[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 88 (Friday, May 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26284-26286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11140]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9302-5; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-0051]
Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead (Pb)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
[[Page 26285]]
ACTION: Notice of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing
the availability of a document titled, ``First External Review Draft
Integrated Science Assessment for Lead'' (EPA/600/R-10/075A). This
draft 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 lead (Pb).
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 timely public comments submitted in response to this
notice when revising the document.
DATES: The public comment period begins May 6, 2011, and ends July 5,
2011. Comments must be received on or before July 5, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The ``First External Review Draft Integrated Science
Assessment for Lead'' 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
([email protected]) 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 Lead'' (EPA/
600/R-10/075A) to facilitate processing of your request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information, contact Dr.
Ellen Kirrane, NCEA; telephone: 919-541-1340; facsimile: 919-541-2985;
or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Document
Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA) govern the establishment
and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 (42 U.S.C. section 7408) directs
the Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then
to issue air quality criteria for those pollutants. The Administrator
is to list those air pollutants that in her ``judgment, cause or
contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to
endanger public health or welfare;'' ``the presence of which in the
ambient air results from numerous or diverse mobile or stationary
sources;'' and ``for which * * * [the Administrator] plans to issue air
quality criteria * * *.'' Air quality criteria are intended 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* * *.'' 42 U.S.C. 7408(b). Under section
109 (42 U.S.C. 7409) the Administrator is to establish national ambient
air quality standards (NAAQS) for each pollutant for which EPA has
issued criteria. Section 109(d)(1) 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. Section
109(d)(2) requires that an independent scientific review committee
``shall complete a review of the criteria * * * and the national
primary and secondary ambient air quality standards * * * and shall
recommend to the Administrator any new * * * standards and revisions of
existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate . * * *'' Since
the early 1980's, this independent review function has been performed
by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
Under the current NAAQS review process, EPA reviews the scientific
basis for the NAAQS by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA)
and supplementary materials (formerly called an Air Quality Criteria
Document). On February 26, 2010 (75 FR 8934), EPA formally initiated
its current review of the air quality criteria for Pb, requesting the
submission of recent scientific information on specified topics. A
workshop was held on May 10-11, 2010 (75 FR 20843) to discuss policy-
relevant science to inform EPA's planning for the Pb NAAQS review.
Following the workshop, a draft of EPA's ``Integrated Review Plan for
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead'' (EPA-452/D-11-
001) was made available in late March, 2011 for public comment and
consultation with CASAC. It will be discussed by the CASAC via a
publicly accessible teleconference consultation on May 5, 2011 (76 FR
21346). In December 2010, EPA held a workshop (75 FR 69078) to discuss,
with invited scientific experts, preliminary draft materials prepared
during the ongoing development of the Pb ISA.
The first external review draft ISA for Pb 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
www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-
0051, by one of the following methods:
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, 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.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2011-0051. 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
[[Page 26286]]
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. Publicly available docket
materials are generally available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center; however, certain materials, such as
copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.
Dated: April 21, 2011.
Darrell A. Winner,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2011-11140 Filed 5-5-11; 8:45 am]
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