83 FR 3702 - FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Nominations to the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Request for Comments

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 18 (January 26, 2018)

This notice provides the names, addresses, and professional affiliations of persons recently nominated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to serve on the Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) established under section 25(d) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Brief biographical sketches for the nominees are posted on the EPA website at https://www.epa.gov/sap. The Panel was created on November 28, 1975, and converted from a discretionary to a statutory Panel by amendment to FIFRA, dated October 25, 1988. The Agency, at this time, anticipates selecting four new members to serve on the panel as a result of membership terms that will expire in 2018. Public comments on the current nominations are invited, as these comments will be used to assist the Agency in selecting the new chartered Panel members.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3702-3704]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01496]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0602; FRL-9972-27]


FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Nominations to the FIFRA 
Scientific Advisory Panel; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice provides the names, addresses, and professional 
affiliations of persons recently nominated by the National Institutes 
of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to serve on 
the Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) established under section 25(d) of 
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Brief 
biographical sketches for the nominees are posted on the EPA website at 
https://www.epa.gov/sap. The Panel was created on November 28, 1975, 
and converted from a discretionary to a statutory Panel by amendment to 
FIFRA, dated October 25, 1988. The Agency, at this time, anticipates 
selecting four new members to serve on the panel as a result of 
membership terms that will expire in 2018. Public comments on the 
current nominations are invited, as these comments will be used to 
assist the Agency in selecting the new chartered Panel members.

DATES: Comments identified by docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0602, 
must be received on or before February 26, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0602, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not 
electronically submit any information you consider to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute.
     Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental Protection Agency Docket 
Center (EPA/DC), (28221T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 
20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: To make special arrangements for hand 
delivery or delivery of boxed information, please follow the 
instructions at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamue L. Gibson, M.S., DFO, Office of 
Science Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW,

[[Page 3703]]

Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (202) 564-7642; email 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may, 
however, be of interest to persons who are or may be required to 
conduct testing of chemical substances under the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) and FIFRA. Since other entities may also be 
interested, the Agency has not attempted to describe all the specific 
entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any questions 
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, 
consult the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or email. If your comments contain any information that 
you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, please contact the DFO 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special 
instructions before submitting your comments.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting 
your comments, see the commenting tips at https://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

II. Background

Purpose of FIFRA SAP
    The FIFRA SAP serves as a scientific peer review mechanism of EPA's 
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and is 
structured to provide independent scientific advice, information and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on pesticides and pesticide-
related issues as to the impact of regulatory actions on health and the 
environment. FIFRA SAP is a Federal advisory committee established in 
1975 under FIFRA that operates in accordance with requirements of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2, FIFRA Statutory 
Requirement). The FIFRA SAP is composed of a permanent panel consisting 
of seven members who are appointed by the EPA Administrator from 
nominees provided by the NIH and the NSF. FIFRA established a Science 
Review Board (SRB) consisting of at least 60 scientists who are 
available to FIFRA SAP on an ad hoc basis to assist in reviews 
conducted by FIFRA SAP. As a scientific peer review mechanism, FIFRA 
SAP provides comments, evaluations, and recommendations to improve the 
effectiveness and quality of analyses made by Agency scientists. 
Members of FIFRA SAP are scientists who have sufficient professional 
qualifications, including training and experience, to provide expert 
advice and recommendations to the Agency.
    The Agency, at this time, anticipates selecting four new members to 
serve on the panel as a result of membership terms that will expire in 
2018. The Agency requested that NIH and NSF nominate experts for 
selection from the fields of human health risk assessment, including 
expertise in human exposure and physiologically-based pharmacokinetic 
(PBPK) modeling, and expertise in toxicology and veterinary pathology; 
specifically, carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental 
toxicology, and neurotoxicity. The Agency also noted that experts with 
specific experience in risk assessment and dose response analysis are 
preferred.
    Nominees should be well published and current in their fields of 
expertise. FIFRA further stipulates that the Agency publish the name, 
address and professional affiliation of the nominees in the Federal 
Register.

III. Charter

    A Charter for the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel, dated October 
17, 2016, was issued in accordance with the requirements of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, 86 Stat. 770 (5 U.S.C. Appl. 
I).

A. Qualifications of Members

    Members are scientists who have sufficient professional 
qualifications, including training and experience, to provide expert 
comments on the impact of pesticides on human health and the 
environment. No persons shall be ineligible to serve on the Panel by 
reason of their membership on any other advisory committee to a Federal 
department or agency, or their employment by a Federal department or 
agency (except the EPA). The Administrator appoints individuals to 
serve on the Panel for staggered terms of up to 3 years. Panel members 
are subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 2635, Standards of Ethical 
Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, which include rules 
regarding conflicts of interest. Each nominee selected by the 
Administrator, before being formally appointed, is required to submit a 
confidential statement of employment and financial interest, which 
shall fully disclose, among other financial interests, the nominee's 
sources of research support, if any.
    In accordance with section 25(d)(1) of FIFRA, the Administrator 
shall require nominees to the Panel to furnish information concerning 
their professional qualifications, including educational background, 
employment history, and scientific publications.

