[Federal Register: August 28, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 167)]
[Notices]
[Page 51774-51776]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28au03-44]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7550-1]
First Draft Staff Paper for Particulate Matter
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of a draft for public review and comment.
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SUMMARY: On or about August 29, 2003, the Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards (OAQPS) within EPA's Office of Air and Radiation
will make available for public review and comment a draft document,
Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate
Matter: Policy Assessment of Scientific and Technical Information
(First 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 Particulate Matter, 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 particulate matter (PM). The
OAQPS also will make available for public review and comment a related
document, Particulate Matter Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban
Areas (Draft Risk Assessment).
DATES: Comments on the first draft Staff Paper and draft Risk
Assessment should be submitted on or before October 28, 2003.
ADDRESSES: For information on how to submit comments, see Supplementary
Information, Section C.
Availability of Documents for Review
For information on obtaining copies of the draft documents now
being made available for review, see Supplementary Information, Section
B.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Mary Ross, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards (mail code C539-01), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail:
ross.mary@epa.gov; telephone: (919) 541-5170; fax (919) 541-0237.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. General Information
The EPA is currently reviewing the NAAQS for PM. Sections 108 and
109 of the CAA require that EPA carry out a periodic review and
revision, where appropriate, of the scientific criteria and the NAAQS
for ``criteria'' air pollutants such as PM. Details of EPA's plans for
[[Page 51775]]
review of the NAAQS for PM were announced in a previous Federal
Register notice (62 FR 55201, October 23, 1997).
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 Particulate Matter
(AQCD), and identify critical elements that EPA staff believe should be
considered in reviewing the PM NAAQS. The Staff Paper is intended to
``bridge the gap'' between the scientific review contained in the Air
Quality Criteria document and the public health and welfare policy
judgments required of the Administrator in reviewing the NAAQS.
In June, 2001, a preliminary draft of this Staff Paper was released
for public review and comment and for consultation with the Clean Air
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) at a public meeting in July 2001
(66 FR 32621, June 15, 2001). The preliminary draft Staff Paper was
based on information contained in the second external review draft of
the AQCD that was previously made available by the National Center for
Environmental Assessment of EPA's Office of Research and Development
for public review and comment (66 FR 18929, April 12, 2001). A fourth
external review draft of the AQCD has recently been made available for
public review and comment (66 FR 18929, June 30, 2003), and for review
by CASAC at a public meeting on August 25-26, 2003.
Building upon an earlier preliminary draft Staff Paper (EPA, 2001),
and taking into account the information in the fourth external review
draft of the AQCD, this first draft Staff Paper includes results from
initial staff analyses (e.g., analyses of air quality and visibility
data, and human health risk analyses), plans for additional analyses to
be incorporated into a subsequent draft of this document, and
preliminary staff conclusions and recommendations on the PM NAAQS.
As a first step in developing a health risk assessment for the PM
NAAQS review, OAQPS previously released for public and CASAC review (67
FR 3897, January 28, 2002) a draft document, Proposed Methodology for
Particulate Matter Risk Analysis for Selected Urban Areas. EPA has
considered comments provided in a CASAC advisory on this draft document
(May 23, 2002, EPA-SAB-CASAC-ADV-02-002, http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/casacadv02002.pdf
) and from a CASAC consultation held on May 1, 2003
(68 FR 17939, April 14, 2003), as well as public comments in developing
the draft Risk Assessment being released at this time. The draft Risk
Assessment describes and presents the preliminary results from a PM
health risk assessment for fine particles (PM2,5), coarse
fraction particles (PM10-2.5), and PM10. The risk
assessment methodology and preliminary results also are summarized in
the first draft Staff Paper.
The first draft Staff Paper and draft Risk Assessment will be
reviewed at a public meeting of the CASAC to be held later this year. A
future Federal Register notice will inform the public of the date and
location of that meeting. Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will prepare
a second draft Staff Paper and Risk Assessment, taking into account
public and CASAC comments and results of additional analyses, and will
make the revised draft documents available for review and comment by
CASAC and the public.
B. How Can I Get Copies of These Documents?
1. Docket. The EPA has established an official public docket for
this action under Docket ID No. OAR-2001-0017. The official public
docket consists of the documents specifically referenced in this
action, any public comments received, and other information related to
the PM NAAQS review. Although a part of the official docket, the public
docket does not include Confidential Business Information (CBI) or
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The
official public docket is the collection of materials that is available
for public viewing at the Air Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC)
EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC. The
Docket telephone number is (202) 566-1744; fax (202) 566-1741. 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. A reasonable fee may
be charged for copying.
