[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72719-72720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24906]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8509-8; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1145]
Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and
Sulfur-Environmental Criteria
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public comment period for draft Integrated Science
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing the public comment period for the draft
document titled, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen
and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; First External Review Draft'' (EPA/
600/R-07/145A). The draft document was prepared by the National Center
for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and
Development as part of the Agency's review of the secondary (welfare-
based) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for nitrogen
dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). EPA is
releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of seeking comment
from the public and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee
(CASAC). The document is being distributed solely for the purpose of
pre-dissemination review under applicable information quality
guidelines. It does not represent and should not be construed to
represent any Agency policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will
consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this notice
when revising the document.
DATES: The public comment period begins on or about December 21, 2007.
Comments must be received on or before February 21, 2008.
ADDRESSES: The draft, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of
Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; First External Review
Draft,'' will be available primarily via the Internet on the National
Center for Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent
Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea.
A limited number of CD-ROM or paper copies will be available.
Contact Ms. Emily Lee by phone: 919-541-4169, fax: 919-541-1818, or e-
mail: ([email protected]) to request either of these, and please
provide your name, your mailing address, and the draft document title,
``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--
Environmental Criteria; First External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-07/
145A) to facilitate processing of your request. Comments may be
submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by
facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed
instructions provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Emily Lee, NCEA; telephone: 919-
541-4169, facsimile: 919-541-1818, or e-mail: [email protected]. For
technical information, contact Tara Greaver, PhD, NCEA; telephone: 919-
541-2435; facsimile: 919-541-1818; or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Document
Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act 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 Act, EPA is then to establish national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for each pollutant for which EPA
has issued criteria. Section 109(d) of the Act 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. EPA is also to revise the
NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised air quality criteria.
Oxides of nitrogen and sulfur are two of six principal (or
``criteria'') pollutants for which EPA has established air quality
criteria and NAAQS. EPA periodically reviews the scientific basis for
these standards by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA)
(formerly called an Air Quality Criteria Document). The ISA and
supplementary annexes, in conjunction with additional technical and
policy assessments, provide the scientific basis for EPA decisions on
the adequacy of a current NAAQS and the appropriateness of new or
revised standards. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC),
an independent science advisory committee established pursuant to
section 109 of the Clean Air Act and part of the EPA's Science Advisory
Board (SAB), provides
[[Page 72720]]
independent scientific advice on NAAQS matters, including advice on
EPA's draft ISAs.
EPA formally initiated its current review of the criteria for
oxides of nitrogen and sulfur in December 2005 (70 FR 73236) and May
2006 (71 FR 28023) respectively, requesting the submission of recent
scientific information on specified topics. In the initial stages of
the criteria reviews, EPA recognized the merit of integrating the
science assessment for these two pollutants due to their combined
effects on atmospheric chemistry, deposition processes, and
environment-related public welfare effects. In July 2007 (72 FR 34004),
a workshop was held to discuss, with invited scientific experts,
initial draft materials prepared in the development of the ISA and
supplementary annexes for oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. EPA's ``Draft
Plan for Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards
for Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide'' was made available in
September 2007 for public comment and was discussed by the Clean Air
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) via a publicly accessible
teleconference consultation on October 30, 2007 (72 FR 57568). The Plan
is being finalized and will be made available on EPA's Web site http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/no2so2sec/cr_pd.html.
The draft, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen
and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; First External Review Draft,'' will
be discussed by CASAC at a future public meeting; public comments that
have been received prior to the public meeting will be provided to the
CASAC review panel. A future Federal Register notice will inform the
public of the exact date and time of that CASAC meeting.
II. How To Submit Information to the Docket
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. Docket ID EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-1145 by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-1753.
Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit one
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and
three copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-1145. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket
without change and to make the comments available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless a 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 Web site 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 hardcopy at the OEI Docket in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: December 17, 2007.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E7-24906 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
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