[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 231 (Friday, December 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72300-72301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6760]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Draft Air Quality Criteria for Lead
[E-Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0018; FRL-8004-3]
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of public comment period on a first external review
draft.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a
public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Air Quality
Criteria for Lead; First External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-05/144).
The document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental
Assessment within EPA's Office of Research and Development.
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of
seeking public comment. It does 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 begins on or about December 1, 2005,
and ends February 15, 2006. Technical comments should be in writing and
must be received by EPA by February 15, 2006. Comments may be submitted
electronically via EPA's E-Docket, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand
delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions as provided
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
ADDRESSES: The draft ``Air Quality Criteria for Lead; First External
Review Draft'' is 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. Diane
Ray by phone (919-541-3637), fax (919-541-1818), or e-mail
([email protected]) to request either of these, and please provide your
name, your mailing address, and the document title, ``Air Quality
Criteria for Lead; First External Review Draft,'' (EPA/600/R-05/144) to
facilitate processing of your request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail:
[email protected].
For technical information, contact Lori White, Ph.D., NCEA;
telephone: 919-541-3146; facsimile: 919-541-1818; or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information about the Project/Document
Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to
identify certain pollutants which ``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 requires subsequent 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 criteria.
Lead is one of six ``criteria'' pollutants for which EPA has
established air quality criteria and NAAQS. On November 9, 2004 (69 FR
64926), EPA formally initiated its current review of the criteria and
NAAQS for lead, requesting the submission of recent scientific
information on specified topics. One of the next steps in this process
was to prepare a project work plan for revision of the existing ``Air
Quality Criteria for Lead,'' EPA-600/8-83/028aF-dF (published in June
1986) and an associated supplement (EPA-600/8-89/049F) published in
1990. Accordingly, a draft of EPA's ``Project Work Plan for Revised Air
Quality Criteria for Lead'' (NCEA-R-1465) was released on January 7,
2005 for public comment (70 FR 1439) and was discussed by the Clean Air
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) via a publicly accessible March
28, 2005, teleconference consultation (70 FR 11629). On July 15, 2005
(70 FR 41007), several workshops were announced to discuss, with
invited recognized scientific experts, initial draft materials that
dealt with various lead-related issues being addressed in the draft
AQCD for lead. These workshops were held August 4-5, 16-18, and 17-19,
2005.
After the end of the comment period on the Air Quality Criteria for
Lead, First External Review Draft, EPA will
[[Page 72301]]
present the draft at a public meeting for review by CASAC. Public
comments received will be provided to the CASAC review panel. There
will be a Federal Register notice to inform the public of the exact
date and time of that CASAC meeting.
II. How To Submit Technical Comments to EPA's E-Docket
EPA has established an official public docket for information
pertaining to the revision of the Lead AQCD, Docket ID No. ORD-2004-
0018. The official public docket is the collection of materials
available for public viewing and includes the documents specifically
referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other
information related to this action, but excludes Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted
by statute. The official public docket is available for public viewing
at the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the
Headquarters EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West Building, Room B102,
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, and the telephone number for the OEI
Docket is 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail:
[email protected].
An electronic version of the public docket is available through
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, E-Docket. You may
use E-Docket at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view public
comments, to access the index of the contents of the official public
docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are
available electronically. Once in the system, select ``search,'' then
key in the appropriate docket identification number.
Certain types of information will not be placed in E-Docket.
Information claimed as CBI and other information for which disclosure
is restricted by statute will not be available for public viewing in
the official public docket or in E-Docket. EPA's policy is that
copyrighted material will not be placed in E-Docket but will be
referenced there and will be available as printed material in the
official public docket.
If you intend to submit comments to EPA, please note that it is
EPA's policy to make public comments available for public viewing as
received and without change at the EPA Docket Center or in E-Docket.
This policy applies to information submitted electronically or in paper
form, except where restricted by copyright, CBI, or statute. When EPA
identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide
a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is
placed in EPA's electronic public docket. The entire printed comment,
including the copyrighted material, will be available in the official
public docket.
Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed or
delivered to the docket will be transferred to E-Docket. Public
comments that are mailed or delivered to the Docket will be scanned and
placed in E-Docket. Where practical, physical objects will be
photographed, and the photograph will be placed in E-Docket with a
brief description written by the docket staff.
You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or
by hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, include the
appropriate docket identification number with your submission. 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.
If you submit comments electronically, EPA recommends that you
include your name, mailing address, and an e-mail address or other
contact information in the body of your comment. Also include this
contact information on the outside of any submitted disk or CD-ROM, and
in any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD-ROM. This ensures that
you can be identified as the person submitting the comment and allows
EPA to contact you in case the Agency cannot read your submission due
to technical difficulties or needs further information on the substance
of your comment. EPA will not edit your comment, and any identifying or
contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included
as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket and
made available in E-Docket. If EPA cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, it may
delay or preclude consideration of your comment.
Electronic submission of comments to E-Docket is EPA's preferred
method for receiving comments. Go directly to EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket, and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. To access EPA's electronic public docket from the EPA
Internet Home Page, select ``Information Sources,'' ``Dockets,'' and
``EPA Dockets.'' Once in the system, select ``search,'' and then key in
Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0018. The system is an ``anonymous access''
system, which means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or
other contact information unless you provide it in the body of your
comment.
Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) to
[email protected], Attention: Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0018. In contrast
to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system is not an
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly to
the docket without going through EPA's E-Docket, EPA's e-mail system
automatically captures your e-mail address, and it becomes part of the
information in the official public docket and in E-Docket.
You may submit comments on a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to the
OEI Docket mailing address. Files will be accepted in WordPerfect,
Word, or PDF format. Avoid the use of special characters and any form
of encryption.
If you provide comments in writing, 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.
Dated: November 23, 2005.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E5-6760 Filed 12-1-05; 8:45 am]
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