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

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[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]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

 
 

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