
[Federal Register: August 5, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 151)]
[Notices]               
[Page 45437-45438]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05au08-54]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8700-8; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2007-0983]

 
Interim Report of the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program 
Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air 
Quality: A Preliminary Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on O3

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Peer-Review Workshop.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for 
external scientific peer review, will convene an independent panel of 
experts and organize and conduct an external peer-review workshop to 
review the external review draft document titled, ``Interim Report of 
the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program Assessment of the Impacts 
of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Preliminary Synthesis 
of Climate Change Impacts on O3'' (EPA/600/R-07/094). The 
draft document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development.
    The public comment period, announced in (73 FR 39695), and the 
external peer-review workshop are separate processes that provide 
opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the document. 
EPA has released this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality 
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It 
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency 
policy or determination.
    EPA invites the public to register to attend this workshop as 
observers. In addition, EPA invites the public to give oral and/or 
provide written comments at the workshop regarding the draft document 
under review. The draft document and EPA's peer-review charge are 
available primarily via the Internet on NCEA's home page under the 
Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at www.epa.gov/
ncea. In preparing a final report, EPA will consider the Versar, Inc. 
report of the comments and recommendations from the external peer-
review workshop and any public comments that EPA receives in accordance 
with this notice.

DATES: The peer-review panel workshop will begin on August 26, 2008, at 
8:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. on the same day.

ADDRESSES: The peer-review workshop will be held at the U.S. EPA, 
Research Triangle Park Campus, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Durham, NC 
27709. The EPA contractor, Versar Inc., is organizing, convening, and 
conducting the peer-review workshop. To attend the workshop, register 
by August 19, 2008, preferably via the Internet at http://
epa.versar.com/climatechangeimpactsonozone, or via the following means: 
by calling Versar, Inc. at 703-750-3000, extension 737 or 211; sending 
a facsimile to Attn: Malikah Moore at 703-642-6954, or; sending an e-
mail to mmoore@versar.com and dsinkowski@versar.com. The draft 
``Interim Report of the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program 
Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air 
Quality: A

[[Page 45438]]

Preliminary Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on O3'' is 
available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for 
Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and the 
Data and Publications menus at www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of 
paper copies are available from the Information Management Team, NCEA; 
telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-8691. If you are requesting 
a paper copy, please provide your name, mailing address, and the 
document title. Copies are not available from Versar, Inc.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information, 
registration, access or services for individuals with disabilities, or 
logistics for the external peer-review workshop should be directed to 
Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA 22151; telephone: 
703-750-3000, extension 737 or 211; facsimile: Attn.: Malikah Moore at 
703-642-6954; e-mail: mmoore@versar.com and dsinkowski@versar.com. To 
request accommodation of a disability, please contact Malikah Moore at 
mmoore@versar.com or 703-750-3000, ext. 211, preferably at least 10 
days prior to the meeting, to give as much time as possible to process 
your request.
    If you need technical information about the document, please 
contact Brooke L. Hemming, Ph.D., National Center for Environmental 
Assessment (NCEA); telephone: 919-541-5668; facsimile: 919-541-7885; e-
mail: hemming.brooke@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Summary of Information About the Project/Document

    The ``Interim Report of the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program 
Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air 
Quality: A Preliminary Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on 
O3'' is intended to provide air quality managers and 
scientists a summary and synthesis of the scientific results that have 
emerged from the EPA ORD Global Change Research Program (ORD GCRP) 
assessment of the impact of global change on U.S. regional air quality. 
The report discusses the studies that have focused on the sensitivity 
of U.S. air quality to meteorological changes associated with a warming 
climate in large regions within the continental U.S. The EPA recognizes 
that climate-air quality interactions occur at multiple scales (both 
spatial and temporal), and that an understanding of these interactions 
demands contributions from several scientific disciplines. The EPA ORD 
GCRP developed a research and assessment program that combines the 
resources and expertise of the ORD labs and centers toward the goal of 
developing the necessary scientific underpinnings. The ultimate goal of 
the Program is to provide air quality managers with the scientific 
information and tools needed to evaluate the implications of global 
change and to enhance their ability to consider global change in their 
decisions. The ``Interim Report of the U.S. EPA Global Change Research 
Program Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air 
Quality: A Preliminary Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on 
O3'' is a preliminary step in that direction. This report 
provides an update of the progress that has been made in applying 
climate and atmospheric chemistry models to investigate potential 
future meteorological effects on air quality. It does not include 
changes in air pollutant emissions other than those that are explicitly 
linked to meteorological variables and incorporated within the models 
(e.g., biogenic VOC emissions). In addition, it provides a preliminary 
interpretation of what this improved scientific understanding means for 
air quality management. Future assessment reports will cover the 
combined impacts of changing climate and air pollutant emissions on air 
quality. The program also plans to develop additional reports that 
focus on additional pollutants, including PM and mercury. NCEA worked 
collaboratively with the EPA Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), and 
ORD's National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), National 
Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and National Center for 
Environmental Research (NCER) on this report.

II. Workshop Information

    Members of the public may attend the workshop as observers, and 
there will be a limited time for comments from the public in the 
afternoon. Please let Versar, Inc. know if you wish to make comments 
during the workshop. Space is limited, and reservations will be 
accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Dated: July 25, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-17925 Filed 8-4-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
