[Federal Register: September 10, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 174)]
[Notices]
[Page 46586-46587]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10se09-54]
[[Page 46586]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8955-6]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public
Meeting and Public Teleconference(s) of the Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee (CASAC) Particulate Matter Review Panel
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting and
teleconference(s) of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Particulate
Matter Review Panel to peer review EPA's Integrated Science Assessment
for Particulate Matter: Second External Review Draft (July 2009) and
EPA's forthcoming Risk Assessment to Support the Review of the PM
Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards: External Review Draft
(September 2009) and Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility
Assessment: External Review Draft (September 2009).
DATES: The public meeting will be held on October 5, 2009 from 8 a.m.-6
p.m. (Eastern Time) and October 6, 2009 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (Eastern
Time). An optional public teleconference may be held on October 7, 2009
from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. (Eastern Time) if more time is needed after the
face-to-face meeting of October 5-6, 2009. A teleconference will be
held November 12, 2009 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss
draft letters from CASAC.
ADDRESSES: The October 5-6, 2009 meeting will be held at the Carolina
Inn, 211 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516. The public
teleconference(s) will be conducted by telephone only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants
further information concerning the public meeting or public
teleconference(s) may contact Dr. Holly Stallworth, 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) 343-9867; fax (202) 233-0643; or e-mail
at stallworth.holly@epa.gov. 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 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 2. The Panel 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
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for the six ``criteria''
air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM). EPA conducts
scientific assessments to determine both primary (health-based) and
secondary (welfare-based) standards for each of these pollutants. As
part of that process, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD)
has released the Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter
(Second External Review Draft, July 2009) for review by CASAC at the
October 5-6, 2009 meeting. EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) will
release two additional documents for CASAC review and public comment
entitled Risk Assessment to Support the Review of the PM Primary
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: External Review Draft
(September 2009) and Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility
Assessment: External Review Draft (September 2009) on or about
September 4, 2009. The purpose of the October 5-6, 2009 meeting is to
review these three documents. In addition, this meeting will also
include a discussion with CASAC of an EPA/OAR document entitled Policy
Assessment for the Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient
Air Quality Standards: Preliminary Draft (September 2009) on the nature
of the policy assessment document including the overall structure,
areas of focus, and level of detail. The EPA plans to release this
preliminary draft document on or about September 15, 2009. If
additional time is needed to complete the agenda after the October 5-6,
2009 face-to-face meeting, a public teleconference will be held on
October 7, 2009 from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. (Eastern Time). To review and
approve CASAC's draft letters on the three review documents, a public
teleconference will be held on November 12, 2009 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
(Eastern Time).
Background information about the formation of the CASAC Particulate
Matter Review Panel was published in the Federal Register on March 8,
2007 (72 FR 10527-10528). The Panel previously held a public
teleconference on November 30, 2007 (announced in 72 FR 63177-63178) to
provide consultative advice on EPA's draft Integrated Review Plan for
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter
(October 2007), the first document in this review of the PM NAAQS. On
April 1-2, 2009, CASAC reviewed the Integrated Science Assessment for
Particulate Matter (First External Review Draft, December 2008), and
provided consultative advise on Particulate Matter National Ambient Air
Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Health Risk (February
2009) and Exposure Assessment and Particulate Matter National Ambient
Air Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Urban Visibility
Impact Assessment (February 2009). The April 12, 2009 meeting was
announced February 19, 2009 in 74 FR 7688-7689.
Technical Contacts: Any questions concerning EPA's Integrated
Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (July 2009) should be
directed to Dr. Lindsay Stanek, ORD, at stanek.lindsay@epa.gov or 919-
541-7792. Any questions concerning EPA's Risk Assessment to Support the
Review of the PM Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards:
External Review Draft (September 2009) should be directed to Dr.
Zachary Pekar, OAR, at pekar.zachary@epa.gov; telephone: 919-541-3704.
Any questions concerning Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility
Assessment (September 2009) should be directed to Ms. Vicki Sandiford,
OAR, at sandiford.vicki@epa.gov or 919-541-2629. Any questions
concerning Policy Assessment for the Review of Particulate Matter
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (September 2009) should be
directed to Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple, OAR, at hassett-
sipple.beth@epa.gov or 919-541-4605.
Availability of Meeting Materials: A meeting agenda, charge
questions and other materials for the October 5-6, 2009 meeting will be
placed on the CASAC Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/
sabpeople.nsf/WebCommitteesSubcommittees/
CASAC%20Particulate%20Matter%20Review%20Panel (see links to ``Current
Advisory Activities''). CASAC's draft letters on the three review
documents will be at this same URL prior to the
[[Page 46587]]
November 12, 2009 teleconference. The Integrated Science Assessment for
Particulate Matter: Second External Review Draft (July 2009) is
available at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_
isa.html. The Risk Assessment to Support the Review of the PM Primary
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: External Review Draft
(September 2009) and the Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility
Assessment: External Review Draft (September 2009) will be available on
or before September 4, 2009 and the Policy Assessment for the Review of
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Preliminary
Draft (September 2009) will be available on or about September 15, 2009
at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html.
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: To be placed on the public speaker list for the October 5-
6, 2009 meeting, interested parties should notify Dr. Holly Stallworth,
DFO, by e-mail no later than September 28, 2009. Individuals making
oral statements will be limited to five minutes per speaker. To be
placed on the public speaker list for the November 12, 2009
teleconference, interested parties should notify Dr. Stallworth, DFO,
by e-mail no later than November 9, 2009. Individuals making oral
statements on the teleconference will be limited to three minutes per
speaker. Written Statements: Written statements for the October 5-6,
2009 meeting should be received in the SAB Staff Office by September
28, 2009, so that the information may be made available to the CASAC
Panel for its consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements
for the November 12, 2009 meeting should be received in the SAB Staff
Office by November 9, 2009. 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 format: 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 Dr. Stallworth at the
phone number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten
days prior to the teleconference, to give EPA as much time as possible
to process your request.
Dated: September 2, 2009.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-21821 Filed 9-9-09; 8:45 am]
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