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Review of Nomination of Experts: EPA Is Solicitating Comments on the Pool of Candidate Peer Reviewers for the Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress
EPA invites the public to comment on two additional candidates for consideration as peer reviewers for this contractor-managed peer review of the draft Biofuels Report to Congress update. The deadline for comments is Aug 16, 2022.
Citation:
Review of Nomination of Experts: EPA Is Solicitating Comments on the Pool of Candidate Peer Reviewers for the Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress.
Impact/Purpose:
This RtC3 builds on the previous two reports and provides an update on the impacts to date of the RFS Program on the environment. This report assesses air, water, and soil quality; ecosystem health and biodiversity; and other effects. This third report also includes new analyses not previously included in the first and second reports.
Description:
EPA is currently working on the third Biofuels Report to Congress. This report is responsive to Section 204 of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). The Report to Congress focuses on the dominant biofuel sources in the US: (1) domestic corn ethanol from corn starch, (2) domestic biodiesel from soybean oil, (3) domestic biodiesel from fats, oils, and greases (FOGs), and (4) imported ethanol from Brazilian sugarcane. Chapters of the report were developed in close collaboration with scientists from USDA, DOE, USGS, and NOAA, but EPA retains lead authorship on all chapters. The report is currently undergoing internal peer review. EPA expects to release it for public comment and external panel peer review in Fall 2022. Peer review will be conducted under the framework of EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy and follow procedures established in EPA’s Peer Review Handbook 4th Edition, 2015 (EPA/100/B-15/001) and the Office of Management and Budget’s "Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review."
In Feb 2022, nominations of peer review candidates were reviewed and accepted by EPA’s contractor, Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG) following the release of the Federal Register Notice. Relevant expertise includes economics, engineering, agronomics, land use change, remote sensing, air quality, biogeochemistry, water quality, hydrology, conservation biology, limnology, and ecology. ERG received and screened nominations to identify a pool of eighteen highly qualified candidates. In May 2022, EPA provided an opportunity for the public to comment on the selected candidate pool. After considering public comments on the candidate pool, ERG will select nine final peer reviewers whose combined expertise best spans the above disciplines.
In August 2022, a 3rd FRN was posted to review a few additional subject matter experts to serve on the peer review panel. A 15-day public review period was given to respond on this FRN.
