[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6033-6034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-2343]
[[Page 6033]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8770-8]
EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations
of Experts for EPA Science Advisory Board, Scientific and Technological
Achievement Awards Committee
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is
requesting nominations for experts to serve on a SAB Scientific and
Technological Achievement Awards (STAA) Committee. This Committee will
review peer-reviewed publications from EPA scientists and makes
recommendations for awards.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted by February 25, 2009 per
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) 343-9946; by fax at
(202) 233-0643 or via email at [email protected]. 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: EPA's Scientific and Technological
Achievement Awards (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 EPA Science Advisory
Board has been asked to review scientific publications nominated by EPA
managers and make recommendations to the Administrator for awards. The
SAB Staff Office is announcing the formation of a new ad hoc STAA
Committee. This Committee will serve for a three year period, and
review nominated publications and recommend awards for 2009 through
2011. The SAB is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA), as amended (5 U.S.C. App.). The Committee will comply with the
provisions of FACA and SAB procedural policies, including the SAB
process for Committee formation that is described further on the SAB
Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebSABSO/OverviewPanelForm?OpenDocument. The Committee will hold closed meetings
to review nominated scientific publications and make monetary award
recommendations.
Request for Nominations
The SAB Staff Office is soliciting nominations of nationally and
internationally recognized scientists and engineers with documented
research experience to serve on the STAA Committee. Nominations are
requested in the areas of: Environmental Exposure, Transport and Fate;
Environmental Monitoring and Methods; Environmental Control Systems and
Risk Management; Ecosystems and Ecological Risk Assessment; Human
Health and Risk Assessment; and Social and Decision Sciences.
Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to be
considered for appointment on this SAB Committee. Candidates may also
nominate themselves. 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 form 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.
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 vitae; 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 Mr. Edward Hanlon, DFO, at the contact information provided
above in this notice. Non-electronic submissions must follow the same
format and contain the same information as the electronic.
The SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of the nomination and
inform nominees of the panel for which they have been nominated. From
the nominees identified by respondents to this Federal Register notice
(termed the ``Widecast'') and other sources, the SAB Staff Office will
develop a smaller subset (known as the ``Short List'') for more
detailed consideration. 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 biosketch. Public comments on the Short List
will be accepted for 21 calendar days. During this comment period, the
public will be requested to provide information, analysis, or other
documentation on nominees that the SAB Staff Office should consider in
evaluating candidates for the Panel.
For the SAB a balanced panel 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 panel,
along with information provided by candidates and information gathered
by SAB Staff independently concerning 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 evaluation of an individual Panel
member include: (a) Scientific and/or technical expertise, knowledge,
and experience (primary factors); (b) absence of financial conflicts of
interest; (c) scientific credibility and impartiality; (d) availability
and willingness to serve; and (e) ability to work constructively and
effectively in committees.
Prospective candidates will 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 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. Ethics information, including EPA
Form 3110-48, is available on the SAB Web site at
[[Page 6034]]
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/Web/ethics?OpenDocument.
Dated: January 29, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-2343 Filed 2-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P