Request for Nominations for the Science Advisory Board BenSPLASH Review Panel

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

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 Benefits Spatial Platform for Aggregating Socioeconomics and H2O Quality (BenSPLASH). BenSPLASH serves as one component in an integrated assessment model designed to quantify the economic benefits of changes in water quality. The Panel will evaluate the underlying valuation approaches and endpoints, benefits transfer applications and methodology, and default assumptions within BenSPLASH.

DATES:

Nominations should be submitted by July 15, 2024 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. Shaunta Hill-Hammond, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office by telephone/voice mail (202) 564-3343, or email at hill-hammond.shaunta@epa.gov. General information concerning the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov .

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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. Code 10) and related regulations. The SAB Staff Office is forming an expert panel, the BenSPLASH Review Panel, under the auspices of the Chartered SAB. The BenSPLASH Review Panel will provide advice through the SAB. The SAB and the BenSPLASH Review Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.

EPA regularly estimates the benefits of surface water quality improvements associated with Clean Water Act regulations. EPA has developed BenSPLASH, as one component in an integrated assessment model designed to quantify the economic benefits of changes in water quality (Corona, et al. 2020). BenSPLASH can map water quality parameters to a water quality index (WQI). The main valuation approach can then estimate willingness to pay for changes in the WQI from a meta-analysis of surface water quality stated preference studies. The BenSPLASH Review Panel will conduct a review of the underlying valuation approaches and endpoints, benefits transfer applications and methodology, and default assumptions within BenSPLASH.

Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines: Aquatic Ecology, including aquatic environmental assessment, hydrology, and nutrient pollution; Computer Science including geographic information systems, programming (C# and R), and user interfaces; Environmental Economics, including benefits transfer, distributional impacts and environmental justice, national and subnational regional level analyses, meta-analysis, nonmarket valuation, and water quality benefits; Human Health Assessment, including risk assessment for waterborne pollutants and pathogens; Human Health Valuation specific to water quality and pollution impacts; Integrated Assessment Modeling; and Uncertainty Analysis.

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 July 15, 2024.

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.

Candidates may be asked to submit 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 is required for Special Government Employees (SGEs) and allows EPA to determine whether there is a statutory conflict between a person's public responsibilities (which includes 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.