2. Electronic Access. An electronic version of the public docket is
available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system,
EPA Dockets. You may use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to
access the documents specifically referenced in this action. These
documents are also available at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html
; the draft Staff Paper is available under ``Staff
Papers'' and the draft Risk Assessment document is available under
``Technical Documents.'' You may also use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/
to submit or view public comments, access the
index listing of the contents of the official public docket, and to
access those documents in the public docket that are available
electronically. Once in the system, select ``search,'' then key in the
appropriate docket identification number.
Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA Dockets.
Information claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute, which is not included in the official public
docket, will not be available for public viewing in EPA's electronic
public docket. The EPA's policy is that copyrighted material will not
be placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only
in printed, paper form in the official public docket. To the extent
feasible, publicly available docket materials will be made available in
EPA's electronic public docket. When a document is selected from the
index list in EPA Dockets, the system will identify whether the
document is available for viewing in EPA's electronic public docket.
Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you
may still access any of the publicly available docket materials through
the docket facility identified above. EPA intends to work towards
providing electronic access to all of the publicly available docket
materials through EPA's electronic public docket. For public
commenters, it is important to note that EPA's policy is that public
comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made
available for public viewing in EPA's electronic public docket as EPA
receives them and without change, unless the comment contains
copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing
copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in
the version of the comment that is placed in EPA's electronic public
docket. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material,
will be available in the public docket.
Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or
delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's electronic public
docket. Public comments that are mailed or delivered to the Docket will
be scanned and placed in EPA's electronic public docket. Where
practical, physical objects will be photographed, and the photograph
will be placed in EPA's electronic public docket along with a brief
description written by the docket staff.
For additional information about EPA's electronic public docket
visit EPA
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Dockets online or see 67 FR 38102, May 31, 2002.
C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?
You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or
through hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA,
identify the appropriate docket identification number in the subject
line on the first page of your comment. Please ensure that your
comments are submitted within the specified comment period. Comments
received after the close of the comment period will be marked ``late.''
The EPA is not required to consider these late comments.
1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as
prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing
address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in the body
of your comment. Also include this contact information on the outside
of any disk or CD ROM you submit, and in any cover letter accompanying
the disk or CD ROM. This ensures that you can be identified as the
submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further
information on the substance of your comment. The EPA's policy is that
EPA will not edit your comment, and any identifying or contact
information provided in the body of a comment will be included as part
of the comment that is placed in the official public docket, and made
available in EPA's electronic public docket. 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.
i. EPA Dockets. Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to
submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for
receiving comments. Go directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket
, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. To
access EPA's electronic public docket from the EPA Internet Home Page,
select ``Information Sources,'' ``Dockets,'' and ``EPA Dockets.'' Once
in the system, select ``search,'' and then key in Docket ID No. OAR-
2001-0017. The system is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means
EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or other contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
ii. E-mail. Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to a-
and-r-Docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2001-0017. In
contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not
an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly
to the Docket without going through EPA's electronic public docket,
EPA's e-mail system automatically captures your e-mail address. Any E-
mail addresses that are automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system
are included as part of the comment that is placed in the official
public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
iii. Disk or CD ROM. You may submit comments on a disk or CD ROM
that you mail to the mailing address identified above. These electronic
submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect or ASCII file format. Avoid
the use of special characters and any form of encryption.
2. By 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. OAR-2001-0017.
3. By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: EPA
Docket Center, 101 Constitution Ave., NW., Room B108, Washington, DC
2004, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2001-0017. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation as identified
above.
4. By Facsimile. Fax your comments to: 202-566-1741, Attention
Docket ID. No. OAR-2001-0017.
D. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your
comments:
1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
3. Provide any technical information and/or data you used that
support your views.
4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you
arrived at your estimate.
5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
6. Offer alternatives.
7. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline
identified.
8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate docket
identification number in the subject line on the first page of your
response. It would also be helpful if you provided the name, date, and
Federal Register citation related to your comments.
Dated: August 21, 2003.
Stephen D. Page,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 03-22051 Filed 8-27-03; 8:45 am]
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