[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69117-69118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20220]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-2006-0735; FRL-8249-5]
First Draft Staff Paper for Lead
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of a draft for public review and comment.
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SUMMARY: On or about December 4, 2006, the Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA will make available for public
review and comment a first draft document, Review of the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead: Policy Assessment of Scientific
and Technical Information (Draft Staff Paper). The purpose of the Staff
Paper is to evaluate the policy implications of the key scientific and
technical information contained in a related EPA document, Air Quality
Criteria for Lead, required under sections 108 and 109 of the Clean Air
Act (CAA) for use in the periodic review of the national ambient air
quality standards (NAAQS) for lead. On or about December 15, 2006, the
OAQPS also will make available for public review and comment the
related draft technical support document, Lead Human Exposure and
Health Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessment for Selected
Areas (Pilot Phase).
DATES: Comments on the draft Staff Paper and draft Risk Assessment must
be received on or before January 26, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2006-0735, by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail)
to [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-
0735.
Fax: Fax your comments to: 202-566-1741, Attention Docket
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
Mail: Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket and
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 6102T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: EPA
Docket Center, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Room 3334, 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-OAR-
2006-0735. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be
included in the public docket without change and may be made available
online at www.regulations.gov (including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute). Do not submit information that
you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through
www.regulations.gov, or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov 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 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
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose 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 www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Docket in the EPA
Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket
telephone number is (202) 566-1744; fax (202) 566-1741.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Zachary Pekar, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards (mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail:
[email protected]; telephone: (919) 541-3704; fax: (919) 541-0237.
General Information
A. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or
CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
[[Page 69118]]
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 108(a) of the CAA directs the
Administrator to identify certain pollutants which ``may reasonably be
anticipated to endanger public health and welfare'' and to issue air
quality criteria for them. These air quality criteria are to
``accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge useful in
indicating the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on public
health or welfare which may be expected from the presence of [a]
pollutant in the ambient air * * *'' Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA
is then to establish NAAQS for each pollutant for which EPA has issued
criteria. Section 109(d) of the CAA subsequently requires periodic
review and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria
to reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the
pollutant on public health and welfare. The EPA is also to revise the
NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised criteria.
Lead is one of six ``criteria'' pollutants for which EPA has
established air quality criteria and NAAQS. Presently, EPA is reviewing
the criteria and NAAQS for lead. This review includes preparation of
two key documents, the Air Quality Criteria for Lead (``Criteria
Document'') and a related ``Staff Paper''. The EPA completed its final
Criteria Document for lead in October 2006 (71 FR 57508; September 29,
2006).
The purpose of the first draft Staff Paper is to evaluate the
policy implications of the key scientific and technical information
contained in the final Air Quality Criteria Document (AQCD) and
identify critical elements that EPA staff believe should be considered
in reviewing the NAAQS. The Staff Paper is intended to ``bridge the
gap'' between the scientific review contained in the AQCD and the
public health and welfare policy judgments required of the
Administrator in reviewing the NAAQS.
Availability of the first external review draft of the Air Quality
Criteria for Lead (EPA/600/R-05/144aA-bA), was announced in the Federal
Register on December 2, 2005 (70 FR 72300). The Clean Air Science
Advisory Committee (CASAC) Lead Review Panel reviewed the first
external review draft at a public meeting on February 28 and March 1,
2006.
The EPA considered comments of the CASAC review panel and the
public in revising the draft AQCD for lead. Availability of the second
external review draft of the Air Quality Criteria for Lead (EPA/600/R-
05/144aB-bB), was announced in the Federal Register on May 19, 2006 (71
FR 29152). The CASAC Lead Review Panel reviewed the second external
review draft at a public meeting on June 28, 2006. The EPA provided
revised Integrative Synthesis and Executive Summary chapters of the
draft AQCD for Lead to the public and CASAC for review in July 2006.
The CASAC Lead Review Panel met via a publicly accessible
teleconference on August 15, 2006, to review these revised chapters (71
FR 40516). The EPA has considered the comments of the CASAC Lead Review
Panel and of the public in preparing the final Air Quality Criteria for
Lead. The final AQCD for Lead was released in October, 2006 (71 FR 71
57508; September 29, 2006).
Based on the information contained in the AQCD, the draft Staff
Paper includes assessments and analyses related to: (1) Air quality
characterization; (2) integration and evaluation of health information;
(3) exposure analysis; (4) health risk assessment; and (5) evaluation
of information on vegetation damage and other welfare effects. The
first draft Staff Paper contains no staff conclusions and
recommendations with respect to possible revisions to the current
standards. A second draft of the Staff Paper will include staff
conclusions and recommendations on potential revision or retention of
the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) lead NAAQS.
The draft technical support document Lead Human Exposure and Health
Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessment for Selected Areas
(Pilot Phase) describes and present the results from a lead exposure
analysis and health risk assessment involving several case study
locations. A draft plan, Analysis Plan for Human Health and Ecological
Risk Assessment for the Review of the Pb National Ambient Air Quality
Standards, was previously reviewed by CASAC and the public. Comments
received on that plan have been considered in developing the Lead Human
Exposure and Health Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessment for
Selected Areas (Pilot Phase) technical support document being released
at this time. The exposure analysis and risk assessment methodologies
and results are also discussed in the draft Staff Paper.
The EPA is soliciting early advice and recommendations from the
CASAC by means of a consultation on the first draft Staff Paper and
first draft Risk Assessment at an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC.
A Federal Register notice will inform the public of the date and
location of that meeting. Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will
consider comments received from the CASAC and the public in preparing a
second draft of the Staff Paper and the Lead Human Exposure and Health
Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessment for Selected Areas
(Full-Scale Phase) technical support document. Preparation of this
draft staff paper is consistent with the Agency meeting a court-ordered
schedule for completion of the proposed rule (May 1, 2008) and final
rule (September 1, 2008).
Dated: November 21, 2006.
Jeffrey S. Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E6-20220 Filed 11-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P