[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 160 (Friday, August 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51090-51091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17871]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-10133-01-OA]
Request for Nominations of Candidates for the Science Advisory
Board Clean Air Status and Trends Network
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office requests public nominations of scientific
experts to form a Panel to review the EPA Clean Air Status and Trends
Network (CASTNET). This panel will review Agency presentations on the
history, operation, contributions, and options for future operation of
the monitoring network to offer advice regarding the future of this
monitoring network.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted by September 9, 2022 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 Dr. Bryan J. Bloomer, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA
Science Advisory Board Staff Office by telephone/voice mail (202) 564-
4222, or email at [email protected]. General information concerning
the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov.
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, 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
Staff Office is forming an expert panel, the CASTNET review panel,
under the auspices of the Chartered SAB. The CASTNET review panel will
provide advice through the chartered SAB. The SAB and the CASTNET
review panel will comply with the provisions of FACA and all
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
The CASTNET review panel will conduct the review of the monitoring
network operated by the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). The
Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET) is a national long-term
monitoring network that provides data to characterize ambient pollutant
concentrations in rural communities, estimate atmospheric deposition of
air pollutants and quantify their ecological effects, and assess the
effectiveness of the Agency's regulatory programs (e.g., air quality
and deposition trends). The CASTNET Review Panel will conduct the
review of CASTNET as requested by the EPA's Office of Air and
Radiation. CASTNET measurements were initially designed, and are
currently used, to evaluate the efficacy of regional and national air
pollution control programs (e.g., atmospheric deposition and to inform
ozone NAAQS attainment). Over the last 15 years, measurements were also
used to review, set, and assess compliance with the primary and
secondary NAAQS (i.e., O3, PM,
SOX,NOX); support scientific advances in
understanding the fate and regional transport of ozone and
PM2.5 precursors, including evaluating the possible impact
of climate change on air pollution; and underpin development,
evaluation, and application of air quality models used by the Agency to
establish effective regulations. The rural network is unique from, and
complimentary to, state regulatory measurements (e.g., SLAMS) that are
typically located within urban population centers. CASTNET is managed
and operated in cooperation with the National Park Service, Bureau of
Land Management, and other partners, including federal, state, and
local agencies, and seven Native American tribes. The CASTNET program
of EPA/OAR is a major contributor to the National Acid Deposition
Program (NADP), a long-term cooperative environmental monitoring effort
of federal, state, and tribal agencies, educational institutions, non-
governmental organizations, and private companies. These programs
monitor atmospheric concentrations and deposition of pollutants and
their effects on ecosystems. NADP consists of more than 250 sites
across North America, including the National Trends Network (NTN),
which monitors precipitation chemistry, and the Ammonia Monitoring
Network (AMoN), which monitors ambient ammonia concentrations. EPA/OAR
supports 28 NTN sites and 61 AMoN sites. Many of the CASTNET and NADP/
NTN sites have been operating for more than 30 years and have been used
to observe climate and changing weather impacts on air quality and air
pollution.
Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists
with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines: Atmospheric
Sciences, Air Quality Monitoring, Atmospheric Modeling, Atmospheric
Chemistry, Ecology, Geostatistics, Biogeochemical Cycling, and Climate
Change.
Strongest consideration will be given to individuals with
demonstrated experience (as documented in their curriculum vitae and
publication history) with atmospheric chemical and particle wet and dry
deposition; nitrogen impacts in ecosystems; critical loads; climate
change impacts on air quality; differences in rural and urban air
quality; photochemistry; atmospheric ammonia measurements, modeling and
emission inventories; analysis of long-term environmental trends;
forest ecology; soil chemistry; stream and lake chemistry; and
biological monitoring of acid sensitive species.
[[Page 51091]]
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 the SAB Panel.
Individuals may self-nominate. Nominations should be submitted in
electronic format (preferred) using the online nomination form on the
SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov (see the ``Public Input on
Membership'' list under ``Committees, Panels, and Membership''
following the instructions for ``Nominating Experts to Advisory Panels
and Ad Hoc Committees Being Formed,'' provided on the SAB website (see
the ``Nomination of Experts'' link under ``Current Activities'' at
https://sab.epa.gov). To be considered, nominations should include the
information requested below. EPA values and welcomes diversity. All
qualified candidates are encouraged to apply regardless of sex, race,
disability, or ethnicity. Nominations should be submitted in time to
arrive no later than September 9, 2022.
The following information should be provided on the nomination
form: contact information for the person making the nomination; contact
information for the nominee; and the disciplinary and specific areas of
expertise of the nominee. Nominees will be contacted by the SAB Staff
Office and will be asked to provide a recent curriculum vitae and a
narrative biographical summary that includes current position,
educational background; research activities; sources of research
funding for the last two years; 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 website, should contact the DFO at
the contact information noted above. The names and biosketches of
qualified nominees identified by respondents to this Federal Register
Notice, and additional experts identified by the SAB Staff Office, will
be posted in a List of Candidates for the Panel on the SAB website at
https://sab.epa.gov. Public comments on the 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 balanced 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 the expert
panel, the SAB Staff Office will consider public comments on the Lists
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 loss of impartiality; (e) skills working in committees,
subcommittees and advisory panels; and (f) for the panel as a whole,
diversity of expertise and scientific points of view.
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 Environmental Protection Agency Special
Government Employees'' (EPA Form 3110-48). This confidential form is
required and allows government officials to determine whether there is
a statutory conflict between a person's public responsibilities (which
include membership on an EPA federal advisory committee) and private
interests and activities, or the appearance of a loss of impartiality,
as defined by federal regulation. The form may be viewed and downloaded
through the ``Ethics Requirements for Advisors'' link on the SAB
website at https://sab.epa.gov. This form should not be submitted as
part of a nomination.
The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects members
for 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 website at https://sab.epa.gov.
V Khanna Johnston,
Deputy Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-17871 Filed 8-18-22; 8:45 am]
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