
[Federal Register: September 29, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 189)]
[Notices]               
[Page 56571-56572]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29se08-69]                         


[[Page 56571]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8722-3; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1145]

 
Extension of Public Comment Periods: Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria 
and Annexes and Draft Risk and Exposure Assessment for the Review of 
the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of 
Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Extension of Public Comment Periods.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing extensions of the public comment periods 
for the draft documents titled, ``Integrated Science Assessment for 
Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; Second External 
Review Draft'' (EPA 600/R-08/082), ``Annexes for the Integrated Science 
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; 
Second External Review Draft'' (EPA 600/R-08/083), and ``Risk and 
Exposure Assessment for the Review of the Secondary National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur'' 
(EPA-452/P-08-005a).
    These documents were prepared as part of the Agency's review of the 
secondary (welfare-based) national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO2.) and sulfur dioxide 
(SO2). EPA is releasing these draft documents solely for the 
purpose of seeking comment from the public and the Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC). The documents are being distributed solely 
for the purpose of pre-dissemination review under applicable 
information quality guidelines. They do not represent and should not be 
construed to represent any Agency policy, viewpoint, or determination. 
EPA will consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this 
notice when revising the document.

DATES: The public comment period began on August 12, 2008 (73 FR 
46908), for document EPA/600/R-08/082 and August 26, 2008 for document 
EPA 600/R-08/083. This notice announces the extension of the deadline 
for public comment from October 1, 2008, to October 10, 2008, for both 
of these documents. Comments must be received on or before October 10, 
2008.
    The public comment period began on August 29, 2008 (73 FR 50965), 
for document EPA-452/P-08-005a. This notice announces the extension of 
the deadline for public comment from October 15, 2008, to November 15, 
2008. Comments must be received on or before November 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen 
and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; Second External Review Draft'' 
(EPA/600/R-08/082) and Annexes (EPA/600/R-08/083) will be available 
primarily via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and Publications 
menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of CD-ROM or paper 
copies will be available. Contact Ms. Ellen Lorang by phone (919-541-
2771), fax (919-541-5078), or e-mail (lorang.ellen@epa.gov) to request 
either of these, and please provide your name, your mailing address, 
and the document title to facilitate processing of your request.
    For information on submitting comments to the docket, please see 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the draft 
``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--
Environmental Criteria'', contact Dr. Tara Greaver, NCEA; telephone: 
919-541-2435; fax: 919-541-5078; or e-mail: greaver.tara@epa.gov.
    For information on the draft ``Risk and Exposure Assessment for the 
Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 
Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur'', contact Dr. Anne Rea, OAQPS; 
telephone: 919-541-0053; fax: 919-541-0840; or e-mail: 
rea.anne@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Documents

    Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to 
identify certain pollutants that ``may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health and welfare'' and to issue air quality criteria 
for them. These 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.''
    Under section 109 of the Act, EPA is then to establish national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for each pollutant for which EPA 
has issued criteria. Section 109(d) of the Act subsequently requires 
periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality 
criteria to reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of 
the pollutant on public health and welfare. EPA is also to revise the 
NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised air quality criteria.
    Oxides of nitrogen and sulfur are two of six principal (or 
``criteria'') pollutants for which EPA has established air quality 
criteria and NAAQS. EPA periodically reviews the scientific basis for 
these standards by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) 
(formerly called an Air Quality Criteria Document). The ISA and 
supplementary annexes, in conjunction with additional technical and 
policy assessments, provide the scientific basis for EPA decisions on 
the adequacy of a current NAAQS and the appropriateness of new or 
revised standards. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), 
an independent science advisory committee established pursuant to 
section 109 of the Clean Air Act and part of the EPA's Science Advisory 
Board (SAB), provides independent scientific advice on NAAQS matters, 
including advice on EPA's draft ISAs.
    EPA formally initiated its current review of the criteria for 
oxides of nitrogen and sulfur in December 2005 (70 FR 73236) and May 
2006 (71 FR 28023) respectively, requesting the submission of recent 
scientific information on specified topics. In the initial stages of 
the criteria reviews, EPA recognized the merit of integrating the 
science assessment for these two pollutants due to their combined 
effects on atmospheric chemistry, deposition processes, and 
environment-related public welfare effects. In July 2007 (72 FR 34004), 
a workshop was held to discuss, with invited scientific experts, 
initial draft materials prepared in the development of the ISA and 
supplementary annexes for oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. EPA's ``Draft 
Plan for Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
for Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide'' was made available in 
September 2007 for public comment and was discussed by the CASAC via a 
publicly accessible teleconference consultation on October 30, 2007 (72 
FR 57568). The Plan was made available on EPA's Web site http://
www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/no2so2sec/cr_pd.html. The draft 
``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--
Environmental Criteria; First External Review Draft'' was released for 
review on December 21, 2007 (72 FR 72719). The CASAC reviewed the draft 
document at a public peer review meeting on April 2-3, 2008; comments 
from the CASAC and the public have

[[Page 56572]]

been addressed in this second external review draft document. The draft 
``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--
Environmental Criteria; Second External Review Draft'' and the draft 
``Risk and Exposure Assessment for the Review of the Secondary National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of 
Sulfur'' will be discussed by CASAC at a public peer review meeting on 
October 1-2, 2008; public comments that have been received prior to the 
public meeting will be provided to the CASAC review panel.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at 
www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. Docket ID EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-1145 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments.
     E-mail: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-9744.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should 
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit one 
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of 
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages 
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and 
three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2007-1145. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late'', and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at http://
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a 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. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hardcopy at the OEI Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: September 23, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-22798 Filed 9-26-08; 8:45 am]

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