A review begins with an official request from the initiating CalEPA board, department, or office (BDO) is submitted in writing to the UC. The request includes:
• A plain English summary of the proposed environmental regulation
• The approximate date the document will be ready for review and desired date by which the reviews should be submitted
• A listing and explanation of the scientific assumptions, findings, and conclusions that reviewers will address
• A description of the kinds of scientific expertise required for the review
• A listing of the people who have participated in the development of the proposed regulation. The intent here is to identify academics and other researchers who would be excluded as reviewers due to their involvement in the proposed regulation.
2. The University Principal Investigator contacts appropriate members of the Peer Review Panel Advisors to identify a pool of qualified candidates within the requested areas of expertise. The University Project Manager then contacts these candidates to discuss the peer review request and assess candidates’ capacity to undertake the review. If they are deemed qualified, conflict of interest (COI) is through a form provided by the University Project Manager that the candidates submit to the CalEPA Program Manager. Potential COI might include:
• Any past or current work in support of industries affected by or parties closely linked to the proposed rule-making
• Any personal benefit from impacts of the proposed rule-making
• Any involvement in the development of the proposed rule-making
• Any financial interests of the reviewer that could be affected by participation in the peer review
• Any recent relationship with CalEPA or its BDOs such as research grants, contracts, or memoranda of understanding.
3. The CalEPA Program Manager reviews the submitted COI form and either accepts or rejects the candidate. The names of all vetted candidate reviewers are then passed to the initiating BDO.
4. The BDO contacts the approved reviewers to confirm their participation and the review is underway.