[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6797-6798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3005]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9629-6]
Request for Nominations of Experts for EPA Science Advisory Board
Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards Committee
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is
requesting nominations of experts to be considered for service on an
SAB Committee to make recommendations on EPA's Scientific and
Technological Achievement Awards (STAA) for 2012-2015.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted by March 1, 2012 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 Mr. Edward Hanlon, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB
Staff Office, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2134; by fax at
(202) 565-2098 or via email at hanlon.edward@epa.gov. General
information concerning the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA SAB Web site
at http://www.epa.gov/sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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's STAA was
established in 1980 to recognize Agency scientists and engineers who
published their work in the peer-reviewed literature. The STAA Program
is an Agency-wide competition to promote and recognize scientific and
technological achievements by EPA employees. The STAA program is
administered and managed by EPA's Office of Research and Development
(ORD). Each year the SAB has been asked to review EPA's STAA
nominations and make recommendations to the Administrator for monetary
awards. The SAB Staff Office is announcing the formation of a
[[Page 6798]]
new STAA Committee that will serve for the next three years.
Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is soliciting
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists and
engineers with a multidisciplinary background in the areas of:
Ecological research; energy and the environment; environmental control
systems and technology; environmental monitoring and measurement
methods; environmental policy and decision-making studies;
environmental risk management and restoration; environmental
sustainability and innovation; environmental transport and fate; human
health effects research and human health risk assessment; homeland
security; industry and the environment; integrated environmental risk
assessment and other environmental research.
Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas
of expertise described above. Nominations should be submitted in
electronic format (preferred over hard copy) following the instructions
for ``Nominating Experts to Advisory Panels and Ad Hoc Committees Being
Formed,'' http://www.epa.gov/sabprovided on the SAB Web site. If you
wish to nominate yourself or another expert, please follow the
instructions that can be accessed through the ``Nomination of Experts''
link on the blue navigational bar at the SAB Web site 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 resume or 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. The bio-sketches and resume or curriculum
vita of nominees identified by respondents to this Federal Register
notice, and additional experts identified by the SAB Staff, will be
made available to the public upon request.
Persons having questions about the nomination procedures, or who
are unable to submit nominations through the SAB Web site, should
contact Mr. Edward Hanlon, DFO, as indicated above in this notice.
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than March
1, 2012. 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 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; (e) skills working in committees, subcommittees and
advisory panels; and, (f) for the Panel as a whole, 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 a
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 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: January 30, 2012.
Thomas Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-3005 Filed 2-8-12; 8:45 am]
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