Document ID: EPA-HQ-OEI-2008-0062-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Establishment of a New System of Records for the Science Advisory Board Database of Scientific and Technical Experts
Posted Date: 2009-07-13T04:00Z

[Federal Register: July 13, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 132)]
[Notices]               
[Page 33435-33437]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jy09-64]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8929-5; EPA-HQ-OEI-2008-0062]

 
Type of Action: New; Establishment of a New System of Records for 
the Science Advisory Board (SAB) Database of Scientific and Technical 
Experts

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a), the Office of the Administrator, SAB Staff Office is 
giving notice that it proposes to create a new system of

[[Page 33436]]

records for the SAB Database of Scientific and Technical Experts.

DATES: Persons wishing to comment on this system of records notice must 
do so by August 24, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
2008-0062, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments.
     E-mail: oei.docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-1752.
     Mail: OEI Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, 
Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: OEI Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West Building, Room 
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and 
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OEI-
2008-0062. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information for which 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://
www.regulations.gov. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/
epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
for which disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, 
such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard 
copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI 
Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the OEI Docket is (202) 566-1745.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Angela Nugent, Special Assistant 
to the Director, SAB Staff Office, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail Code 1400F, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20460; telephone number (202) 343-9981; e-mail address: 
nugent.angela@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to create a Privacy 
Act system of records to centralize, standardize and safeguard the 
information submitted by experts who support three scientific and 
technical advisory committees (i.e., the Science Advisory Board, the 
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Council on 
Clean Air Compliance Analysis) that report to EPA's Administrator. The 
SAB Staff Office: (1) Requests nominations from the public for 
qualified individuals to serve as experts on committees and panels that 
advise the Administrator; (2) identifies experts to become Special 
Government Employees (SGEs) to serve on the advisory committees and 
panels; (3) manages the SGEs' personnel paperwork and ensures that SGEs 
comply with ethics training and financial disclosure requirements of 
the Ethics in Government Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 4; and (4) coordinates 
experts' participation in approximately fifty advisory projects per 
year and approximately eighty meetings per year. The SAB Staff Office 
conducts these activities to provide the Administrator with scientific 
advice from balanced committees of qualified experts on high priority 
science issues.
    To manage the above activities in an efficient manner that protects 
the privacy of the scientific experts, the SAB Staff Office has 
integrated personal information provided by the experts in a central 
SAB Database. Consolidating information about individual experts in a 
central location allows for consistent procedures to be followed for 
protecting privacy-related information necessary to manage and support 
the advisory committees for which the SAB Staff Office is responsible.
    Records in the SAB Database of Scientific and Technical Experts are 
safeguarded from unauthorized use. Only SAB Staff Office personnel and 
a very limited number of database support contractors have access to 
consolidated personal information in the password-protected SAB 
databases. Some generally available information such as experts' 
institutional affiliation and biographical sketches are accessible via 
the EPA SAB Web site (http://www.epa.gov/sab). Security procedures have 
been approved through the Application Development Process administered 
by EPA's Office of Environmental Information.
    The system is maintained at the U.S. EPA, 1025 F Street, NW., Suite 
3600, Mail Code 1400F, Washington, DC 20004.

    Dated: June 22, 2009.
Linda A. Travers,
Acting Assistant Administrator and Chief Information Officer.
EPA-58

System Name:
    EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Database of Scientific and 
Technical Experts.

System Location:
    U.S. EPA, 1025 F Street, NW., Suite 3600, Mail Code 1400F, 
Washington, DC 20004.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    Scientific and technical experts currently serving on committees 
and panels administered by the SAB Staff Office; scientific and 
technical experts who have served on such committees and panels since 
2002; and scientific and technical experts nominated to serve on 
planned SAB Staff Office-supported committees and panels.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Name, home contact information (address and telephone number); 
professional contact information (e.g., professional title, 
institutional affiliation, and work contact information); terms of 
appointment to

[[Page 33437]]

advisory committees and panels; expertise information (e.g., curricula 
vitae and professional biographical sketches); and administrative 
history information (e.g., history of personnel actions, confidential 
financial disclosure forms, and annual ethics training).

Authority for Maintenance of the System (includes any revisions or 
amendments):
    The authority for the establishment or appointment of these 
advisory committees is as follows: For the SAB, the Environmental 
Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act, 42 U.S.C. 
4365; for the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, section 
109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7409(d)(2); and for the 
Advisory Council on Clean Air Compliance Analysis, section 312(f) of 
the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7612(f).

Purpose(s):
    This system of records is being created to assist EPA with 
providing management and technical support to three scientific and 
technical advisory committees (the SAB, the Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Council on Clean Air Compliance 
Analysis) that report to the EPA Administrator. The SAB Staff Office 
requests nominations of experts from the public wishing to nominate 
themselves or others for committees and panels providing advice; 
identifies experts to become Special Government Employees (SGEs) 
serving on advisory committees and panels; manages their personnel 
paperwork; ensures that SGEs comply with ethics training and financial 
disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act; and 
coordinates experts' participation in approximately fifty advisory 
projects per year and approximately eighty meetings per year. The SAB 
Staff Office conducts these activities to provide the EPA Administrator 
with scientific advice from balanced committees of qualified experts on 
high priority science issues. The SAB Database of Scientific and 
Technical Experts assists the SAB Staff Office to achieve this goal in 
an efficient manner that protects the privacy of scientific experts.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users, and the Purposes of Such Uses:
    General routine uses A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K and L apply to 
this system.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Records will be maintained in electronic form and stored in the 
password-protected SAB database on EPA's client server in Research 
Triangle Park.

Retrievability:
    Personally-identifiable information is retrieved by expert's name 
or by committee or panel name.

Safeguards:
    Only SAB Staff Office personnel and a very limited set of database 
support contractors have access to consolidated personal information in 
the password-protected SAB database. Security procedures have been 
approved through the Application Development Process administered by 
EPA's Office of Environmental Information. Personnel have taken 
security awareness training.

Retention and Disposal:
    File is cumulative and is maintained indefinitely.

System Manager(s) and Address:
    Dr. Anthony Maciorowski, Deputy Director, SAB Staff Office, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 1400F, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.

Notification Procedures:
    Any individual who wants to know whether this system of records 
contains a record about him or her, who wants access to his or her 
record, or who wants to contest the contents of a record, should make a 
written request to the Freedom of Information Office, Attention: 
Privacy Act Officer. Complete EPA Privacy Act procedures are set out at 
40 CFR part 16.

Record Access Procedures:
    Requesters will be required to provide adequate identification, 
such as a driver's license, employee identification card, or other 
identifying document.

Contesting Records Procedures:
    Requests for correction or amendment must identify the record to be 
changed and the corrective action sought. Complete EPA Privacy Act 
procedures are set out at 40 CFR part 16.

Record Source Categories:
    Individuals who are scientific and/or technical experts.

System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
    None.

[FR Doc. E9-16493 Filed 7-10-09; 8:45 am]

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