[Federal Register: September 25, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 187)]
[Notices]
[Page 55508-55509]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25se08-39]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0604; FRL-8720-9]
Conference on Air Quality Modeling
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of conference.
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SUMMARY: We announce the Ninth Conference on Air Quality Modeling. Such
a conference is required by Section 320 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to
be held every 3 years. The purposes of the ninth conference are to
provide an overview of the latest features of the new air quality
models and to provide a forum for public review and comment on
potential revisions to the way the Agency determines and applies the
appropriate air quality models in the future.
DATES:
Comments: Comments on potential revisions to the way the Agency
determines and applies the appropriate air quality models must be
received on or before November 10, 2008.
Conference: The conference will be held on October 9, 2008 from
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on October 10, 2008 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Requests to speak at the conference should be submitted to the
individual listed below by October 3, 2008.
ADDRESSES:
Comments: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2008-0604 by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments. This is EPA's preferred method
for receiving comments.
E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail)
to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-
0604.
Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket
ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0604.
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-2008-0604.
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-
2008-0604. 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. 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 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
form. Publicly available docket 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.
Background Information: Additional information and a more detailed
agenda are electronically available at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/scram/
9thmodconf.htm.
Conference: The conference will be held in the EPA Auditorium, Room
C111, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Eckhoff, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Air
Quality Assessment Division, Mail Code C439-01, Research Triangle Park,
NC 27711; telephone: (919) 541-5385; fax: (919) 541-0044; e-mail
address: eckhoff.peter@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. 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
[[Page 55509]]
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.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
The Guideline on Air Quality Models (hereafter, called the
Guideline, which is found in Appendix W to 40 CFR Part 51), is used by
EPA, States, and industry to prepare and review new source permits and
State Implementation Plan revisions. The Guideline serves as a means by
which consistency is maintained in air quality analyses. We originally
published the Guideline in April 1978 and it was incorporated by
reference in the regulations for the Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) of Air Quality in June 1978. We revised the
Guideline in 1986, and updated it with supplement A in 1987, supplement
B in July 1993, and supplement C in August 1995. We published the
Guideline as appendix W to 40 CFR part 51 when we issued supplement B.
We republished the Guideline in August 1996 (61 FR 41838) to adopt the
CFR system for labeling paragraphs.
To support the process of developing and revising the Guideline
during the period 1977-1988, we held the First, Second and Third
Conferences on Air Quality Modeling as required by Section 320 of the
Clean Air Act to help standardize modeling procedures. These modeling
conferences provided us with comments on the Guideline and associated
revisions, thereby helping us introduce improved modeling techniques
into the regulatory process.
In October 1988, we held the Fourth Conference on Air Quality
Modeling. Its purpose was to advise the public on new modeling
techniques and to solicit comments to guide our consideration of any
rulemaking needed to further revise the Guideline. We held the Fifth
Conference on Air Quality Modeling in March 1991, which served as a
public hearing for the proposed revisions to the Guideline. In August
1995, we held the sixth conference as a forum to update our available
modeling tools with state-of-the-science techniques for airing these
issues and for the public to offer new ideas. The Seventh Conference
was held in June 2000 and served as a public hearing for the proposed
changes to the recommended air quality models in Appendix W including
the CALPUFF modeling system and AERMOD.\1\
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\1\ AMS/EPA Regulatory MODel; AERMOD was developed by AERMIC:
AMS/EPA Regulatory Model Improvement Committee.
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The last conference held was the Eighth Conference on Air Quality
Modeling in September 22 and 23, 2005, which provided details on recent
and impending changes to the recommended air quality models in Appendix
W. Several presentations were made, including regulatory status and
details on the AERMOD modeling system, the EPA's preferred model for
near-field regulatory applications; the regulatory status and
implementation issues with the CALPUFF modeling system, the EPA's
preferred model for long-range transport of criteria pollutants and
their impacts on Federal Class I areas; and on EPA's approach to
updating the approved versions of regulatory models under Appendix W to
address coding bugs or implementation issues. In addition, several
presentations were provided on the current and available methods for
model performance evaluation and a panel of experts discussed the use
of state-of-the-science prognostic meteorological data for our new
dispersion models. The proceedings are found in Docket No. OAR-2005-
0157.
III. Public Participation
The Ninth Conference on Air Quality Modeling will be open to the
public; no admission fee is charged and there is no formal
registration. The conference will begin the first morning with
introductory remarks by the presiding EPA official. The following
topics will be presented:
I. Overview of Appendix W
II. AERMOD Status and Updates
III. CALPUFF Status and Updates
IV. Non-Guideline Applications of Dispersion Models
V. Update on Use of Assimilated Meteorological Data for Dispersion
Models
VI. Review of Current and Available Model Evaluation Methods
VII. Review of New and Emerging Models/Techniques for Future
Consideration Under Appendix W; and
VII. Other Presentations by the Public
Those wishing to speak at the conference, whether to volunteer a
presentation on a special topic or to offer general comment on any of
the modeling techniques scheduled for presentation, should contact us
at the address given in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section
(note the cutoff date). Such persons should identify the organization
(if any) on whose behalf they are speaking and the length of the
presentation. If a presentation of general comments is projected to be
longer than 10 minutes, the presenter should also state why a longer
period is needed. Persons failing to submit a written notice but
desiring to speak at the conference should notify the presiding officer
immediately before the conference, and they will be scheduled on a
time-available basis.
The conference will be conducted informally and chaired by an EPA
official. There will be no sworn testimony or cross examination. A
verbatim transcript of the conference proceedings will be produced and
placed in the docket. Speakers should bring extra copies of their
presentation for inclusion in the docket and for the convenience of the
recorder. Speakers will also be permitted to enter written comments
into the record. Additional written statements or comments should be
sent to the OAR Regulatory Docket (see ADDRESSES section). A transcript
of the proceedings and a copy of all written comments will be
maintained in Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0604 which will remain open
until November 10, 2008 for the purpose of receiving additional
comments.
Dated: September 18, 2008.
Jennifer Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-22537 Filed 9-24-08; 8:45 am]
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