[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 152 (Thursday, August 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47060-47061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20163]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7541-1]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC); Notification of Advisory Committee Meeting 
of the CASAC Particulate Matter Review Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board 
(SAB) Staff Office, announces a public meeting of the Clean Air 
Scientific Advisory Committee's (CASAC) Particulate Matter

[[Page 47061]]

(PM) Review Panel to review the EPA Air Quality Criteria for 
Particulate Matter (Fourth External Review Draft).

DATES: The meeting will be held August 25 and 26, 2003, from 8:30 a.m. 
to 5:30 p.m. (eastern time) on both days.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at the EPA campus, Building C, 
in EPA's Main Auditorium (Room C111), 109 Alexander Drive, Research 
Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina. A publicly-accessible 
teleconference line will be available for the entire meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain the teleconference call-in numbers and access codes should 
contact Ms. Delores Darden, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff, at 
telephone/voice mail: (202) 564-2282, or e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Any member of the public who wants further information concerning 
this meeting, or who wishes to submit written or brief oral comments (5 
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/voice mail: (202) 564-4561; fax: (202) 501-0582; or e-mail: 
[email protected]. Requests to provide 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 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 CASAC PM Review Panel prior to the 
meeting. See additional instructions in the section below entitled, 
``Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings.'' 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, which 
comprises seven members appointed by the EPA Administrator, was 
established under section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7409) as an independent scientific advisory committee, in part to 
provide advice, information and recommendations on the scientific and 
technical aspects of issues related to air quality criteria and 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) under sections 108 and 
109 of the Act. The CASAC is a Federal advisory committee chartered 
under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., 
App. The CASAC PM Review Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA 
and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    The PM Review Panel is charged with conducting a peer review of the 
EPA Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter (Fourth External Review 
Draft). This is a continuation of the Panel's review of the Third 
External Review Draft of this document (67 FR 41723, June 19, 2002). 
The CASAC PM Review Panel's report, comments and recommendations from 
this review, dated September 30, 2002, can be found on the SAB Web site 
at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/casacl02003.pdf.
    Background: EPA is in the process of updating, and revising where 
appropriate, the Air Quality Criteria Document (AQCD) for PM as issued 
in 1996. Section 109(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that EPA 
carry out a periodic review and revision, where appropriate, of the air 
quality criteria and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 
for ``criteria'' air pollutants such as PM. On June 30, 2003, the 
National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), within EPA's 
Office of Research and Development, made available for public review 
and comment a Fourth External Review Draft of a revised document, EPA 
Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter. Under CAA sections 108 and 
109, the purpose of the revised document is to provide an assessment of 
the latest scientific information on the effects of airborne PM on the 
public health and welfare, for use in EPA's current review of the NAAQS 
for PM. Detailed summary information on the history of the current 
draft AQCD for PM is contained in a previous EPA Federal Register 
notice (68 FR 36985, June 20, 2003). The EPA Air Quality Criteria for 
Particulate Matter (Fourth External Review Draft) can be viewed and 
downloaded from the NCEA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/ncea. Any 
questions concerning the draft document should be directed to Dr. 
Robert Elias, NCEA-RTP, at telephone: (919) 541-1818; or e-mail: 
[email protected].
    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 at: http://www.epa.gov/sab (under the 
``Agendas'' subheading) in advance of the CASAC PM Review Panel 
meeting. 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 Staff Office to accept written 
public comments of any length, and to accommodate oral public comments 
whenever possible. The EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office 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 Staff Office 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 business days prior to the meeting so that 
appropriate arrangements can be made.

    Dated: July 31, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-20163 Filed 8-6-03; 8:45 am]
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