[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 126 (Tuesday, July 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35504-35505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14285]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10025-58-OP]


Request for Nominations for the Science Advisory Board 2021 
Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards 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 the SAB 2021 Scientific and Technological Achievement 
Awards (STAA) Panel.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by July 27, 2021 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. Holly Stallworth, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA 
Science Advisory Board Staff Office by telephone/voice mail (202) 564-
2073 or email at stallworth.holly@epa.gov. General information 
concerning the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA SAB website at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

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 the 2021 STAA Panel, under the auspices of the 
Chartered SAB. The 2021 STAA Panel will provide advice through the 
chartered SAB. The SAB and the 2021 STAA Panel will comply with the 
provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural 
policies.
    The EPA established the STAA 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 the EPA's Office of Research and 
Development (ORD). Each year the SAB has been asked to review the EPA's 
STAA nominations and make recommendations to the Administrator for 
monetary awards.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists 
with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines as they relate 
to human health and the environment: Air pollution exposure; chemical 
engineering; civil and environmental engineering; decision science; 
ecology; environmental economics; groundwater and surface water 
contaminant fate and transport; human health effects and risk 
assessment; monitoring and measurement methods for air and water; risk 
management; transport and fate of contaminants; water quality; and 
water and wastewater treatment processes. The SAB Staff Office is 
especially interested in scientists and engineers with expertise 
described above who have knowledge and experience in air quality; 
aquatic and ecological toxicology; chemical safety; community 
environmental health; dosimetry and inhalation toxicology; drinking 
water; ecological modeling; ecological risk assessment; ecosystem 
restoration; ecosystem services; energy and the environment; 
epidemiology; green chemistry; homeland security; human health 
dosimetry; mechanisms of toxicity and carcinogenicity; metabolism; 
statistics; sustainability; toxicokinetics; toxicology; waste and waste 
management; and water re-use.
    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 2021 STAA 
Committee. Individuals may self-nominate. Nominations should be 
submitted in electronic format (preferred) 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 http://www.epa.gov/sab). 
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 July 
27, 2021.
    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 on the SAB website at http://www.epa.gov/sab. 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 committee includes

[[Page 35505]]

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 2021 STAA 
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 committee 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 committee 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 http://www.epa.gov/sab. 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 http://www.epa.gov/sab.

V. Khanna Johnston,
Deputy Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2021-14285 Filed 7-2-21; 8:45 am]
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