FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting; Request for Ad Hoc Expert Nominations, 26097-26099 [2017-11694]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 6, 2017 / Notices
Pursuant to section 307(b)(1) of the
Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7607(b)(1),
judicial review of this final permit
decision, to the extent it is available,
may be sought by filing a petition for
review in the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit within 60
days of June 6, 2017.
The EPA has established
docket number EPA–R09–OAR–2014–
0785 for this action. Key portions of the
administrative record for this PSD
permit decision (including the final PSD
permit decision, all public comments,
the EPA’s responses to the public
comments, and additional supporting
information) are available through a link
at our Web site, https://www.epa.gov/
caa-permitting/prevention-significantdeterioration-psd-permits-issued-region9, or at https://www.regulations.gov
(Docket ID No. EPA–R09–OAR–2014–
0785). Documents are also available for
public inspection during normal
business hours at the following address:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 9, Air Division (AIR–3), 75
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco,
California 94105–3901. To arrange for
viewing of these documents, please
schedule an appointment during normal
business hours with the contact listed in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section. Due to building security
procedures, at least 48 hours advance
notice is required.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
20:52 Jun 05, 2017
Jkt 241001
[FR Doc. 2017–11691 Filed 6–5–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel;
Notice of Public Meeting; Request for
Ad Hoc Expert Nominations
On
September 30, 2016, the EPA Region 9
issued a final permit decision to
Resolute Natural Resources Company to
amend the PSD permit for the MCU
Facility (PSD Permit No. NU 05–01).
The MCU Facility is an existing oil and
gas production operation located within
the Four Corners Area on the Navajo
Nation Indian Reservation near the town
of Aneth, San Juan County, Utah.
The EPA amended the PSD permit, in
accordance with PSD regulations (40
CFR 52.21), to incorporate pollution
limits, terms, and conditions for the
already existing Main Flare at the MCU
Facility pursuant to a federal Consent
Decree (United States v. Mobil
Exploration and Producing U.S. Inc.,
Case No. 2:05–CV–319, filed June 8,
2005). These pollution limits, terms,
and conditions include best available
control technology emission limitations
for nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide,
sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic
compounds.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Dated: March 23, 2017.
Elizabeth Adams,
Acting Director, Air Division, Region IX.
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2017–0214; FRL–9962–79]
Shaheerah Kelly, EPA Region 9, Air
Division (AIR–3), (415) 947–4156,
kelly.shaheerah@epa.gov.
NOTICE OF FINAL ACTION AND
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Additionally, the EPA amended the
PSD permit to remove and update other
applicable requirements in the MCU
Facility’s PSD permit due to equipment
that has been shut down and removed
from the site. Air pollution emissions as
a result of this permit action would not
cause or contribute to violations of any
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
or any applicable PSD increments. This
permit action does not authorize any
new construction or modification of
existing equipment at the MCU Facility.
EPA received comments from eight
commenters, including the Resolute
Natural Resources Company. In
accordance with 40 CFR 124.15(b), the
final PSD permit decision issued on
September 30, 2016, became effective on
November 30, 2016. Pursuant to 40 CFR
124.19(l)(1), a petition to EPA’s
Environmental Appeals Board (EAB)
under 40 CFR 124.19(a) is a prerequisite
to seeking judicial review of this final
agency action. No petition for review
was properly and timely filed with EAB
under 40 CFR 124.19(a).
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
There will be a 3-day meeting
of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory
Panel (FIFRA SAP) to consider and
review the ‘‘Continuing Development of
Alternative High-Throughput Screens to
Determine Endocrine Disruption,
Focusing on Androgen Receptor,
Steroidogenesis, and Thyroid
Pathways’’.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
November 28, 2017 to November 30,
2017, from approximately 9 a.m. to 5
p.m.
Comments. Written comments should
be submitted on or before September 28,
2017. FIFRA SAP may not be able to
fully consider written comments
submitted after this date. Requests to
make oral comments should be
submitted on or before November 7,
2017 by contacting the Designated
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00056
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
26097
Federal Official (DFO) listed under FOR
For
additional instructions, see Unit I.C. of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Nominations. Nominations of
candidates to serve as ad hoc expert
members of FIFRA SAP for this meeting
should be provided on or before July 21,
2017.
