[Federal Register: November 5, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 214)]
[Notices]
[Page 67403-67405]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05no02-55]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7404-6]
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, National Ambient Air
Monitoring Strategy (NAAMS) Subcommittee; Request for Nominations
ACTION: Notice; request for nominations to the National Ambient Air
Monitoring Strategy Subcommittee of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory
Committee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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SUMMARY: The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is announcing the
formation of the National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy (NAAMS or
Strategy) Subcommittee (hereinafter, the ``Subcommittee'') and is
hereby soliciting nominations for this Subcommittee. The CASAC is
administratively located under the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB).
The SAB was established to provide independent scientific and technical
advice, consultation, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on
the technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The NAAMS
Subcommittee will report to the Administrator of EPA through the Clean
Air Scientific Advisory Committee, a Federal advisory committee
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended
(5 U.S.C. App.). The Subcommittee will comply with the provisions of
FACA and all appropriate SAB procedural policies, including the SAB
process for panel formation described in the Overview of the Panel
Formation Process at the Environmental Protection Agency Science
Advisory Board, which can found on the SAB's Web site at: http://
www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf. Those selected to serve on the NAAMS
Subcommittee will review the draft materials identified in this notice
and respond to the charge questions provided below.
Background
States, local agencies and Tribes establish and operate the
Nation's regulatory-based ambient air monitoring networks. These
networks are funded in part with Federal grants and are managed
nationally by the EPA. The network data are used to support:
(a) Designation of attainment and non-attainment areas with respect
to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS);
(b) Dissemination of air quality information to the public;
(c) Development (and tracking progress of) emission reduction
strategies;
(d) Characterization of long-term air quality trends; and
(e) Studies in health and atmospheric science disciplines.
The associated monitoring network, instrumentation and quality
assurance requirements are included in 40 CFR parts 50, 53 and 58.
EPA has recently completed development of the final draft of the
National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy document under the direction
of the National Monitoring Strategy Committee (NMSC), an
intergovernmental partnership comprising representatives from EPA
(i.e., the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), the
Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Regional Offices), and
State and local agencies and Tribes, i.e., the principal Federal
grantee organizations that operate the majority of the monitoring
networks. The NAAMS document contains technical information underlying
planned revisions of the National Ambient Air Monitoring program. The
Strategy proposes a restructuring of the national regulatory-based air
monitoring networks--commonly referred to as National Air Monitoring
Stations (NAMS), State or Local Air Monitoring Stations (SLAMS), and
Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS)--to accommodate
emerging priorities of air programs, the public and the scientific
community. Specifically, the NAAMS provides a series of proposed
changes for network design and improvements, assessments of existing
networks, incorporation of new measurement and information transfer
technologies, and revisions both to the current quality assurance
program and the monitoring regulations. The principal proposed changes
include:
(a) A shift toward collocated multiple pollutant monitoring
stations under a new national monitoring network design referred to as
``NCore.''
(b) Incorporation of new continuous particle monitoring
instruments, additional air toxics measurements and information
transfer technologies to enhance the scope of near-real-time data
delivered to the public.
(c) Adoption of new network design recommendations and the
introduction of advanced monitoring technologies through performance-
based standards.
(d) Reductions in existing monitoring stations that provide limited
value for public protection or air quality planning
[[Page 67404]]
needs, with attendant resource savings redirected to meeting new
measurement needs.
EPA intends to propose revisions to the monitoring regulations that
have emerged from this strategy during 2003. A public comment period on
the proposed regulations will be announced at a later date by EPA's
Office of Air and Radiation. The NAAMS document is available through
EPA's Ambient Monitoring Technology Information Center (AMTIC) Web site
at the following URL address: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/
stratmem.html.
Request for and Proposed Charge to the NAAMS Subcommittee
EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) has requested that the
CASAC form a subcommittee to review the NAAMS document. This new CASAC
subcommittee will be charged with providing consultation to EPA on the
technical bases and design aspects of the National Ambient Air
Monitoring Strategy. In particular, the Subcommittee will be asked to
provide a formal consultation on the following elements of the
strategy:
(a) The NCore proposal, including conceptual approach to tiered
monitoring levels, recommended measurements and numbers and locations
of Level 2 sites. Consideration to phasing of measurements included in
Level 2 sites should be addressed based on currently available and
expected emerging monitoring technologies. The Subcommittee is also
requested to advise on the scope and breadth of research-grade Level 1
sites.
