[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 98 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31858-31859]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12390]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 51

[AD-FRL-6701-1; Docket No. A-99-05]
RIN 2060-AF01


Requirements for Preparation, Adoption, and Submittal of State 
Implementation Plans (Guideline on Air Quality Models); Conference on 
Air Quality Modeling

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; conference.

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SUMMARY: We announce the Seventh Conference on Air Quality Modeling. 
Such a conference is required by Section 320 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) 
to be held every 3 years. The purpose of the Seventh Conference is to 
provide a forum for public review and comment on proposed revisions to 
the Guideline on Air Quality Models--``Guideline'' published on April 
21, 2000. The proposed revisions are based on our review and analyses 
of comments received at the Sixth Conference on Air Quality Modeling, 
held in August 1995.

DATES: The seventh conference will be held on June 28, 2000 from 9 a.m. 
to 5:30 p.m. and on June 29, 2000 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Requests to 
speak at the conference should be submitted to the individual listed 
below by June 15, 2000. All written comments must be submitted by close 
of business August 21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Conference: The conference will be held in the EPA 
Auditorium, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
    Comments: Written statements or comments not presented at the 
conference should be submitted (in duplicate if possible) to: OAR 
Regulatory Docket (6102), Room M-1500, Waterside Mall, Attention: OAR 
Regulatory Docket A-99-05, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M 
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. We invite you to submit adverse 
or critical comments pertinent to the proposal to that docket. The 
docket is available for public inspection and copying between 8:00 a.m. 
and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the address above. Please 
furnish duplicate comments to Tom Coulter, Air Quality Modeling Group 
(MD-14), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, 
NC 27711. You may send electronic versions of comments pertinent to the 
proposal to: [email protected]. Alternatively, comments 
are acceptable in WordPerfect 6.1 (or higher), preferably zipped (e.g., 
WinZip) as an attachment to the e-mail message. You must include the 
docket identification (A-99-05) with all electronic submittals. You may 
file electronic comments on this proposal online at many Federal 
Depository Libraries.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: C. Thomas Coulter, Air Quality 
Modeling Group (MD-14), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; 
telephone (919) 541-0832.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Guideline (appendix W to 40 CFR part 51) is used by EPA, 
States, and industry to prepare and review new source permits and State 
Implementation Plan revisions. The Guideline serves as a means by which 
consistency is maintained in air quality analyses. We originally 
published the Guideline in April 1978 and it was incorporated by 
reference in the regulations for the Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD) of Air Quality in June 1978. We revised the 
Guideline in 1986, and updated it with supplement A in 1987, supplement 
B in July 1993, and supplement C in August 1995. We published the 
Guideline as appendix W to 40 CFR part 51 when we issued supplement B. 
We republished the Guideline in August 1996 (61 FR 41838) to adopt the 
CFR system for labeling paragraphs.
    To support the process of developing and revising the Guideline 
during the period 1977-1988, we held the First, Second and Third 
Conferences on Air Quality Modeling as required by Section 320 of the 
Clean Air Act to help standardize modeling procedures. These modeling 
conferences provided us with comments on the Guideline and associated 
revisions, thereby helping us introduce improved modeling techniques 
into the regulatory process.
    In October 1988, we held the Fourth Conference on Air Quality 
Modeling. Its purpose was to advise the public on new modeling 
techniques and to solicit comments to guide our consideration of any 
rulemaking needed to further revise the Guideline. The new models 
provided techniques for situations where specific procedures had not 
previously been available, and also improved several previously adopted 
techniques.
    We held the Fifth Conference on Air Quality Modeling in March 1991, 
which served as a public hearing for the proposed supplement B 
revisions to the Guideline (op. cit.). Since the Fifth Conference and 
the adoption of supplement C, we believed it was time to consider a 
wide range of modeling issues in order to update our available modeling 
tools with state-of-the-science techniques. We thus held the sixth 
conference as an ideal forum for airing these issues and for the public 
to offer new ideas. We reviewed and analyzed the public feedback from 
the sixth conference, and placed a summary in the docket (II-G-01). 
This information served as a foundation for the proposed Guideline 
revision we announced on April 21, 2000 (65 FR 21506).