Webcast. This meeting may be
webcast. Please refer to the FIFRA SAP
Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sap for
information on how to access the
webcast. Please note that the webcast is
a supplementary public process
provided only for convenience. If
difficulties arise resulting in webcasting
outages, the meeting will continue as
planned.
Special accommodations. For
information on access or services for
individuals with disabilities, and to
request accommodation of a disability,
please contact the DFO listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least
10 days prior to the meeting to allow
EPA time to process your request.
ADDRESSES: Meeting: The meeting will
be held at the Environmental Protection
Agency, Conference Center, Lobby
Level, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.),
2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA
22202.
Comments. Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2017–0214, by
one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other 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.
Additional instructions on
commenting or visiting the docket,
along with more information about
dockets generally, is available at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
Nominations, requests to present oral
comments, and requests for special
accommodations. Submit nominations
to serve as ad hoc members of FIFRA
SAP, requests for special
accommodations, or requests to present
oral comments to the DFO listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Todd Peterson, DFO, Office of Science
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM
06JNN1
26098
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 6, 2017 / Notices
Coordination and Policy (7201M),
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington,
DC 20460–0001; telephone number:
(202) 564–6428; email address:
peterson.todd@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action is directed to the public
in general. This action may also 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.
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.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
C. How may I participate in this
meeting?
You may participate in this meeting
by following the instructions in this
unit. To ensure proper receipt by EPA,
it is imperative that you identify docket
ID number EPA–HQ–OPP–2017–0214 in
the subject line on the first page of your
request.
1. Written comments. Written
comments should be submitted, using
the instructions in ADDRESSES and Unit
I.B., on or before September 28, 2017, to
provide FIFRA SAP the time necessary
to consider and review the written
comments. FIFRA SAP may not be able
to fully consider written comments
submitted after September 28, 2017.
2. Oral comments. The Agency
encourages each individual or group
wishing to make brief oral comments to
FIFRA SAP to submit their request to
the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT on or before
November 7, 2017, in order to be
included on the meeting agenda.
Requests to present oral comments will
be accepted until November 7, 2017
and, to the extent that time permits, the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:52 Jun 05, 2017
Jkt 241001
Chair of FIFRA SAP may permit the
presentation of oral comments at the
meeting by interested persons who have
not previously requested time. Oral
comments before FIFRA SAP are limited
to approximately 5 minutes unless
arrangements have been made prior to
November 7, 2017. The request should
identify the name of the individual
making the presentation, the
organization (if any) the individual will
represent, and any requirements for
audiovisual equipment. In addition,
each speaker should bring 15 copies of
his or her oral remarks and presentation
slides (if required) for distribution to
FIFRA SAP at the meeting by the DFO.
3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at
the meeting will be open and on a firstcome basis.
4. Request for nominations to serve as
ad hoc expert members of FIFRA SAP
for this meeting. As part of a broader
process for developing a pool of
candidates, both U.S. citizens and
permanent residents who can
demonstrate that they are actively
seeking U.S. citizenship will be
considered. For each meeting, FIFRA
SAP staff routinely solicits from the
public nominations of prospective
expert candidates for service as ad hoc
members of FIFRA SAP. Any interested
person or organization may nominate
qualified individuals to be considered
as prospective candidates for a specific
meeting. Individuals nominated for this
meeting should have expertise in one or
more of the following areas: Toxicology,
physiology, biochemistry,
endocrinology (clinical and research),
epidemiology, with an emphasis on
androgens, steroidogenesis, thyroid—
particularly ways these endocrine
systems can be disrupted and the means
to detect disruption. Expertise in the
development of computational models,
high-throughput assays, as well as
biostatistics and performance-based
validation, are also desired. Nominees
should be scientists who have sufficient
professional qualifications, including
training and experience, to be capable of
providing expert comments on the
scientific issues for this meeting.
Nominees should be identified by name,
occupation, position, address, email
address, and telephone number.
Nominations should be provided to the
DFO listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT on or before July
21, 2017. The Agency will consider all
nominations of prospective candidates
for this meeting that are received on or
before that date. However, final
selection of ad hoc members for this
meeting is a discretionary function of
the Agency.
