[Federal Register: May 3, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 84)]
[Notices]
[Page 22864]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03my05-47]
[[Page 22864]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7907-4]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office, Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee (CASAC), CASAC Particulate Matter Review Panel;
Notification of Public Advisory Committee Meeting (Teleconference)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of
the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAS) Particulate Matter
(PM) Review Panel (Panel) to review and approve the Panel's report from
its April 6-7, 2005 meeting to conduct a peer review of the Agency's
second draft PM Staff Paper and a related draft technical support
document, the second draft PM Risk Assessment.
DATES: May 18, 2005. The teleconference meeting will be held on May 18,
2005, from 1 to 4 p.m. (eastern time).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes to
obtain the teleconference call-in numbers and access codes; would like
to submit written or brief oral comments; or wants further information
concerning this teleconference meeting, must contact Mr. Fred
Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory
Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice mail: (202) 343-
9994; fax: (202) 233-0643; or e-mail at: butterfield.fred@epa.gov.
General information concerning the CASAC or the EPA SAB can be found on
the EPA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Summary: The CASAC, which is comprised of seven members appointed
by the EPA Administrator, was established under section 109(d)(2) of
the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) (42 U.S.C. 7409) as an independent
scientific advisory committee, in part to provide advice, information
and recommendations on the scientific and technical aspects of issues
related to air quality criteria and national ambient air quality
standards (NAAQS) under sections 108 and 109 of the Act. The CASAC is a
Federal advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. The CASAC PM Review
Panel complies with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB
Staff Office procedural policies.
This teleconference meeting is a continuation of the CASAC PM
Review Panel's peer review of the Review of the National Ambient Air
Quality Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment of
Scientific and Technical Information (second draft PM Staff Paper,
January 2005); and a related draft technical support document,
Particulate Matter Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban Areas:
Second Draft Report (second draft PM Risk Assessment, January 2005).
Background: Under section 108 of the CAA, the Agency is required to
establish NAAQS for each pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria,
including PM. 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 criteria. The purpose of
the second draft PM Staff Paper is to evaluate the policy implications
of the key scientific and technical information contained in a related
document, EPA's revised Air Quality Criteria Document (AQCD) for PM
(October 2004), and to identify critical elements that EPA staff
believes should be considered in the review of the PM NAAQS. The Staff
Paper for PM is intended to ``bridge the gap'' between the scientific
review contained in the PM AQCD and the public health and welfare
policy judgments required of the Administrator in reviewing the PM
NAAQS. The Agency's second draft PM Staff Paper and the second draft PM
Risk Assessment were made available for public review and comment on
January 31, 2005 by EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
(OAQPS), within the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). Detailed summary
information on these documents is contained in a previous EPA Federal
Register notice (70 FR 5443, February 2, 2005).
Availability of Meeting Materials: The Panel's draft report from
its review of the second draft PM Staff Paper and the second draft PM
Risk Assessment will be posted on the SAB Web site at URL: http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/casacpmpanel.html
prior to this teleconference.
In addition, a copy of the draft meeting agenda will be posted at:
http://www.epa.gov/sab/agendas.htm in advance of this teleconference.
The second draft PM Staff Paper and the second draft PM Risk Assessment
can be accessed via EPA's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web site
at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html under
``Staff Papers'' and ``Technical Documents,'' respectively. Any
questions concerning the second draft Staff Paper and the second draft
PM Risk Assessment should be directed to Dr. Mary Ross, OAQPS, at
phone: (919) 541-5170, or e-mail: ross.mary@epa.gov.
Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings: It is the
policy of the SAB Staff Office to accept written public comments of any
length, and to accommodate oral public comments whenever possible. The
SAB Staff Office expects that public statements presented at its face-
to-face meetings and teleconferences will not be repetitive of
previously-submitted oral or written statements. Oral Comments: In
general, each individual or group requesting an oral presentation at a
CASAC meeting or teleconference is limited to a total time of five
minutes (unless otherwise indicated). However, no more than 30 minutes
total will be allotted for oral public comments at this teleconference;
therefore, the time allowed for each speaker's comments will be
adjusted accordingly. In addition, for scheduling purposes, requests to
provide oral comments must be in writing (e-mail, fax or mail) and
received by Mr. Butterfield no later than noon Eastern Time five
business days prior to the meeting in order to reserve time on the
meeting agenda. Written Comments: Although the SAB Staff Office accepts
written comments until the date of the meeting (unless otherwise
stated), written comments should be received in the SAB Staff Office no
later than noon Eastern Time five business days prior to the meeting so
that the comments may be made available to the CASAC PM Review Panel
for their consideration. Comments should be supplied to Mr. Butterfield
(preferably via e-mail) at the address/contact information noted above,
as follows: one hard copy with original signature, and one electronic
copy via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF,
WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files (in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format).
Dated: April 25, 2005.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 05-8789 Filed 5-2-05; 8:45 am]
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