(b) The use of spatial analysis approaches for network design and
other air program planning needs. The monitoring strategy has utilized
various spatial design approaches on National and Regional scales to
identify areas of redundant monitoring as well as gaps requiring
additional monitoring.
(c) The use of performance-based approaches for standardizing
monitoring method requirements for particulate matter measurements.
Performance-based approaches rely on applying data quality objectives
to determine the allowable statistical uncertainties for instrument
performance. This third subject area has evolved from discussions with
the existing CASAC Subcommittee on Particulate Monitoring, and plays an
important role in facilitating accommodation of new technologies into
air monitoring networks.
Nominator's Assessment of Expertise
For all nominations submitted to the EPA SAB, please indicate the
specific areas of expertise the candidate could contribute in this
upcoming review topic. The nominee should be a recognized, national-
level expert in one or more of the following disciplines.
(a) Atmospheric sciences and air quality simulation modeling. Areas
of expertise include the development and application of regional and
larger-scale air quality dispersion models to predict atmospheric
concentrations of ozone, particulate matter and other pollutants, with
emphasis placed on the application of such systems to developing
emission control strategies in support of national-level programs or
State Implementation Plans (SIPs). Related areas of expertise include
individuals with expertise in chemical mechanism development,
deterministic source-receptor modeling, observational-based models and
related data analysis expertise and conceptual model development.
(b) Health effects and exposure. Areas of expertise include
epidemiology, exposure assessment, risk assessment, and similar
disciplines that relate adverse health impacts and ambient air
pollution parameters to develop causative relationships, particularly
with an emphasis on long-term time-series studies covering a range of
population types and locations. This includes expertise in air
pollution exposure studies that consider the relationship of ambient
air to direct exposures through a range of environments (both outdoor
and indoor).
(c) Air quality measurement science. Areas of expertise include
particulate matter and gaseous species measurements, with an
understanding of routine applications conducted by most State and local
agencies, and both an interest in and an understanding of integrating
advanced methodology in routine networks and transferring new
technological advances to application level efforts in government
agencies.
(d) State or local agency experience. Areas of expertise include
experience working in a State or local agency organization familiar
with the practical logistics of conducting air monitoring operations.
Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations
Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified
individuals for membership on the NAAMS Subcommittee. Nominations
should be submitted in electronic format and must include the
information listed below. To be considered, all nominations must
include: (a) A current biography, curriculum vitae (C.V.) or resume,
which provides the nominee's background, experience and qualifications
for this subcommittee; and (b) a brief biographical sketch
(``biosketch''). The biosketch should be no longer than one page and
contain the following information for the nominee: current professional
affiliations and positions held; research interests; leadership
positions in national associations or professional publications or
other significant distinctions; advanced degrees, including when and
from which institutions these were granted; and sources of recent grant
and/or other contract support.
Please provide nominations in the following manner:
(a) Send the nomination by email to: butterfield.fred@epa.gov.
(b) Use one email per person being nominated.
(c) Please use ``NAAMS'' in the subject field, followed by the last
name of the candidate you are nominating. (For example, NAAMS: Smith).
(d) Attach supporting information (i.e., resume, biosketch, etc.)
in either MS Word or WordPerfect files formats ending in ``.doc'' or
``.wpd,'' respectively.
(e) In a separate file, please provide the following information in
the order shown:
For the Person Making the Nomination
First Name:
Last Name:
Person Title (e.g., Dr., Mr., Ms., etc.)
Organization Title:
E-mail Address:
Mailing Address:
Work Phone:
Work Fax:
Name of Nominee (if Nomination Is Not a Self-Nomination)
First Name:
Last Name:
Person Title (e.g., Dr., Mr., Ms., etc.)