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
The selection of scientists to serve on
FIFRA SAP is based on the function of
the Panel and the expertise needed to
address the Agency’s charge to the
Panel. No interested scientists shall be
ineligible to serve 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
EPA. Other factors considered during
the selection process include
availability of the potential Panel
member to fully participate in the
Panel’s review, absence of any conflicts
of interest or appearance of lack of
impartiality, independence with respect
to the matters under review, and lack of
bias. Although financial conflicts of
interest, the appearance of lack of
impartiality, lack of independence, and
bias may result in disqualification, the
absence of such concerns does not
assure that a candidate will be selected
to serve on FIFRA SAP. Numerous
qualified candidates are identified for
each Panel. Therefore, selection
decisions involve carefully weighing a
number of factors including the
candidates’ areas of expertise and
professional qualifications and
achieving an overall balance of different
scientific perspectives on the Panel. In
order to have the collective breadth of
experience needed to address the
Agency’s peer review charge for this
meeting, the Agency anticipates
selecting approximately 10 ad hoc
scientists.
FIFRA SAP members are subject to
the provisions of 5 CFR part 2634—
Executive Branch Financial Disclosure,
Qualified Trusts, and Certificates of
Divestiture, as supplemented by EPA in
5 CFR part 6401. In anticipation of this
requirement, prospective candidates for
service on FIFRA SAP will be asked to
submit confidential financial
information which shall fully disclose,
among other financial interests, the
candidate’s employment, stocks and
bonds, and where applicable, sources of
research support. EPA will evaluate the
candidate’s financial disclosure form to
assess whether there are financial
conflicts of interest, appearance of a
lack of impartiality, or any prior
involvement with the development of
the documents under consideration
(including previous scientific peer
review) before the candidate is
considered further for service on FIFRA
SAP. Those who are selected from the
pool of prospective candidates will be
asked to attend the public meetings and
to participate in the discussion of key
issues and assumptions at these
meetings. In addition, they will be asked
E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM
06JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 6, 2017 / Notices
to review and to help finalize the
meeting minutes. The list of FIFRA SAP
members participating at this meeting
will be posted on the FIFRA SAP Web
site at https://www.epa.gov/sap or may
be obtained from the OPP Docket at
https://www.regulations.gov.
II. Background
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
A. Purpose of FIFRA SAP
FIFRA SAP serves as the primary
scientific peer review mechanism of
EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and
Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and is
structured to provide 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). FIFRA SAP is
composed of a permanent panel
consisting of seven members who are
appointed by the EPA Administrator
from nominees provided by the National
Institutes of Health and the National
Science Foundation. The FIFRA SAP is
assisted in their reviews by ad hoc
participation from the Science Review
Board (SRB). 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.
B. Public Meeting
The United States EPA’s Endocrine
Disruptor Screening Program uses
appropriate validated test systems and
other scientifically-relevant information
to screen and test for endocrine
disrupting chemicals. Since the
issuance of the Federal Register Notice
(entitled, ‘‘Use of High Throughput
Assays and Computational Tools;
Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program;
Notice of Availability and Opportunity
for Comment’’) on June 19, 2015 (FRL–
9928–69), EPA has continued the
development of high throughput assays
and computational tools for both the
detection of the potential to disrupt the
endocrine system, as well as to estimate
levels of exposure. The focus of this
meeting is the SAP’s review and
comment on the Agency’s proposed
high-throughput computational model
of androgen receptor pathway activity as
an alternative to the current Tier 1
androgen receptor assay (OCSPP
890.1150: Androgen Receptor Binding
Rat Prostate Cytosol). Additionally, the
SAP will assess the Agency’s progress in
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:52 Jun 05, 2017
Jkt 241001
the development of a high-throughput
model of steroidogenesis to be used as
an alternative to the current Tier 1
steroidogenesis assay (OCSPP 890.1550:
Steroidogenesis Human Cell Line—
H295R); and proposed adverse outcome
pathway-based framework for screening
chemicals for potential thyroid
disruption. The use of these methods
will accelerate the pace of screening,
reduce animal testing, and significantly
decrease costs associated with
screening.
