[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42497-42498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17041]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0128; FRL-9981-88-OAR]


Release of Risk and Exposure Assessment Plan for the Secondary 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of 
Sulfur and Particulate Matter

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a 
periodic review of the air quality criteria and the secondary National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for oxides of nitrogen, oxides of 
sulfur, and particulate matter (PM). On or about August 6, 2018, the 
EPA will make available for public review the document titled Review of 
the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of 
Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur and Particulate Matter: Risk and Exposure 
Assessment Planning Document (REA Planning Document). This plan 
presents considerations and the proposed approach for conducting 
quantitative analyses of oxides of nitrogen, oxides of sulfur, and PM 
exposures and welfare risks in this NAAQS review. This planning 
document is intended to facilitate consultation with the Clean Air 
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and public comment on plans for 
such quantitative analyses.

DATES: Comments should be received on or before October 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2014-0128, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The 
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not 
submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must 
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered 
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you 
wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment 
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the Web, 
Cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission 
methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. The REA Planning Document will be available primarily via the 
internet at: https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/nitrogen-dioxide-no2-and-sulfur-dioxide-so2-secondary-standards-planning-documents-current.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ginger Tennant, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (Mail Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 
919-541-4072; fax number: 919-541-0237; or email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
https://www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of 
the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on any 
digital storage media that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the 
digital storage media as CBI and then identify electronically within 
the digital storage media 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. If you submit any digital storage media that does not 
contain CBI, mark the outside of the digital storage media clearly that 
it does not contain CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed 
except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) part 2. Send or deliver information identified as CBI 
only to the following address: OAQPS Document Control Officer (C404-
02), OAQPS, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle 
Park, North Carolina 27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-
0128.
    2. Tips for Preparing your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the notice 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 CFR part or 
section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternative and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumption 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. Information About the Document

    Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA) govern the establishment 
and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 (42 U.S.C. 7408) directs the 
Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then to 
issue air quality criteria for those pollutants. The Administrator is 
to list those air pollutants that in his ``judgment, cause or 
contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health or welfare;'' ``the presence of which in the 
ambient air results from numerous or diverse mobile or stationary 
sources;'' and ``for which . . . [the Administrator] plans to issue air 
quality criteria. . . . '' Air quality criteria are intended 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 . . . '' 42 U.S.C. 7408(b). Under section 
109 (42 U.S.C. 7409), the EPA establishes primary (health-based) and 
secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for pollutants for which air quality 
criteria are issued. Section 109(d) 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, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS 
based on the revised criteria. Section 109(d)(2) requires that an 
independent scientific review committee ``shall complete a review of 
the criteria . . . and the national primary and secondary ambient air 
quality standards . . . and shall recommend to the Administrator any 
new . . . standards and revisions of existing criteria and standards as 
may be appropriate. . . .'' Since the early

[[Page 42498]]

1980's, this independent review function has been performed by CASAC.
    Presently, the EPA is reviewing the secondary NAAQS for oxides of 
nitrogen, oxides of sulfur, and PM.\1\ PM was added to this review 
after the draft Integrated Review Plan (80 FR 69220, November 9, 2015) 
was released to the public and reviewed by CASAC in recognition of 
linkages between these pollutants (oxides of nitrogen, oxides of 
sulfur, and PM) with respect to deposition and atmospheric chemistry, 
as well as from an environmental effects perspective. Additional 
welfare effects associated with PM, such as visibility, climate and 
materials effects, and the health effects of PM (including particulate 
transformation products of oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulfur) are 
considered as part of the review of the NAAQS for PM (81 FR 87933, 
December 6, 2016). The health effects of oxides of nitrogen were 
considered in a separate assessment that was completed recently as part 
of the review of the primary (health-based) NAAQS for oxides of 
nitrogen (83 FR 17226, April 18, 2018). Similarly, the health effects 
of oxides of sulfur are currently being considered in a separate 
assessment as part of the review of the primary NAAQS for oxides of 
sulfur (83 FR 26752, June 8, 2018).
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    \1\ The EPA's call for information for the NOX/
SOX secondary review was issued on August 29, 2013 (78 FR 
53452), and the call for information on the PM review (both 
secondary and primary) was issued on December 3, 2014 (79 FR 71764).
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    The EPA's overall plan for this review is presented in the 
Integrated Review Plan for the Secondary NAAQS for Oxides of Nitrogen, 
Oxides of Sulfur and Particulate Matter.\2\ The REA Planning Document 
considers the degree to which important uncertainties identified in 
quantitative analyses from previous reviews have been addressed by 
newly available scientific evidence, tools, or information, including 
those in the second external review draft of the Integrated Science 
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen, Oxides of Sulfur and Particulate 
Matter-Ecological Criteria (83 FR 29786, June 26, 2018). Based on these 
considerations, the document reaches preliminary conclusions on the 
extent to which updated quantitative analyses of exposures or public 
welfare risks are warranted in the current review. For updated analyses 
that are supported, this planning document presents anticipated 
approaches to conducting such analyses. This document will be available 
on or about August 6, 2018, on the EPA's Technology Transfer Network 
website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/nitrogen-dioxide-no2-and-sulfur-dioxide-so2-secondary-standards-planning-documents-current.
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    \2\ Available at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/nitrogen-dioxide-no2-and-sulfur-dioxide-so2-secondary-standards-planning-documents-current.
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    The REA Planning Document will be discussed at a public meeting for 
review by CASAC and the public. A separate Federal Register notice 
provides details about this meeting and the process for participation 
(83 FR 31755, July 9, 2018). The EPA will also consider public comments 
on the REA Planning Document that are submitted to the docket, as 
described above.

    Dated: August 2, 2018.
Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2018-17041 Filed 8-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


