[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39253-39254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16490]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492; FRL-9171-6]
Release of Second Draft Document Related to the Review of the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Availability of draft document for public comment.
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SUMMARY: On or about June 30, 2010, the Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available for public comment a
draft document: Policy Assessment for the Review of the Particulate
Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards--Second External Review
Draft. This draft document will serve to ``bridge the gap'' between the
scientific information and the judgments required of the Administrator
in determining whether it is appropriate to retain or revise the
standards as part of the review of the national ambient air quality
standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM).
DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before August 16, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0492, by one of the following methods:
http://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-2007-
0492.
Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492.
Mail: Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket and
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492.
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-
2007-0492. 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 http://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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://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 http://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.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://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
[[Page 39254]]
materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Docket in the EPA Docket
Center, 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 202-566-1742; fax 202-566-9744.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to this draft
document, please contact Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple, 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: 919-541-4605; 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
http://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.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA), the Administrator identifies and lists certain pollutants which
``cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be
anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.'' The EPA then issues
air quality criteria for these listed pollutants, which are commonly
referred to as ``criteria pollutants.'' The 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, in varying quantities.'' Under section
109 of the CAA, EPA establishes primary (health-based) and secondary
(welfare-based) NAAQS for pollutants for which air quality criteria are
issued. Section 109(d) of the CAA requires periodic review and, if
appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria. The revised air
quality criteria reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the
effects of the pollutant on public health or welfare. The EPA is also
required to periodically review and revise the NAAQS, if appropriate,
based on the revised criteria.\1\
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\1\ See http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/review.html for more
information on the NAAQS review process.
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Presently, EPA is reviewing the NAAQS for PM. The EPA's overall
plan and schedule for this review is presented in the Integrated Review
Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate
Matter.\2\ A draft of the integrated review plan was released for
public review and comment in October 2007 and was the subject of a
consultation with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC)
on November 30, 2007 (72 FR 63177; November 8, 2007). Comments received
from that consultation and from the public were considered in
finalizing the plan and in beginning the review of the air quality
criteria.
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\2\ EPA 452R-08-004; March 2008; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pd.html.
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As part of EPA's review of the primary (health-based) and secondary
(welfare-based) PM NAAQS, the Agency has completed the Integrated
Science Assessment for Particulate Matter \3\ and two quantitative
assessment documents characterizing: (1) The health risks associated
with exposure to ambient PM and (2) urban visibility impairment
associated with PM. The two assessment documents are titled,
Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility Assessment and Quantitative
Health Risk Assessment for Particulate Matter.\4\
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\3\ EPA 600/R-08/139F and EPA 600/R-08/139FA, December 2009;
Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_isa.html.
\4\ EPA 452/R-10-004 and EPA 452/R-10-005, June 2010; Available:
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_risk.html.
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The second draft Policy Assessment announced today builds on the
scientific and technical information available in this review as
assessed in the Integrated Science Assessment and the two quantitative
assessment documents identified above. This document presents factors
relevant to EPA's review of the primary and secondary PM NAAQS. It
focuses on both evidence- and risk-based information in evaluating the
adequacy of the current PM NAAQS and identifying potential alternative
standards for consideration. The second draft Policy Assessment may be
accessed online on or about June 30, 2010, through EPA's TTN Web site
at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pa.html.
The EPA is soliciting advice and recommendations from the CASAC by
means of a review of the second draft Policy Assessment at an upcoming
public meeting of the CASAC that will be held on July 26-27, 2010 (75
FR 32763; June 9, 2010). Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will consider
comments received from the CASAC and the public in preparing a final
Policy Assessment.
The draft document described above does not represent and should
not be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or
determination.
Dated: June 25, 2010.
Jennifer Noonan Edwards,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-16490 Filed 7-7-10; 8:45 am]
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