Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73
§4365 Science Advisory Board
Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 55— - NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS › § 4365
Summary
The EPA Administrator must set up a Science Advisory Board to give scientific advice when the Administrator or certain Congressional committees ask for it. The board must have at least nine members and one chair. Members must be trained and experienced enough to judge scientific and technical information. The EPA must give the board any proposed rules or criteria (for major environmental laws like clean air, clean water, hazardous waste, noise, toxic substances, and safe drinking water or under any other EPA authority) and the scientific and technical material behind them whenever those proposals are sent to another federal agency for formal review. The board can send its written advice back to the Administrator within whatever deadline the Administrator sets. The board may use help from other federal agencies and national environmental labs. The board can form member committees and investigative panels, each led by a board member. The Administrator and the board must create a standing agriculture-related committee and may add more. Those committees must be made up of people who are not board members when appointed, in numbers the Administrator and board decide, and the Administrator and board must appoint them after talking with the Secretary of Agriculture. They give science advice on things that directly affect farming and related businesses. The Administrator must hire a secretary and staff the board needs, with pay set by federal pay rules. Board members can be paid up to the GS–18 rate. The board must work with the Scientific Advisory Panel under 7 U.S.C. 136w(d), try to make its work public on the EPA website consistent with FOIA and the Privacy Act, and the Administrator must report each year to specified Senate and House committees about the agriculture committee’s membership and activities.
Full Legal Text
Title 42, §4365
The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall establish a Science Advisory Board which shall provide such scientific advice as may be requested by the Administrator, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the United States Senate, or the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, on Energy and Commerce, or on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives.
(b)Such Board shall be composed of at least nine members, one of whom shall be designated Chairman, and shall meet at such times and places as may be designated by the Chairman of the Board in consultation with the Administrator. Each member of the Board shall be qualified by education, training, and experience to evaluate scientific and technical information on matters referred to the Board under this section.
(c)(1)The Administrator, at the time any proposed criteria document, standard, limitation, or regulation under the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.], the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.], the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 [42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.], the Noise Control Act [42 U.S.C. 4901 et seq.], the Toxic Substances Control Act [15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.], or the Safe Drinking Water Act [42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.], or under any other authority of the Administrator, is provided to any other Federal agency for formal review and comment, shall make available to the Board such proposed criteria document, standard, limitation, or regulation, together with relevant scientific and technical information in the possession of the Environmental Protection Agency on which the proposed action is based.
(2)The Board may make available to the Administrator, within the time specified by the Administrator, its advice and comments on the adequacy of the scientific and technical basis of the proposed criteria document, standard, limitation, or regulation, together with any pertinent information in the Board’s possession.
(d)In preparing such advice and comments, the Board shall avail itself of the technical and scientific capabilities of any Federal agency, including the Environmental Protection Agency and any national environmental laboratories.
(e)(1)(A)The Board is authorized to establish such member committees and investigative panels as the Administrator and the Board determine to be necessary to carry out this section.
(B)Each member committee or investigative panel established under this subsection shall be chaired by a member of the Board.
(2)(A)The Administrator and the Board—
(i)shall establish a standing agriculture-related committee; and
(ii)may establish such additional agriculture-related committees and investigative panels as the Administrator and the Board determines to be necessary to carry out the duties under subparagraph (C).
(B)The standing committee and each agriculture-related committee or investigative panel established under subparagraph (A) shall be—
(i)composed of—
(I)such quantity of members as the Administrator and the Board determines to be necessary; and
(II)individuals who are not members of the Board on the date of appointment to the committee or investigative panel; and
(ii)appointed by the Administrator and the Board, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture.
(C)The agriculture-related standing committee and each additional committee and investigative panel established under subparagraph (A) shall provide scientific and technical advice to the Board relating to matters referred to the Board that the Administrator and the Board determines, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to have a significant direct impact on enterprises that are engaged in the business of the production of food and fiber, ranching and raising livestock, aquaculture, and all other farming- and agriculture-related industries.
(f)(1)Upon the recommendation of the Board, the Administrator shall appoint a secretary, and such other employees as deemed necessary to exercise and fulfill the Board’s powers and responsibilities. The compensation of all employees appointed under this paragraph shall be fixed in accordance with chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5.
