[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52968-52969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18683]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-10170-01-OA]
Request for Nominations for the Science Advisory Board
Environmental Justice Screen (EJScreen) Review Panel
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 updated EJScreen methodology.
EJScreen is an environmental justice mapping and screening tool that
provides EPA with a nationwide consistent approach for combining
environmental and demographic indicators to identify areas with
potential environmental justice (EJ) concerns. The SAB EJScreen Review
Panel will consider the EJScreen methodology and updated calculations
for the EJ indexes released publicly in 2022, as well as other aspects
of the calculations. The Panel will also be asked to provide
recommendations and expert input on other components of the tool.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted by September 20, 2022 per the
instructions below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishing
further information concerning this notice may contact Dr. Zaida
Figueroa, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), via telephone (202) 566-
2643, or email at [email protected]. General information about the
SAB, as well as any updates concerning the meetings announced in this
notice can be found on the 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 SAB EJScreen Review Panel,
under the auspices of the Chartered SAB. The SAB EJScreen Review Panel
will provide advice through the chartered SAB. The SAB and the SAB
EJScreen Review Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA and all
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
EJScreen is an environmental justice mapping and screening tool
that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and approach for
combining environmental and demographic indicators to identify areas
with potential EJ concerns. The data collected and screening tool may
be of interest to governmental partners, the public, communities, and a
variety of stakeholders as they search for environmental or demographic
information. It can also support a wide range of purposes, including
scientific research and policy goals. The SAB EJScreen Review Panel
will conduct a review of the updated EJScreen methodology. The current
methodology underlaying EJScreen was peer reviewed in 2014. EPA is
currently updating that methodology and calculations for the EJ
indexes, as well as other aspects of the mapping tool calculations
including the use of percentiles, representation of the scores, buffer
analysis, among other topics, that will be released publicly in 2022.
The Panel will also be asked to provide recommendations and expert
input on these updates, as well as the demographic index and methods to
consider multiple geographies.
Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists
with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines: applications
of geographic information science (GIS), including mapping and
geospatial analyses; cartography; environmental justice tools; index
development; modeling; screening tools; environmental pollution;
environmental economics; sociology; exposure
[[Page 52969]]
assessment; environmental indicators; demographics; spatial mathematics
or analysis; statistics and coding. Strongest consideration will be
given to individuals with demonstrated experience working with
overburdened and vulnerable communities, or communities with EJ
concerns in addition to the disciplines listed above (as documented in
their curriculum vitae, resume, and/or publication history).
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''). 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 20, 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.
Thomas H. Brennan,
Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-18683 Filed 8-29-22; 8:45 am]
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