[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25485-25486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09214]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0279; FRL-9545-03-OAR]


Release of Draft Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the 
Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On or about April 28, 2022, the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is making available to the public a draft document titled, 
Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the Ozone National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards, External Review Draft (Draft PA). This draft 
document was prepared as a part of the current reconsideration of the 
2020 final decision on the national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS) for ozone (O3). When final, the PA is intended to 
``bridge the gap'' between the scientific and technical information 
assessed in the 2020 Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and 
Related Photochemical Oxidants (2020 ISA), as well as any air quality, 
exposure and risk analyses available in the reconsideration, and the 
judgments required of the Administrator. The primary and secondary 
O3 NAAQS are set to protect the public health and the public 
welfare from O3 and other photochemical oxidants in ambient 
air.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments on the draft PA, identified by Docket 
ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0279, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Office of Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): 
EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of 
operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal 
Holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this notice. Comments received may be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments, see the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. Out of an abundance 
of caution for members of the public and our staff, the EPA Docket 
Center and Reading Room are open to the public by appointment only to 
reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff also 
continues to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and 
webform. Hand deliveries and couriers may be received by scheduled 
appointment only. For further information on EPA Docket Center services 
and the current status, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    The draft document described here will be available on the EPA's 
website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards. 
The documents will be accessible under ``Policy Assessments'' for the 
current review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leigh Meyer, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, (Mail Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 
919-541-5587, fax number: 919-541-0237; or email: [email protected], 
or Mary Hutson, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, (Mail 
Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental

[[Page 25486]]

Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 
919-541-0715, fax number: 919-541-0237; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

    Written Comments: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0279, at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred 
method), or the other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once 
submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. The 
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not 
submit to EPA's docket at https://www.regulations.gov 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Due to public health concerns related to COVID-19, the EPA Docket 
Center and Reading Room are open to the public by appointment only. Our 
Docket Center staff also continues to provide remote customer service 
via email, phone, and webform. Hand deliveries or couriers will be 
received by scheduled appointment only. For further information and 
updates on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us online at 
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    The EPA continues to monitor information carefully and continuously 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area 
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond 
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

II. Information About the Documents

    Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) govern the 
establishment and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 directs the 
Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then 
issue ``air quality criteria'' for those 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 
such pollutant in the ambient air . . .'' (CAA section 108(a)(2)). 
Under section 109 of the Act, the EPA is then to establish primary 
(health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for each pollutant 
for which the EPA has issued air quality criteria. Section 109(d)(1) of 
the Act requires periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of 
existing air quality criteria. Revised air quality criteria are to 
reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the 
pollutant on public health and welfare. Under the same provision, the 
EPA is also to periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the 
NAAQS, based on the revised air quality criteria.
    The Act additionally requires appointment of an independent 
scientific review committee that is to periodically review the existing 
air quality criteria and NAAQS and to recommend any new standards and 
revisions of existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate (CAA 
section 109(d)(2)(A)-(B)). Since the early 1980s, the requirement for 
an independent scientific review committee has been fulfilled by the 
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
    In December 2020, the EPA announced its decision to retain the 
primary and secondary O3 standards, without revision (85 FR 
87256, December 31, 2020). On October 29, 2021, the Agency announced 
its decision to reconsider the 2020 O3 NAAQS final 
action.\1\ In its announcement of the reconsideration, the Agency 
explained that it would reconsider the 2020 decision to retain 2015 
standards based on the existing scientific record. In support of the 
reconsideration, the EPA is developing an updated PA. The PA, when 
final, serves to ``bridge the gap'' between the scientific and 
technical information in the 2020 ISA and any air quality, exposure and 
risk analyses available in the reconsideration, and the judgements 
required of the Administrator. The draft PA builds upon the information 
presented in the 2020 ISA, the 2020 PA and additional analyses that 
informed the 2020 decision. The draft PA document will be available on 
or about April 28, 2022, on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards. The EPA is soliciting advice and 
recommendations from the CASAC by means of a review of this draft 
document in an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC. Information about 
this public meeting, including the dates and location, was published as 
a separate notice in the Federal Register on April 4, 2022 (87 FR 
19501). Following the CASAC meeting, the EPA will consider comments 
received from the CASAC and the public in preparing the final PA.
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    \1\ The press release for this announcement is available at 
https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/epa-reconsider-previous-administrations-decision-retain-2015-ozone.
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    The draft document briefly described above does 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 document.

    Dated: April 26, 2022.
Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2022-09214 Filed 4-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