(2)Members of the Board may be compensated at a rate to be fixed by the President but not in excess of the maximum rate of pay for grade GS–18, as provided in the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5.
(g)In carrying out the functions assigned by this section, the Board shall consult and coordinate its activities with the Scientific Advisory Panel established by the Administrator pursuant to section 136w(d) of title 7.
(h)The Board shall make every effort, consistent with applicable law, including section 552 of title 5 (commonly known as the “Freedom of Information Act”) and section 552a of title 5 (commonly known as the “Privacy Act”), to maximize public participation and transparency, including making the scientific and technical advice of the Board and any committees or investigative panels of the Board publically available in electronic form on the website of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(i)The Administrator shall annually report to the Committees on Environment and Public Works and Agriculture of the Senate and the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, and Agriculture of the House of Representatives regarding the membership and activities of the standing agriculture-related committee established pursuant to subsection (e)(2)(A)(i).
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Clean Air Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is act July 14, 1955, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322, which is classified generally to chapter 85 (§ 7401 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 7401 of this title and Tables. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as amended generally by Pub. L. 92–500, § 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816, which is classified generally to chapter 26 (§ 1251 et seq.) of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 1251 of Title 33 and Tables. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is Pub. L. 94–580, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2796, which is classified generally to chapter 82 (§ 6901 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
of 1976 Amendment note set out under section 6901 of this title and Tables. The Noise Control Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), probably means the Noise Control Act of 1972, Pub. L. 92–574, Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1234, which is classified principally to chapter 65 (§ 4901 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 4901 of this title and Tables. The Toxic Substances Control Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is Pub. L. 94–469, Oct. 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 2003, which is classified generally to chapter 53 (§ 2601 et seq.) of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 2601 of Title 15 and Tables. The Safe Drinking Water Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is title XIV of act July 1, 1944, as added Dec. 16, 1974, Pub. L. 93–523, § 2(a), 88 Stat. 1660, which is classified generally to subchapter XII (§ 300f et seq.) of chapter 6A of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 201 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978, and not as part of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 which comprises this chapter.
Amendments
2014—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 113–79, § 12307(1), added subsec. (e) and struck out former subsec. (e). Text read as follows: “The Board is authorized to constitute such member committees and investigative panels as the Administrator and the Board find necessary to carry out this section. Each such member committee or investigative panel shall be chaired by a member of the Board.” Subsecs. (h), (i). Pub. L. 113–79, § 12307(2), added subsecs. (h) and (i). 1995—Subsecs. (c) to (i). Pub. L. 104–66 redesignated subsecs. (e) to (i) as (c) to (g), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (c) which read as follows: “In addition to providing scientific advice when requested by the Administrator under subsection (a) of this section, the Board shall review and comment on the Administration’s five-year plan for environmental research, development, and demonstration provided for by section 4361 of this title and on each annual revision thereof. Such review and comment shall be transmitted to the Congress by the Administrator, together with his comments thereon, at the time of the transmission to the Congress of the annual revision involved.” 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–437, § 15(o)(1), substituted “Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, on Energy and Commerce, or on” for “Committees on Science and Technology, Interstate and Foreign Commerce, or”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–437, § 15(o)(2), struck out subsec. (d) which related to review and report to Administrator, President, and Congress on health effects research. 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–569 inserted provisions relating to requests by the enumerated Congressional committees.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104–14, set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 2. Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives, and jurisdiction over matters relating to securities and exchanges and insurance generally transferred to Committee on Financial Services of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Seventh Congress, Jan. 3, 2001. Committee on Public Works and Transportation of House of Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of House of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104–14, set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 2. Termination of Advisory BoardsAdvisory boards established after Jan. 5, 1973, to terminate not later than the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date of their establishment, unless, in the case of a board established by the President or an officer of the Federal Government, such board is renewed by appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2-year period, or in the case of a board established by the Congress, its duration is otherwise provided for by law. See section 1001(2) and 1013 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. References in Other Laws to GS–16, 17, or 18 Pay RatesReferences in laws to the rates of pay for GS–16, 17, or 18, or to maximum rates of pay under the General Schedule, to be considered references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, see section 529 [title I, § 101(c)(1)] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out in a note under section 5376 of Title 5.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 4365
Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73