildlife management, invasive species,
water chemistry, environmental engineering, environmental monitoring,
and environmental assessment. We are particularly interested in
scientists and engineers with direct experience in the design,
management, and implementation of environmental protection and
restoration programs that have included development of metrics and
environmental indicators used to monitor, evaluate, and communicate
restoration progress.
Availability of the review materials: The GLRI Action Plan is
available on the Great Lakes National Program Office Web site http://greatlakesrestoration.us/?page_id=24 and at the SAB Web site http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabpeople.nsf/WebCommittees/BOARD. For questions
concerning the GLRI, please contact Paul Horvatin, Chief, Monitoring
Indicators and Reporting Branch, U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program
Office, 77 West Jackson Boulevard (G-17J), Chicago, Illinois 60604,
phone (312) 353-3612; fax (312) 385-5456, or at horvatin.paul@epa.gov.
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 this expert Panel.
Nominations should be submitted in electronic format (which is
preferred over hard copy) following the instructions for ``Nominating
Experts to Advisory Panels and Ad Hoc Committees Being Formed''
provided on the SAB Web site. The instructions can be accessed through
the ``Nomination of Experts'' link on the blue navigational bar on the
SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab. To receive full consideration,
nominations should include all of the information requested below.
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 curriculum vita; 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 Web site, should
contact Ms. Iris Goodman, DFO, as indicated above in this notice.
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than October
15, 2010. 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 bio-sketches of qualified nominees identified by
respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts
identified by the SAB Staff, will be posted in a List of Candidates on
the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab. Public comments on this
List of Candidates will be accepted for 21 calendar 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 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; and (e) skills working in committees, subcommittees and
advisory panels; and, for the Panel as a whole, (f) diversity of
expertise and viewpoints.
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 Special Government Employees Serving on
Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency'' (EPA Form 3110-48). This confidential form allows Government
officials to determine whether there is a statutory conflict between
that person's public responsibilities (which includes membership on an
EPA Federal advisory committee) and private interests and activities,
or the appearance of a lack of impartiality, as defined by Federal
regulation. The form
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may be viewed and downloaded from the following URL address http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/epaform3110-48.pdf.
The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects
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 Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf.
Dated: September 17, 2010.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-23982 Filed 9-23-10; 8:45 am]
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