[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 112 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34945-34947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-14746]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7510-8]


Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee Science Advisory Board; 
National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy (NAAMS) Subcommittee 
Notification of Public Advisory Committee Meetings

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Science Advisory 
Board (SAB), announces a public meeting and two publicly-accessible 
teleconferences of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) 
to review the Agency's National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy 
(NAAMS).

DATES: There are three CASAC NAAMS Subcommittee meetings or 
teleconferences:
    (a) July 1, 2003: A publicly accessible teleconference will take 
place from 1 to 3 pm (Eastern Time) to address any outstanding 
questions that subcommittee members and others might have concerning 
the proposed charge to the NAAMS Subcommittee, the NAAMS review 
materials, and the logistics for the face-to-face meeting on July 8-9, 
2003.
    (b) July 8-9, 2003: A public meeting will take place July 8, from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time), and on July 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
(Eastern Time), at the EPA campus, Building C, Room C111-C, Research 
Triangle Park (RTP) North Carolina. A publicly-accessible 
teleconference line is available for the entire meeting.
    (c) August 6, 2003: A publicly-accessible contingency conference 
call from 1 to 3 p.m. (Eastern Time), in the event that the NAAMS 
Subcommittee feels that it is necessary to discuss some remaining 
issues before completing its report.
    Contact: Members of the public who wish to obtain the call-in 
numbers and access codes to participate in the aforementioned publicly-
accessible teleconferences must contact Ms. Delores Darden, EPA Science 
Advisory Board Staff, at telephone/voice mail: (202) 564-2282, or via 
e-mail at: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants 
further information concerning the meeting or either teleconference, or 
who wishes to submit brief oral comments (10 minutes or less) must 
contact Mr. Fred Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer, EPA Science 
Advisory Board (1400A), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone (202) 564-
4561; FAX (202) 501-0582; or via e-mail at [email protected]. 
Request for oral comments must be in writing (e-mail, fax or mail) and 
received by Mr. Butterfield no later than noon Eastern Time five 
business days prior to the meeting or teleconferences in order to 
reserve time on the meeting agenda. Written comments (preferably via e-
mail) should be sent to Mr. Butterfield by the same deadline so that 
the comments can be provided to the NAAMS Subcommittee prior to the 
meeting or teleconferences. General information concerning the CASAC or 
the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found on the EPA Web site at: 
http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary

    The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee was established by 42 
U.S.C. 7409 to provide advice, information and recommendations on the 
scientific and technical aspects of issues related to the criteria for 
air quality standards, research related to air quality, sources of air 
pollution, and the strategies to attain and maintain air quality 
standards and to prevent significant deterioration of air quality. The 
NAAMS Subcommittee will report to the Administrator of EPA through the 
CASAC, which is administratively located under the EPA Science Advisory 
Board. The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent 
scientific and technical advice, consultation, and recommendations to 
the EPA Administrator on the technical basis for Agency positions and 
regulations. Both the CASAC and the SAB are Federal advisory committees 
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended 
(5 U.S.C. App.). The CASAC NAAMS Subcommittee will comply with the 
provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB procedural policies.

Background

    States, local agencies and Tribes establish and operate the 
Nation's regulatory-based ambient air monitoring networks. These 
networks are funded in part with Federal grants and are managed 
nationally by the EPA. The network data are used to support:
    (a) Designation of attainment and non-attainment areas with respect 
to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS);
    (b) Dissemination of air quality information to the public;
    (c) Development (and tracking progress of) emission reduction 
strategies;
    (d) Characterization of long-term air quality trends; and
    (e) Studies in health and atmospheric science disciplines.
    The associated monitoring network, instrumentation and quality 
assurance requirements are included in 40 CFR parts 50, 53 and 58.
    EPA has recently completed development of the final draft of the 
National Ambient Air Monitoring Strategy document under the direction 
of the National Monitoring Strategy Committee (NMSC), an 
intergovernmental partnership

[[Page 34946]]

