[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 14 (Friday, January 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4196-4197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1396]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8765-5]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC); Notification of Public Teleconferences; of 
the Ambient Air Monitoring & Methods (AAMM) Subcommittee

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 two public teleconferences 
of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Ambient Air 
Monitoring & Methods Subcommittee (AAMMS or Subcommittee) to conduct 
consultations concerning ambient air monitoring issues related to the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone and 
particulate matter.

DATES: The meeting dates are Tuesday, February 10, 2009, from 11 a.m. 
to 2 p.m. (Eastern Time) and Wednesday, February 11, 2009, from 1 p.m. 
to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes to 
obtain further information concerning this public teleconference may 
contact: Ms. Kyndall Barry, 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) 343-9868; fax: (202) 233-0643; or e-mail at 
[email protected]. General information concerning the CASAC can be 
found on the EPA Web site at http://www.epa.gov/casac/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) 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. CASAC provides advice, information and 
recommendations on the scientific and technical aspects of air quality 
criteria and 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 Ambient Air 
Monitoring & Methods Subcommittee (AAMMS) was established in 2004 as a 
standing subcommittee of CASAC to provide advice and recommendations to 
the EPA Administrator on topics specific to ambient air monitoring, 
methods and networks. The Subcommittee will comply with the provisions 
of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies. 
Section 109(d)(1) of the CAA requires that the Agency periodically 
review and revise, as appropriate, the air quality criteria and the 
NAAQS for the six ``criteria'' air pollutants, including both ozone 
(O3) and particulate matter (PM).

[[Page 4197]]

a. AAMMS Teleconference, February 10, 2009--Ozone Network Design

    In March 2008, the final rule for the Ozone NAAQS was published (73 
FR 16436). The rule revised both the primary and secondary standards 
and set identical, 8-hour standards of 0.075 ppm expressed to three 
decimal places for both public health and welfare. In the March 2008 
rule, EPA committed to develop separate rulemaking to support changes 
in the monitoring network requirements based on the revisions of the 
primary and secondary O3 NAAQS. EPA is also considering 
changes to the required O3 monitoring season. EPA's Office 
of Air and Radiation (OAR) requested the consultative advice of the 
AAMMS on the options for network design and O3 monitoring 
season to guide the development of potential monitoring requirements. 
Additional information on the O3 monitoring issues is 
available on the OAR Web page at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/ozone/s_o3_index.html.

b. AAMMS Teleconference, February 11, 2009--Coarse Particle Speciation

    In October 2006, EPA issued the final rule to revise both the 
primary and secondary NAAQS for PM (71 FR 61144). The Agency decided to 
retain PM10 as the indicator for thoracic coarse particles as 
promulgated in July 1997 (62 FR 38652). The final rule establishes 
ambient air monitoring requirements for a PM10-2.5 indicator 
of thoracic coarse particles to support research on particle 
distribution, sources, and health effects. A new Federal Reference 
Method (FRM) was also promulgated in the rule for measuring the mass 
concentration of PM10-2.5 in ambient air. As part of the 
revisions to the Ambient Air Monitoring Regulations, 
PM10-2.5 speciation monitoring will be required at National 
Core (NCore) multi-pollutant monitoring stations by January 1, 2011. 
EPA OAR requested AAMMS consultative advice on the issues related to 
PM10-2.5 speciation and monitoring. Additional information 
on the monitoring issues specific to coarse particles is available on 
the OAR Web page at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html.
    Technical Contacts: Any technical questions concerning the 
indicator and ambient air monitoring issues related to the 
O3 or PM NAAQS can be directed Mr. Lewis Weinstock, OAQPS, 
at phone: (919) 541-3661, or e-mail [email protected].
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The Agency documents for both 
consultations will be posted on the EPA Technology Transfer Network 
(TTN) Web site on the respective pages for the Ozone and PM NAAQS at 
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/. Prior to the meetings, the agendas and 
other materials for these AAMMS teleconferences will be accessible 
through the calendar link on the blue navigation bar at http://www.epa.gov/casac/.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for 
consideration on the topics included in this advisory activity. Oral 
Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an oral 
presentation at a public teleconference will be limited to three 
minutes per speaker, with no more than a total of 30 minutes for all 
speakers. Interested parties should contact Ms. Barry, DFO, in writing 
(preferably via e-mail), by February 6, 2009, at the contact 
information noted above, to be placed on the list of public speakers 
for this meeting.
    Written Statements: Written statements should be received in the 
SAB Staff Office by the same date, so that the information may be made 
available to the CASAC Panel for its consideration prior to this 
teleconference. Written statements should be supplied to the DFO in the 
following formats: one hard copy with original signature and one 
electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable file formats: Adobe Acrobat PDF, 
MS Word, WordPerfect, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format).
    Submitters are asked to provide versions of each document submitted 
with and without signatures, because the SAB Staff Office does not 
publish documents with signatures on its Web sites.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Ms. Barry at the phone 
number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten days 
prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process 
your request.

    Dated: January 15, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-1396 Filed 1-22-09; 8:45 am]
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