[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 188 (Friday, September 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55207-55208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19146]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8474-5; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0260]
Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health
Criteria
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of public comment period on Draft Integrated Science
Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health Criteria.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing
the public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Integrated
Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health Criteria; First External
Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-07/108). The draft document was prepared by
the National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of
Research and Development as part of the Agency's review of the air
quality criteria for sulfur oxides and the primary (health-based)
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide
(SO2).
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of
seeking comment from the public and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory
Committee (CASAC). 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 September 28, 2007.
Comments must be received on or before November 30, 2007.
ADDRESSES: The draft ``Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides
Health Criteria; 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 Jee Young Kim by phone: 919-541-4157, fax 919-541-
1818, or e-mail ([email protected]) to request either of these, and
please provide your name, your mailing address, and the draft document
title, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health
Criteria; First External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-07/108) to
facilitate processing of your request. Comments may be submitted
electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile,
or by hand delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions
provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jee Young Kim, NCEA; telephone: 919-
541-4157, facsimile: 919-541-1818, or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the 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 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 and welfare. EPA is also to revise the
NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised air quality criteria.
Sulfur oxides are one of six principal (or ``criteria'') pollutants
for which EPA has established air quality criteria and NAAQS. EPA
periodically 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 a current
NAAQS and the appropriateness of new or revised standards. The Clean
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), an independent science
advisory committee established pursuant to section 109 of the Clean Air
Act and part of the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB), provides
independent scientific advice on NAAQS matters, including advice on
EPA's draft ISAs.
[[Page 55208]]
On May 16, 2006 (71 FR 28023), EPA formally initiated its current
review of the criteria for Sulfur Oxides, requesting the submission of
recent scientific information on specified topics. A draft of EPA's
``Integrated Plan for Review of the Primary National Ambient Air
Quality Standard for Sulfur Dioxide'' was made available in February
2007 for public comment and was discussed by the Clean Air Science
Advisory Committee (CASAC) via a publicly accessible teleconference
consultation on May 11, 2007 (72 FR 20336). The Plan is being finalized
and will be made available on EPA's Web site (http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/so2/s_so2_cr_pd.html). In February 2007 (72 FR
6238), a workshop was held to discuss, with invited scientific experts,
initial draft materials prepared in the development of the ISA and
supplementary annexes for sulfur oxides.
The draft ``Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health
Criteria; First External Review Draft'' will be discussed by CASAC at a
future public meeting; public comments that have been received prior to
the public meeting 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 Information to the Docket
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-
0260 by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
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, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 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 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.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2006-0260. 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 that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. 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: All 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 material, such
as copyrighted material, will be 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: September 21, 2007.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E7-19146 Filed 9-27-07; 8:45 am]
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