C. FIFRA SAP Documents and Meeting
Minutes
EPA’s background paper, charge/
questions to FIFRA SAP, and related
supporting materials will be available
on or before August 14, 2017. In
addition, a list of candidates under
consideration as prospective ad hoc
panelists for this meeting will be
available for public comment by August
22, 2017 (see link for listing of nominees
to appear on August 4, 2017 at: https://
www.epa.gov/sap). Comments should be
provided to the DFO listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or
before September 6, 2017). Your
comments will be placed in the public
docket by the DFO. You may obtain
electronic copies of most meeting
documents, including FIFRA SAP
composition (i.e., members and ad hoc
members for this meeting) and the
meeting agenda, at https://
www.regulations.gov and the FIFRA
SAP Web site at https://www.epa.gov/
sap.
FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting
minutes summarizing its
recommendations to the Agency
approximately 90 days after the
meeting. The meeting minutes will be
posted on the FIFRA SAP Web site or
may be obtained from the OPP Docket
at https://www.regulations.gov.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et. seq.; 21 U.S.C.
301 et seq.
Dated: May 26, 2017.
Stanley Barone, Jr.,
Director, Office of Science Coordination and
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017–11694 Filed 6–5–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[9961–58–OEI]
Cross-Media Electronic Reporting:
Authorized Program Revision
Approval, State of Utah
AGENCY:
Environmental Protection
Agency.
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
ACTION:
26099
Notice.
This notice announces EPA’s
approval of the State of Utah’s request
to revise/modify certain of its EPAauthorized programs to allow electronic
reporting.
DATES: EPA’s approval is effective June
6, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Karen Seeh, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of
Environmental Information, Mail Stop
2823T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20460, (202) 566–1175,
seeh.karen@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On
October 13, 2005, the final Cross-Media
Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR)
was published in the Federal Register
(70 FR 59848) and codified as part 3 of
title 40 of the CFR. CROMERR
establishes electronic reporting as an
acceptable regulatory alternative to
paper reporting and establishes
requirements to assure that electronic
documents are as legally dependable as
their paper counterparts. Subpart D of
CROMERR requires that state, tribal or
local government agencies that receive,
or wish to begin receiving, electronic
reports under their EPA-authorized
programs must apply to EPA for a
revision or modification of those
programs and obtain EPA approval.
Subpart D provides standards for such
approvals based on consideration of the
electronic document receiving systems
that the state, tribe, or local government
will use to implement the electronic
reporting. Additionally, section
3.1000(b) through (e) of 40 CFR part 3,
subpart D provides special procedures
for program revisions and modifications
to allow electronic reporting, to be used
at the option of the state, tribe or local
government in place of procedures
available under existing programspecific authorization regulations. An
application submitted under the subpart
D procedures must show that the state,
tribe or local government has sufficient
legal authority to implement the
electronic reporting components of the
programs covered by the application
and will use electronic document
receiving systems that meet the
applicable subpart D requirements. On
March 28, 2017, the Utah Department of
Environmental Quality (UT DEQ)
submitted an application titled ‘‘NPDES
e-Reporting Tool’’ for revisions/
modifications to its EPA-approved
programs under title 40 CFR to allow
new electronic reporting. EPA reviewed
UT DEQ’s request to revise/modify its
EPA-authorized programs and, based on
this review, EPA determined that the
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\06JNN1.SGM
06JNN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26097-26099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11694]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0214; FRL-9962-79]
FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel; Notice of Public Meeting;
Request for Ad Hoc Expert Nominations
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: There will be a 3-day meeting of the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) to
consider and review the ``Continuing Development of Alternative High-
Throughput Screens to Determine Endocrine Disruption, Focusing on
Androgen Receptor, Steroidogenesis, and Thyroid Pathways''.
DATES: The meeting will be held on November 28, 2017 to November 30,
2017, from approximately 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Comments. Written comments should be submitted on or before
September 28, 2017. FIFRA SAP may not be able to fully consider written
comments submitted after this date. Requests to make oral comments
should be submitted on or before November 7, 2017 by contacting the
Designated Federal Official (DFO) listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. For additional instructions, see Unit I.C. of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Nominations. Nominations of candidates to serve as ad hoc expert
members of FIFRA SAP for this meeting should be provided on or before
July 21, 2017.
