[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58383-58385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23982]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9205-5]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office Request for Nominations of 
Experts for the Review of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action 
Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is 
requesting public nominations for technical experts to form an SAB 
panel to review the interagency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative 
(GLRI) Action Plan which describes restoration priorities, goals, 
objectives, measurable ecological targets, and specific actions.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by October 15, 2010 per 
instructions below.

[[Page 58384]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations 
may contact Ms. Iris Goodman, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB 
Staff Office, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2164, by fax at 
(202) 565-2098, or via e-mail at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1d7a727279707c7333746f746e5d786d7c337a726b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ea8d85858e878b84c483988399aa8f9a8bc48d859c">[email protected]</span></a>. 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: Background: The SAB (42 U.S.C. 4365) is a 
chartered Federal Advisory Committee that provides independent 
scientific and technical peer review, advice, consultation, 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 will comply with the 
provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural 
policies.
    EPA is leading an interagency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative 
(GLRI) to protect and restore the chemical, biological, and physical 
integrity of the Great Lakes. The GLRI is designed to target the most 
significant environmental problems in the region, as documented in 
extensive scientific studies and by stakeholder review. To guide the 
efforts of the GLRI, EPA and its Federal partners, through the Great 
Lakes Interagency Task Force, developed a comprehensive multi-year 
Action Plan. The GLRI Action Plan identifies outcome-oriented 
performance goals, objectives, measurable ecological targets, and 
specific actions for five major focus areas: toxic substances and areas 
of concern; invasive species; near-shore health and nonpoint source 
pollution; habitat and wildlife protection and restoration; and 
accountability, education, monitoring, evaluation, communication, and 
partnerships.
    The EPA Great Lakes National Program Manager has requested the SAB 
to review the GLRI Action Plan to assess the appropriateness of its 
measures and actions to achieve its stated priorities and goals. The 
SAB Staff Office will form an expert panel to review the Plan and its 
targeted priorities.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists and 
engineers with demonstrated expertise and research or management 
experience in one or more of the following areas: Limnology, landscape 
ecology, restoration ecology, ecotoxicology, population biology, 
aquatic biology, fisheries and wildlife management, invasive species, 
water chemistry, environmental engineering, environmental monitoring, 
and environmental assessment. We are particularly interested in 
scientists and engineers with direct experience in the design, 
management, and implementation of environmental protection and 
restoration programs that have included development of metrics and 
environmental indicators used to monitor, evaluate, and communicate 
restoration progress.
    Availability of the review materials: The GLRI Action Plan is 
available on the Great Lakes National Program Office Web site http://greatlakesrestoration.us/?page_id=24 and at the SAB Web site http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabpeople.nsf/WebCommittees/BOARD. For questions 
concerning the GLRI, please contact Paul Horvatin, Chief, Monitoring 
Indicators and Reporting Branch, U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program 
Office, 77 West Jackson Boulevard (G-17J), Chicago, Illinois 60604, 
phone (312) 353-3612; fax (312) 385-5456, or at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7c14130e0a1d081512520c1d09103c190c1d521b130a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5a3235282c3b2e3334742a3b2f361a3f2a3b743d352c">[email protected]</span></a>.
    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 this expert Panel. 
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 instructions 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 below.
    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 vita; 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 Ms. Iris Goodman, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than October 
15, 2010. EPA values and welcomes diversity. In an effort to obtain 
nominations of diverse candidates, EPA encourages nominations of women 
and men of all racial and ethnic groups.
    The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations. 
The names and bio-sketches of qualified nominees identified by 
respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts 
identified by the SAB Staff, will be posted in a List of Candidates on 
the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab. Public comments on this 
List of Candidates will be accepted for 21 calendar 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 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 this expert panel, the SAB 
Staff Office will consider public comments on the List 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 lack of 
impartiality; and (e) skills working in committees, subcommittees and 
advisory panels; and, for the Panel as a whole, (f) diversity of 
expertise and viewpoints.
    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 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. The form

[[Page 58385]]

may be viewed and downloaded from the following URL address http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/epaform3110-48.pdf.
    The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects 
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 Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf.

    Dated: September 17, 2010.
Vanessa T. Vu,
 Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-23982 Filed 9-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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