[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 71 (Thursday, April 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 18929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-9057]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6965-7]


Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter (External Review 
Draft)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of a draft for public review and comment.

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SUMMARY: On or about April 12, 2001, the National Center for 
Environmental Assessment (NCEA), within EPA's Office of Research and 
Development, will make available for public review and comment a second 
external review draft of the Air Quality Criteria for Particulate 
Matter. Required under sections 108 and 109 of the Clean Air Act, the 
purpose of this document is to provide an assessment of the latest 
scientific information on the effects of airborne particulate matter 
(PM) on the public health and welfare for use in the next periodic 
review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM.

DATES: Comments on the draft document must be submitted in writing no 
later than July 12, 2001. Send the written comments to the Project 
Manager for Particulate Matter, National Center for Environmental 
Assessment-RTP (MD-52), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27711.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter 
(Second External Review Draft) will be available on CD ROM from NCEA-
RTP. Contact Ms. Diane Ray by phone (919-541-3637), fax (919-541-1818), 
or email ([email protected]) to request the document. Please provide 
the document's title, Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter 
(Second External Review Draft), as well as your name and address to 
properly process your request. Internet users will be able to download 
a copy from the NCEA home page. The URL is http://www.epa.gov/ncea/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Dennis Kotchmar, National Center 
for Environmental Assessment-RTP (MD-52), U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone: 919-541-4158; fax: 
919-541-1818; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA is updating and revising, where 
appropriate, the EPA's Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter. 
Sections 108 and 109 of the Clean Air Act require that the EPA carry 
out a periodic review and revision, where appropriate, of the 
scientific criteria and the NAAQS for ``criteria'' air pollutants such 
as particulate matter. Details of the EPA's plans for the review of the 
NAAQS for PM were announced in a previous Federal Register notice (62 
FR 55201, October 23, 1997). The first external review draft of the Air 
Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter was made available for public 
review in October 1999 (64 FR 57884, October 27, 1999). Following that 
public review period and the ensuing Clean Air Scientific Advisory 
Committee (CASAC) meeting in December 1999 (64 FR 61875, November 15, 
1999), the document has undergone revision to incorporate comments from 
the public review and the CASAC meeting, as well as many recently 
completed studies on the health effects of particulate matter. After 
the end of the comment period on the second external review draft, the 
EPA will again present the draft document for review by the CASAC in a 
public meeting. A subsequent Federal Register notice will inform the 
public of the exact date and time of that meeting. Following the CASAC 
meeting, the EPA will again incorporate revisions to the document in 
response to public comments and CASAC review.
    The EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards will prepare 
a Staff Paper (SP) for the Administrator, drawing on information in the 
criteria document. The SP will evaluate the policy implications of the 
key studies and scientific information contained in the criteria 
document and identify critical elements that EPA staff believes should 
be considered in reviewing the standards. The SP is intended to bridge 
the gap between the scientific review in the criteria document and the 
public health and welfare policy judgments required of the 
Administrator in reviewing the NAAQS for PM.

    Dated: March 30, 2001.
Arthur F. Payne,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 01-9057 Filed 4-11-01; 8:45 am]
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