Professional Title:
Department:
School or Unit:
University or Organization:
Mailing Address:
Work Phone:
Fax Work Phone:
E-mail Address:
Web site for C.V. (if one exists):
Expertise (Using the specific expertise categories in section 5 of this
Federal Register notice, identify the Nominee's specific qualifying
expertise):
Nominations should be submitted in electronic format to Mr. Fred
Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer, Clean Air Scientific Advisory
Committee, EPA SAB, at the following
[[Page 67405]]
e-mail address: butterfield.fred@epa.gov. Anyone who is unable to
submit nominations in electronic format may send hard copies of the
nomination paperwork to Mr. Butterfield at the following mailing
address: EPA Science Advisory Board, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (1400A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; or
via fax at: (202) 501-0582. Nominations should be submitted in time to
arrive no later than November 26, 2002. Any questions concerning either
this process or any other aspects notice should be directed to Mr.
Butterfield either at the above e-mail address or via telephone at:
(202) 564-4561.
The EPA Science Advisory Board will generally not formally
acknowledge or respond to Subcommittee nominations. From the nominees
identified by respondents to this Federal Register notice (termed the
``Widecast''), SAB Staff will develop a smaller subset (known as the
``Short List'') for more detailed consideration. Criteria used by the
SAB Staff in developing this Short List are given at the end of the
following paragraph. The Short List will be posted on the SAB Web site
at: http://www.epa.gov/sab, and will include, for each candidate, the
nominee's name and their biosketch. Public comments will be accepted
for 21 calendar days on the Short List. During this comment period, the
public will be requested to provide information, analysis or other
documentation on nominees that the SAB Staff should consider in
evaluating candidates for the NAAMS Subcommittee.
For the EPA SAB, a balanced review panel (i.e., committee or
subcommittee) is characterized by inclusion of 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. Public responses to the Short List
candidates will be considered in the selection of the Subcommittee,
along with information provided by candidates and information gathered
by EPA SAB Staff independently on the background of each candidate
(e.g., financial disclosure information and computer searches to
evaluate a nominee's prior involvement with the topic under review).
Specific criteria to be used in evaluating an individual subcommittee
member 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) scientific
credibility and impartiality; and (e) skills working in committees,
subcommittees and advisory panels.
Short List candidates will also be required to fill-out 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, which is used by EPA SAB Members and Consultants, 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 may be viewed and downloaded from the
following URL address: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/epaform3110-48.pdf.
Subcommittee members will likely be asked to attend at least one public
face-to-face meeting and several public conference call meetings over
the anticipated three-month course of the Subcommittee's activity. Once
the NAAMS Subcommittee completes its deliberations, its report will be
forwarded to the CASAC, which will review the Subcommittee's report in
a public teleconference meeting and reach a judgment concerning its
transmittal to the Administrator.
General Information
Any persons having general review comments on the National Ambient
Air Monitoring Strategy document should submit them no later than
December 1, 2002, to Dr. Brenda Millar, Monitoring and Quality
Assurance Group, at mailing address: U.S. EPA (C339-02), 4930 Old Page
Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; or e-mail: bmillar@epa.gov.
Additionally, any questions concerning the NAAMS should be directed to
Dr. Richard Scheffe, U.S. EPA OAQPS Monitoring and Quality Assurance
Group Leader, at phone: (919) 541-4650; or e-mail:
Scheffe.Rich@epamail.epa.gov.
The approved policy under which the EPA SAB selects review panels
is described in a recent SAB document, EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB)
Panel Formation Process: Immediate Steps to Improve Policies and
Procedures--An SAB Commentary (EPA-SAB-EC-COM-002-003), which can be
found on the SAB's Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/
ecm02003.pdf.
Additional information concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board,
including its structure, function, and composition, may be found on the
EPA SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab; and in The EPA Science
Advisory Board FY2001 Annual Staff Report, which is available from the
EPA SAB Publications Staff at phone: (202) 564-4533; via fax at: (202)
501-0256; or on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/
annreport01.pdf.
Dated: October 30, 2002.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 02-28082 Filed 11-4-02; 8:45 am]
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