U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the appointment of members who will serve on the Science Advisory Board (SAB). Decisions on the SAB’s four standing committees are still pending.
“After an open and transparent public process, EPA has appointed or reappointed experts from a wide range of scientific disciples who reflect the geographic diversity needed to ensure the SAB represents all ten EPA regions,†said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.
Those nominees willing to serve have been vetted for potential conflicts of interest and each has committed to remain financially independent from EPA grants during their tenure.
The Process
The nomination period for the SAB closed on June 26, 2019. The SAB Staff Office identified 33 candidates that have confirmed interest to serve on the board. Each of the candidates has submitted bio-sketches and their curricula vitae. The list of candidates was posted on the SAB website for a 21-day public comment period that closed on Oct. 9, 2019.
The Science Advisory Board
In FY 2019, the SAB had 45 members. Of those, 33 members had terms that do not expire and thus remain on the board. Of the remaining members from FY 2018, four completed their terms of service, one resigned, and seven – appointed during the Obama administration – are timing out of the first term and will be reappointed by Administrator Wheeler to serve for a second three-year term (listed in Table 1 below).
In addition, Administrator Wheeler is reappointing Dr. Peter Wilcoxen, for a one-year extension. Dr. Wilcoxen’s extension will allow him to finish serving as the chair of a recently initiated panel on Computational General Equilibrium. Dr. Wilcoxen will continue to lead an important review currently underway assessing and analyzing an Economic Model used in regulatory analyses. Three new board members (one each from the federal government, a state, and a non-governmental organization) were selected by Administrator Wheeler (listed in Table 2 below). This brings the total SAB membership to 44 for FY 2020. Dr. Michael Honeycutt will remain as the SAB Chairman.
