[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 174 (Thursday, September 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46589-46591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21822]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492; FRL-8955-2]
Release of Draft Documents Related to the Review of the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Availability of draft documents for public comment.
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SUMMARY: On or about September 4, 2009, the Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available for public
comment two draft assessment documents: Risk Assessment to Support the
Review of the PM Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards--
External Review Draft and Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility
Assessment--External Review Draft. These draft documents describe the
quantitative analyses that are being conducted as part of the review of
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate
matter (PM).
DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before October 15, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0492, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail)
to [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-
0492.
Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492.
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-2007-0492.
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-
2007-0492. The 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
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material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only
in hard copy. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to the draft
document titled, Risk Assessment to Support the Review of the PM
Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards: External Review Draft
(September 2009), please contact Dr. Zachary Pekar, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail:
[email protected]; telephone: 919-541-3704; fax: 919-541-0237.
For questions related to the draft document titled, Particulate
Matter Urban-Focused Visibility Assessment--External Review Draft
(September 2009), please contact Ms. Vicki Sandiford, Office of Air
Quality Planning and Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail:
[email protected]; telephone: 919-541-2629; fax: 919-541-0237.
For questions related to the preliminary draft document, Policy
Assessment for the Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient
Air Quality Standards: Preliminary Draft (September 2009), please
contact Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple, Office of Air Quality Planning and
Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: [email protected];
telephone: 919-541-4605; fax: 919-541-0237.
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 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.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act
(CAA), the Administrator identifies and lists certain pollutants which
``cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be
anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.'' The EPA then issues
air quality criteria for these listed pollutants, which are commonly
referred to as ``criteria pollutants.'' The air quality criteria are to
``accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge useful in
indicating the kind and extent of all identifiable effects on public
health or welfare which may be expected from the presence of [a]
pollutant in the ambient air, in varying quantities.'' Under section
109 of the CAA, EPA establishes primary (health-based) and secondary
(welfare-based) NAAQS for pollutants for which air quality criteria are
issued. Section 109(d) of the CAA requires periodic review and, if
appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria. The revised air
quality criteria reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the
effects of the pollutant on public health or welfare. The EPA is also
required to periodically review and revise the NAAQS, if appropriate,
based on the revised criteria.
Air quality criteria have been established for PM and NAAQS have
been established for PM2.5 and PM10, to provide
protection from fine and coarse particles, respectively. Presently, EPA
is reviewing the air quality criteria and NAAQS for PM. The EPA's
overall plan and schedule for this review is presented in the
Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
for Particulate Matter.\1\ A draft of the integrated review plan was
released for public review and comment in October 2007 and was the
subject of a consultation with the CASAC on November 30, 2007 (72 FR
63177; November 8, 2007). Comments received from that consultation and
from the public were considered in finalizing the plan and in beginning
the review of the air quality criteria.
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\1\ EPA 452R-08-004; March 2008; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pd.html.
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As part of EPA's review of the primary (health-based) and secondary
(welfare-based) PM NAAQS, the Agency is conducting quantitative
assessments characterizing (1) the health risks associated with
exposure to ambient PM and (2) urban visibility impairment associated
with PM. The EPA's plans for conducting these assessments, including
the proposed scope and methods of the analyses, were presented in two
planning documents titled, Particulate Matter National Ambient Air
Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Health Risk and Exposure
Assessment and Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality
Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Urban Visibility Impact
Assessment (henceforth, Scope and Methods Plans).\2\ These documents
were released for public comment in February 2009 and were the subject
of a consultation with the CASAC on April 2, 2009 (74 FR 11580; March
18, 2009). Comments received from the CASAC consultation (Samet, 2009)
\3\ as well as public comments on the Scope and Methods Plans have been
considered in developing the draft assessment documents being released
at this time.
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\2\ EPA-452/P-09-001 and -002; February 2009; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pd.html.
\3\ See http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/4620a620d0120f93852572410080d786/350899ec134552948525746600691de5!OpenDocument.
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The draft documents announced today convey the approaches taken to
assess exposures to ambient PM and to characterize associated health
risks or urban visibility impairment, as well as present the initial
key results, observations, and related uncertainties associated with
the quantitative analyses performed. These draft
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documents will be available on or about September 4, 2009, through the
Agency's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html. These documents
may be accessed in the ``Documents from Current Review'' section under
``Risk and Exposure Assessments.'' The EPA is soliciting advice and
recommendations from the CASAC by means of a review of the draft
documents at an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC scheduled in
Chapel Hill, NC. Information about this public meeting, including the
date and location, will be published as a separate notice in the
Federal Register. Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will consider
comments received from the CASAC and the public in preparing revisions
to these assessment documents.
In addition, on or about September 15, 2009, EPA will make
available a third draft document: Policy Assessment for the Review of
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Preliminary Draft. The
development of this document is a result of recent changes to the NAAQS
review process. On May 21, 2009, Administrator Jackson called for key
changes to the NAAQS review process including reinstating a policy
assessment document that contains staff analyses of the scientific
bases for alternative policy options for consideration by senior Agency
management prior to rulemaking. This document, which builds upon the
historical ``Staff Paper,'' will serve to ``bridge the gap'' between
the scientific information and the judgments required of the
Administrator in determining whether it is appropriate to retain or
revise the standards. In conjunction with this change, EPA will no
longer issue a policy assessment in the form of an Advance Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR).\4\
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\4\ See http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/review.html for a copy of
Administrator Jackson's May 21, 2009 memorandum and for additional
information on the NAAQS review process.
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The preliminary draft Policy Assessment (PA) builds upon
information presented in the Integrated Science Assessment for
Particulate Matter (Second External Review Draft) \5\ and the two draft
assessment documents described above. This preliminary draft PA will
include several chapters but is not intended to be a complete draft PA
document in that it will not include staff conclusions on a range of
policy options that could be appropriate for the Administrator to
consider concerning whether, and if so how, to revise the primary and
secondary PM NAAQS. It is instead being released for informational
purposes to facilitate a discussion with CASAC on the overall
structure, areas of focus, and level of detail to be included in an
external review draft of the document, which EPA plans to release for
CASAC review and public comment later this year.
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\5\ EPA/600/R-08/139B; July 2009; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_isa.html.
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The preliminary draft PA may be accessed online through EPA's TTN
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html. This document may be accessed in the ``Documents from
Current Review'' section under ``Policy Assessments.'' The discussion
with CASAC on this preliminary draft PA will be held at the same
meeting that CASAC will review of the second draft ISA and the two
draft assessment documents described above.
The draft documents briefly described above do not represent and
should not be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint,
or determination. The EPA will consider any public comments submitted
in response to this notice when revising the documents.
Dated: September 2, 2009.
Jeffrey S. Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E9-21822 Filed 9-9-09; 8:45 am]
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