Webcast. This meeting may be webcast. Please refer to the FIFRA SAP
Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sap for information on how to access
the webcast. Please note that the webcast is a supplementary public
process provided only for convenience. If difficulties arise resulting
in webcasting outages, the meeting will continue as planned.
Special accommodations. For information on access or services for
individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a
disability, please contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT at least 10 days prior to the meeting to allow EPA time to
process your request.
ADDRESSES: Meeting: The meeting will be held at the Environmental
Protection Agency, Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard
(South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.
Comments. Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0214, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit
electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other 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.
Additional instructions on commenting or visiting the docket, along
with more information about dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
Nominations, requests to present oral comments, and requests for
special accommodations. Submit nominations to serve as ad hoc members
of FIFRA SAP, requests for special accommodations, or requests to
present oral comments to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Peterson, DFO, Office of Science
[[Page 26098]]
Coordination and Policy (7201M), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number:
(202) 564-6428; email address: peterson.todd@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action is directed to the public in general. This action may
also 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.
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.
C. How may I participate in this meeting?
You may participate in this meeting by following the instructions
in this unit. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that
you identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0214 in the subject line
on the first page of your request.
1. Written comments. Written comments should be submitted, using
the instructions in ADDRESSES and Unit I.B., on or before September 28,
2017, to provide FIFRA SAP the time necessary to consider and review
the written comments. FIFRA SAP may not be able to fully consider
written comments submitted after September 28, 2017.
2. Oral comments. The Agency encourages each individual or group
wishing to make brief oral comments to FIFRA SAP to submit their
request to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or
before November 7, 2017, in order to be included on the meeting agenda.
Requests to present oral comments will be accepted until November 7,
2017 and, to the extent that time permits, the Chair of FIFRA SAP may
permit the presentation of oral comments at the meeting by interested
persons who have not previously requested time. Oral comments before
FIFRA SAP are limited to approximately 5 minutes unless arrangements
have been made prior to November 7, 2017. The request should identify
the name of the individual making the presentation, the organization
(if any) the individual will represent, and any requirements for
audiovisual equipment. In addition, each speaker should bring 15 copies
of his or her oral remarks and presentation slides (if required) for
distribution to FIFRA SAP at the meeting by the DFO.
3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be open and
on a first-come basis.
4. Request for nominations to serve as ad hoc expert members of
FIFRA SAP for this meeting. As part of a broader process for developing
a pool of candidates, both U.S. citizens and permanent residents who
can demonstrate that they are actively seeking U.S. citizenship will be
considered. For each meeting, FIFRA SAP staff routinely solicits from
the public nominations of prospective expert candidates for service as
ad hoc members of FIFRA SAP. Any interested person or organization may
nominate qualified individuals to be considered as prospective
candidates for a specific meeting. Individuals nominated for this
meeting should have expertise in one or more of the following areas:
Toxicology, physiology, biochemistry, endocrinology (clinical and
research), epidemiology, with an emphasis on androgens,
steroidogenesis, thyroid--particularly ways these endocrine systems can
be disrupted and the means to detect disruption. Expertise in the
development of computational models, high-throughput assays, as well as
biostatistics and performance-based validation, are also desired.
Nominees should be scientists who have sufficient professional
qualifications, including training and experience, to be capable of
providing expert comments on the scientific issues for this meeting.
Nominees should be identified by name, occupation, position, address,
email address, and telephone number. Nominations should be provided to
the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or before July
21, 2017. The Agency will consider all nominations of prospective
candidates for this meeting that are received on or before that date.
However, final selection of ad hoc members for this meeting is a
discretionary function of the Agency.
The selection of scientists to serve on FIFRA SAP is based on the
function of the Panel and the expertise needed to address the Agency's
charge to the Panel. No interested scientists shall be ineligible to
serve 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 EPA. Other factors considered during the
selection process include availability of the potential Panel member to
fully participate in the Panel's review, absence of any conflicts of
interest or appearance of lack of impartiality, independence with
respect to the matters under review, and lack of bias. Although
financial conflicts of interest, the appearance of lack of
impartiality, lack of independence, and bias may result in
disqualification, the absence of such concerns does not assure that a
candidate will be selected to serve on FIFRA SAP. Numerous qualified
candidates are identified for each Panel. Therefore, selection
decisions involve carefully weighing a number of factors including the
candidates' areas of expertise and professional qualifications and
achieving an overall balance of different scientific perspectives on
the Panel. In order to have the collective breadth of experience needed
to address the Agency's peer review charge for this meeting, the Agency
anticipates selecting approximately 10 ad hoc scientists.
