[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45437-45438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17925]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8700-8; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2007-0983]
Interim Report of the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program
Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air
Quality: A Preliminary Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on O3
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Peer-Review Workshop.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for
external scientific peer review, will convene an independent panel of
experts and organize and conduct an external peer-review workshop to
review the external review draft document titled, ``Interim Report of
the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program Assessment of the Impacts
of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Preliminary Synthesis
of Climate Change Impacts on O3'' (EPA/600/R-07/094). The
draft document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental
Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development.
The public comment period, announced in (73 FR 39695), and the
external peer-review workshop are separate processes that provide
opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the document.
EPA has released this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency
policy or determination.
EPA invites the public to register to attend this workshop as
observers. In addition, EPA invites the public to give oral and/or
provide written comments at the workshop regarding the draft document
under review. The draft document and EPA's peer-review charge are
available primarily via the Internet on NCEA's home page under the
Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at www.epa.gov/ncea. In preparing a final report, EPA will consider the Versar, Inc.
report of the comments and recommendations from the external peer-
review workshop and any public comments that EPA receives in accordance
with this notice.
DATES: The peer-review panel workshop will begin on August 26, 2008, at
8:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. on the same day.
ADDRESSES: The peer-review workshop will be held at the U.S. EPA,
Research Triangle Park Campus, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Durham, NC
27709. The EPA contractor, Versar Inc., is organizing, convening, and
conducting the peer-review workshop. To attend the workshop, register
by August 19, 2008, preferably via the Internet at http://epa.versar.com/climatechangeimpactsonozone, or via the following means:
by calling Versar, Inc. at 703-750-3000, extension 737 or 211; sending
a facsimile to Attn: Malikah Moore at 703-642-6954, or; sending an e-
mail to [email protected] and [email protected]. The draft
``Interim Report of the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program
Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air
Quality: A
[[Page 45438]]
Preliminary Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on O3'' is
available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for
Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and the
Data and Publications menus at www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of
paper copies are available from the Information Management Team, NCEA;
telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-8691. If you are requesting
a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing address, and the
document title. Copies are not available from Versar, Inc.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information,
registration, access or services for individuals with disabilities, or
logistics for the external peer-review workshop should be directed to
Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA 22151; telephone:
703-750-3000, extension 737 or 211; facsimile: Attn.: Malikah Moore at
703-642-6954; e-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]. To
request accommodation of a disability, please contact Malikah Moore at
[email protected] or 703-750-3000, ext. 211, preferably at least 10
days prior to the meeting, to give as much time as possible to process
your request.
If you need technical information about the document, please
contact Brooke L. Hemming, Ph.D., National Center for Environmental
Assessment (NCEA); telephone: 919-541-5668; facsimile: 919-541-7885; e-
mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Summary of Information About the Project/Document
The ``Interim Report of the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program
Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air
Quality: A Preliminary Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on
O3'' is intended to provide air quality managers and
scientists a summary and synthesis of the scientific results that have
emerged from the EPA ORD Global Change Research Program (ORD GCRP)
assessment of the impact of global change on U.S. regional air quality.
The report discusses the studies that have focused on the sensitivity
of U.S. air quality to meteorological changes associated with a warming
climate in large regions within the continental U.S. The EPA recognizes
that climate-air quality interactions occur at multiple scales (both
spatial and temporal), and that an understanding of these interactions
demands contributions from several scientific disciplines. The EPA ORD
GCRP developed a research and assessment program that combines the
resources and expertise of the ORD labs and centers toward the goal of
developing the necessary scientific underpinnings. The ultimate goal of
the Program is to provide air quality managers with the scientific
information and tools needed to evaluate the implications of global
change and to enhance their ability to consider global change in their
decisions. The ``Interim Report of the U.S. EPA Global Change Research
Program Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air
Quality: A Preliminary Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on
O3'' is a preliminary step in that direction. This report
provides an update of the progress that has been made in applying
climate and atmospheric chemistry models to investigate potential
future meteorological effects on air quality. It does not include
changes in air pollutant emissions other than those that are explicitly
linked to meteorological variables and incorporated within the models
(e.g., biogenic VOC emissions). In addition, it provides a preliminary
interpretation of what this improved scientific understanding means for
air quality management. Future assessment reports will cover the
combined impacts of changing climate and air pollutant emissions on air
quality. The program also plans to develop additional reports that
focus on additional pollutants, including PM and mercury. NCEA worked
collaboratively with the EPA Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), and
ORD's National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), National
Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and National Center for
Environmental Research (NCER) on this report.
II. Workshop Information
Members of the public may attend the workshop as observers, and
there will be a limited time for comments from the public in the
afternoon. Please let Versar, Inc. know if you wish to make comments
during the workshop. Space is limited, and reservations will be
accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Dated: July 25, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-17925 Filed 8-4-08; 8:45 am]
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