B. Applicability of Existing Regulations

    With respect to the requirements of section 25(d) of FIFRA that the 
Administrator promulgate regulations regarding conflicts of interest, 
the Charter provides that EPA's existing regulations applicable to 
Special Government Employees, which include advisory committee members, 
will apply to the members of the Scientific Advisory Panel. These 
regulations appear in 5 CFR part 2635. In addition, the Charter 
provides for open meetings with opportunities for public participation.

C. Process of Obtaining Nominees

    In accordance with the provisions of section 25(d) of FIFRA, EPA on 
April 17, 2017, requested that the NIH and the NSF nominate scientists 
to fill vacancies occurring on the Panel. The Agency requested 
nominations of experts in the fields of human health risk assessment, 
including expertise in human exposure and physiologically-based 
pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling, and expertise in toxicology and 
veterinary pathology; specifically, carcinogenicity, reproductive and 
developmental toxicology, and neurotoxicity. The Agency also noted that 
experts with specific experience with risk assessment and dose response 
analysis are preferred. NIH and NSF responded providing the Agency with 
a total of 37 nominees. Copies of the responses, with the listed 
nominees, are available in the public docket referenced in unit I.B.1. 
of this notice. Of the 37 nominees, 17 are interested and available to 
actively participate in SAP meetings (see Section IV. Nominees). One 
nominee, Dr. David Jett of NIH, is currently serving as a member of the 
FIFRA SAP and therefore is not listed. Of the current 37 nominees, the 
following 19 individuals are not available:

1. John Balmes, M.D., University of California-Berkeley, San 
Francisco, CA
2. David Bellinger, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
3. Nora Besansky, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
4. Kim Brouwer, Pharm.D., Ph.D., University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
5. David Crews, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
6. David Eaton, Ph.D., University of

[[Page 3704]]

Washington, Seattle, WA
7. Mary Beth Genter, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati College of 
Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
8. Robyn Gilden, Ph.D., RN, University of Maryland School of 
Nursing, Baltimore, MD
9. John Groopman, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
10. Ramesh Gupta, D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.B.T., Murray State University, 
Murray, KY
11. Bruce Hammock, Ph.D., University of California-Davis, Davis, CA
12. Paul Howard, Ph.D., (Retired), Food and Drug Administration, 
Chardon, OH
13. Germaine Buck Louis, Ph.D. M.S., Eunice Kennedy Shriver National 
Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD
14. Melissa Perry, Sc.D., M.H.S., George Washington University, 
Washington, DC
15. Lisa Peterson, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
16. Frank Raushel, Ph.D., Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
17. Rick Relyea, Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
18. Justin Teeguarden, Ph.D., Pacific Northwest Laboratories, 
Richland, WA
19. Sarah Woodley, Ph.D., Duquesne University, Pittsburg, PA

IV. Nominees

    Following are the names, addresses, and professional affiliations 
of current nominees being considered for membership on the FIFRA SAP. 
The Agency anticipates selecting four individuals to fill vacancies 
occurring in 2018. Brief biographical sketches for the nominees are 
posted on the EPA website at https://www.epa.gov/sap.

1. Jonathan W. Boyd, Ph.D., West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
2. Robert E. Chapin, Ph.D., Pfizer Global Research and Development, 
Groton, CT
3. Weihsueh A. Chiu, Ph.D., Texas A&M University, College Station, 
TX
4. George B. Corcoran, Ph.D., Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
5. Nikolay M. Filipov, Ph.D., University of Georgia, Athens, GA
6. Paul M. Foster, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health, Durham, NC
7. John T. Greenamyre, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pittsburg, 
Pittsburg, PA
8. William C. Griffith, Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle, WA
9. William K. Karasov, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 
Madison, WI
10. Francisco J. Leyva, M.D., Ph.D., Sc.M., National Institutes of 
Health, Rockville, MD
11. Michael A. Malfatti, Ph.D., Lawrence Livermore National 
Laboratory, Livermore, CA
12. Daniel K. Nomura, Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley, 
Berkeley, CA
13. David Peden, Ph.D., University of North Carolina School of 
Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC
14. Beate R. Ritz, M.D., Ph.D., University of California-Los 
Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
15. Christopher P. Weis, Ph.D., National Institutes of Health, 
Bethesda, MD
16. Clifford P. Weisel, Ph.D., Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
17. Raymond S.H. Yang, Ph.D., Colorado State University, Fort 
Collins, CO


    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.; 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.

     Dated: January 11, 2018.
Stanley Barone Jr.,
Acting Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-01496 Filed 1-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P