FIFRA SAP members are subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part
2634--Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, Qualified Trusts, and
Certificates of Divestiture, as supplemented by EPA in 5 CFR part 6401.
In anticipation of this requirement, prospective candidates for service
on FIFRA SAP will be asked to submit confidential financial information
which shall fully disclose, among other financial interests, the
candidate's employment, stocks and bonds, and where applicable, sources
of research support. EPA will evaluate the candidate's financial
disclosure form to assess whether there are financial conflicts of
interest, appearance of a lack of impartiality, or any prior
involvement with the development of the documents under consideration
(including previous scientific peer review) before the candidate is
considered further for service on FIFRA SAP. Those who are selected
from the pool of prospective candidates will be asked to attend the
public meetings and to participate in the discussion of key issues and
assumptions at these meetings. In addition, they will be asked
[[Page 26099]]
to review and to help finalize the meeting minutes. The list of FIFRA
SAP members participating at this meeting will be posted on the FIFRA
SAP Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sap or may be obtained from the OPP
Docket at https://www.regulations.gov.
II. Background
A. Purpose of FIFRA SAP
FIFRA SAP serves as the primary scientific peer review mechanism of
EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and is
structured to provide 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). FIFRA SAP is
composed of a permanent panel consisting of seven members who are
appointed by the EPA Administrator from nominees provided by the
National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. The
FIFRA SAP is assisted in their reviews by ad hoc participation from the
Science Review Board (SRB). 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.
B. Public Meeting
The United States EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program uses
appropriate validated test systems and other scientifically-relevant
information to screen and test for endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Since the issuance of the Federal Register Notice (entitled, ``Use of
High Throughput Assays and Computational Tools; Endocrine Disruptor
Screening Program; Notice of Availability and Opportunity for
Comment'') on June 19, 2015 (FRL-9928-69), EPA has continued the
development of high throughput assays and computational tools for both
the detection of the potential to disrupt the endocrine system, as well
as to estimate levels of exposure. The focus of this meeting is the
SAP's review and comment on the Agency's proposed high-throughput
computational model of androgen receptor pathway activity as an
alternative to the current Tier 1 androgen receptor assay (OCSPP
890.1150: Androgen Receptor Binding Rat Prostate Cytosol).
Additionally, the SAP will assess the Agency's progress in the
development of a high-throughput model of steroidogenesis to be used as
an alternative to the current Tier 1 steroidogenesis assay (OCSPP
890.1550: Steroidogenesis Human Cell Line--H295R); and proposed adverse
outcome pathway-based framework for screening chemicals for potential
thyroid disruption. The use of these methods will accelerate the pace
of screening, reduce animal testing, and significantly decrease costs
associated with screening.
C. FIFRA SAP Documents and Meeting Minutes
EPA's background paper, charge/questions to FIFRA SAP, and related
supporting materials will be available on or before August 14, 2017. In
addition, a list of candidates under consideration as prospective ad
hoc panelists for this meeting will be available for public comment by
August 22, 2017 (see link for listing of nominees to appear on August
4, 2017 at: https://www.epa.gov/sap). Comments should be provided to
the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or before
September 6, 2017). Your comments will be placed in the public docket
by the DFO. You may obtain electronic copies of most meeting documents,
including FIFRA SAP composition (i.e., members and ad hoc members for
this meeting) and the meeting agenda, at https://www.regulations.gov and
the FIFRA SAP Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sap.
FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting minutes summarizing its
recommendations to the Agency approximately 90 days after the meeting.
The meeting minutes will be posted on the FIFRA SAP Web site or may be
obtained from the OPP Docket at https://www.regulations.gov.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 136 et. seq.; 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.
Dated: May 26, 2017.
Stanley Barone, Jr.,
Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017-11694 Filed 6-5-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P