comprising representatives from EPA (i.e., the Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (OAQPS), the Office of Research and Development 
(ORD) and Regional Offices), and State and local agencies and Tribes, 
i.e., the principal Federal grantee organizations that operate the 
majority of the monitoring networks. The NAAMS document contains 
technical information underlying planned revisions of the National 
Ambient Air Monitoring program. The Strategy proposes a restructuring 
of the national regulatory-based air monitoring networks--commonly 
referred to as National Air Monitoring Stations (NAMS), State or Local 
Air Monitoring Stations (SLAMS), and Photochemical Assessment 
Monitoring Stations (PAMS)--to accommodate emerging priorities of air 
programs, the public and the scientific community. Specifically, the 
NAAMS provides a series of proposed changes for network design and 
improvements, assessments of existing networks, incorporation of new 
measurement and information transfer technologies, and revisions both 
to the current quality assurance program and the monitoring 
regulations. The principal proposed changes include:
    (a) A shift toward collocated multiple pollutant monitoring 
stations under a new national monitoring network design referred to as 
``NCore.''
    (b) Incorporation of new continuous particle monitoring 
instruments, additional air toxics measurements and information 
transfer technologies to enhance the scope of near-real-time data 
delivered to the public.
    (c) Adoption of new network design recommendations and the 
introduction of advanced monitoring technologies through performance-
based standards.
    (d) Reductions in existing monitoring stations that provide limited 
value for public protection or air quality planning needs, with 
attendant resource savings redirected to meeting new measurement needs.
    EPA intends to propose revisions to the monitoring regulations that 
have emerged from this strategy during 2003. A public comment period on 
the proposed regulations will be announced at a later date by EPA's 
Office of Air and Radiation. The NAAMS document is available through 
EPA's Ambient Monitoring Technology Information Center (AMTIC) Web site 
at the following URL address: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/stratmem.html. Any questions concerning the NAAMS should be directed to 
Dr. Richard Scheffe, EPA's OAQPS Monitoring and Quality Assurance Group 
Leader, at phone: (919) 541-4650; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

Request for and Proposed Charge to the NAAMS Subcommittee

    EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) has requested that the 
Clean Air Act Scientific Advisory Committee form a subcommittee to 
review the NAAMS document. The ``Widecast'' notice requesting 
nominations to this new NAAMS Subcommittee of the CASAC appeared in the 
Federal Register on November 5, 2002 (67 FR 67403), and noted that 
nominees should be recognized, national-level experts in one or more of 
the following disciplines: (a) Atmospheric sciences and air quality 
simulation modeling; (b) health effects and exposure; (c) air quality 
measurement science; or (d) State or local agency experience. This new 
CASAC subcommittee is charged with providing consultation to EPA on the 
technical bases and design aspects of the National Ambient Air 
Monitoring Strategy. In particular, the Subcommittee is asked to 
provide a formal consultation on the following elements of the 
strategy:
    (a) The NCore proposal, including conceptual approach to tiered 
monitoring levels, recommended measurements and numbers and locations 
of Level 2 sites. Consideration to phasing of measurements included in 
Level 2 sites should be addressed based on currently available and 
expected emerging monitoring technologies. The Subcommittee is also 
requested to advise on the scope and breadth of research-grade Level 1 
sites.
    (b) The use of spatial analysis approaches for network design and 
other air program planning needs. The monitoring strategy has utilized 
various spatial design approaches on National and Regional scales to 
identify areas of redundant monitoring as well as gaps requiring 
additional monitoring.
    (c) The use of performance-based approaches for standardizing 
monitoring method requirements for particulate matter measurements. 
Performance-based approaches rely on applying data quality objectives 
to determine the allowable statistical uncertainties for instrument 
performance. This third subject area has evolved from discussions with 
the existing CASAC Subcommittee on Particulate Monitoring, and plays an 
important role in facilitating accommodation of new technologies into 
air monitoring networks.

Availability of Additional Meeting Materials

    Copies of the draft agendas for the meetings that are described in 
this notice will be posted on the SAB Web site (www.epa.gov/sab) (under 
the ``Agendas'' subheading) approximately 10 days before each NAAMS 
Subcommittee public meeting or teleconference. Other materials that may 
be available will also be posted on the SAB Web site during this time-
frame.

Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings

    It is the policy of the EPA Science Advisory Board to accept 
written public comments of any length, and to accommodate oral public 
comments whenever possible. The EPA Science Advisory Board expects that 
public statements presented at its meetings will not be repetitive of 
previously-submitted oral or written statements.
    Oral Comments: In general, each individual or group requesting an 
oral presentation at a face-to-face meeting will be limited to a total 
time of ten minutes (unless otherwise indicated). For teleconference 
meetings, opportunities for oral comment will usually be limited to no 
more than three minutes per speaker and no more than fifteen minutes 
total. Deadlines for getting on the public speaker list for a meeting 
are given above. Speakers should bring at least 35 copies of their 
comments and presentation slides for distribution to the reviewers and 
public at the meeting.
    Written Comments: Although the SAB accepts written comments until 
the date of the meeting (unless otherwise stated), written comments 
should be received in the SAB Staff Office at least one week prior to 
the meeting date so that the comments may be made available to the 
committee for their consideration. Comments should be supplied to Mr. 
Butterfield at the address/contact information noted above in the 
following formats: One hard copy with original signature, and one 
electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat, 
WordPerfect, Word, or Rich Text files (in IBM-PC/Windows 95/98 
format)). Those providing written comments and who attend the meeting 
are also asked to bring 35 copies of their comments for public 
distribution.

Meeting Access

    Individuals requiring special accommodation at this meeting, 
including wheelchair access to the conference room, should contact Mr. 
Butterfield at the phone number or e-mail address noted above at least 
five

[[Page 34947]]

business days prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can 
be made.

    Dated: June 4, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-14746 Filed 6-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P