
[Federal Register: December 19, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 245)]
[Notices]               
[Page 77686-77687]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19de08-87]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8754-8; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0517]

 
Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the availability of its ``First External Review Draft Integrated 
Science Assessment for Particulate Matter'' (EPA/600/R-08/139 and EPA/
600/R-08/139A). The document was prepared by the National Center for 
Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA(s Office of Research and 
Development as part of the review of the national ambient air quality 
standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter.
    EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public (meeting date 
and location to be specified in a separate Federal Register notice). 
The draft document does not represent, and should not be construed to 
represent, any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will 
consider any public comments submitted in response to this notice when 
revising the document.

DATES: The public comment period begins on or about December 19, 2008. 
Comments must be received on or before March 13, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The ``First External Review Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Particulate Matter'' 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. Debbie Wales by phone (919-541-4731), fax (919-
541-5078), or e-mail (wales.deborah@epa.gov) to request either of 
these, and please provide your name, your mailing address, and the 
document title, ``First External Review Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Particulate Matter'' (EPA/600/R-08/139 and EPA/600/R-08/
139A) to facilitate processing of your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information, contact Dr. 
Lindsay Wichers Stanek, NCEA; telephone: 919-541-7792; facsimile: 919-
541-2985; or e-mail: stanek.lindsay@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to 
identify certain pollutants which, among other things, ``cause or 
contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health or 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 or welfare. EPA is also to revise the 
NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised air quality criteria.
    Particulate matter (PM) is one of six principal (or ``criteria'') 
pollutants for which EPA has established NAAQS. Periodically, EPA 
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 the current NAAQS 
and the appropriateness of possible alternative standards. The Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), an independent science 
advisory committee whose existence and whose review and advisory 
functions are mandated by Section 109 (d) (2) of the Clean Air Act, is 
charged (among other things) with independent scientific review of 
EPA's air quality criteria.
    On June 28, 2007 (72 FR 35462), EPA formally initiated its current 
review of the air quality criteria for PM, requesting the submission of 
recent scientific information on specified topics. A draft of EPA's 
``Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standard 
for Particulate Matter'' (EPA/452/P-08/006) was made available in 
October 2007 for public comment and was discussed by the CASAC via a 
publicly accessible teleconference consultation on November 30, 2007 
(72 FR 63177). EPA finalized the plan and made it available in March 
2008 (EPA/452/R-08/004; http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_
pm_2007_pd.html). In June 2008 (73 FR 30391), EPA held a workshop to 
discuss, with invited scientific experts, initial draft materials 
prepared in the development of the PM ISA and its supplementary 
annexes.
    The first external review draft ISA for PM will be discussed at a 
public meeting for review by CASAC, and public comments received will 
be provided to the CASAC review panel. A future Federal Register notice 
will inform the public of the exact date and time of that CASAC 
meeting.

II. How to Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://
www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-
0517, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-1753.
     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, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 1301 
Constitution Ave., 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 
three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number 
pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original 
and three copies.

[[Page 77687]]

    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2007-0517. 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 through http://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected. 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: 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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are 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 OEI Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: December 11, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E8-30197 Filed 12-18-08; 8:45 am]

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