[[Page 31859]]

    To review support documents and data for our proposal, and to 
prepare for the seventh conference, you may obtain technical materials 
from several sources. You may get copies of some materials from the 
docket (see ADDRESSES). We have uploaded many materials, for example 
essential codes, preprocessors, utilities, test cases, and user's 
manuals for the new modeling systems, to our website (www.epa.gov/scram001; see 7th Conference).

Public Participation

    The Seventh Conference on Air Quality Modeling will be open to the 
public; no admission fee is charged and there is no formal 
registration. The conference will begin the first morning with 
introductory remarks by the presiding EPA official. The conference will 
continue with prepared presentations on several key modeling systems: 
The development of an enhanced Gaussian dispersion model with boundary 
layer parameterization (AERMOD \1\); the development of the CALPUFF 
modeling system by Earth Tech, Inc. under the auspice of the 
Interagency Workgroup on Air Quality Modeling (IWAQM \2\); the 
development and testing of ISC-PRIME by the Electric Power Research 
Institute's building downwash program; and revisions to the Emissions 
and Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS) by the Federal Aviation 
Administration. There will also be presentations on several models for 
consideration as ``alternative models'' for case-by-case application.
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    \1\ AMS/EPA Regulatory MODel; AERMOD is being developed by 
AERMIC: AMS/EPA Regulatory Model Improvement Committee.
    \2\ IWAQM was formed in 1991 to provide a focus for development 
of technically sound regional air quality models for regulatory 
assessments of pollutant source impacts on federal Class I areas. 
IWAQM is an interagency collaboration that includes efforts by EPA, 
U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
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    The second morning, there will be critical reviews/discussions of 
the new modeling systems facilitated first by the American 
Meteorological Society's Committee on Meteorological Aspects of Air 
Pollution, and then by the Air & Waste Management Association's AB-3 
Committee. We also plan to feature a special panel presentation on the 
next generation of air quality models that may be driven by output from 
four-dimensional prognostic models. This will be followed by statements 
from representatives of State and local air pollution control agencies 
and by appropriate Federal agencies. The conference will then be opened 
to statements and comments from the general public. As information 
develops, we will post an agenda for the conference on our website 
(www.epa.gov/scram001; see 7th Conference).
    For the new models and modeling techniques described on June 28th, 
EPA will be asking the public to address the following questions:
     Has the scientific merit of the models presented been 
established?
     Are the models' accuracy sufficiently documented?
     Are the proposed regulatory uses of individual models for 
specific applications appropriate and reasonable?
     Do significant implementation issues remain or is 
additional guidance needed?
     Are there serious resource constraints imposed by modeling 
systems presented?
     What additional analyses or information are needed?
    Those wishing to speak at the conference, whether to volunteer a 
presentation on a special topic or to offer general comment on any of 
the modeling techniques scheduled for presentation, should contact us 
at the address given in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section no 
later than June 15, 2000. Such persons should identify the organization 
(if any) on whose behalf they are speaking and the length of 
presentation. If a presentation of general comments is projected to be 
longer than 10 minutes, the presenter should also state why a longer 
period is needed. Persons failing to submit a written notice but 
desiring to speak at the conference should notify the presiding officer 
immediately before the conference and they will be scheduled on a time-
available basis.
    The conference will be conducted informally and chaired by an EPA 
official. There will be no sworn testimony or cross examination. A 
verbatim transcript of the conference proceedings will be produced and 
placed in the docket. Speakers should bring extra copies of their 
presentation for inclusion in the docket and for the convenience of the 
reporter. Speakers will be permitted to enter into the record any 
additional written comments that are not presented orally. Additional 
written statements or comments should be sent to the OAR Regulatory 
Docket (see ADDRESSES section). A transcript of the proceedings and a 
copy of all written comments will be maintained in Docket A-99-05 which 
will remain open until August 21, 2000 for the purpose of receiving 
additional comments.

    Dated: May 9, 2000.
Bob Perciasepe,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 00-12390 Filed 5-18-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P