[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60363-60365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26664]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7577-3]


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 (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office, announces a public

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meeting of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee's (CASAC) 
Particulate Matter (PM) Review Panel to: discuss follow-on matters 
related to its ongoing peer review of the EPA Air Quality Criteria 
Document for Particulate Matter (Fourth External Review Draft); and 
conduct a peer review of the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment of Scientific and 
Technical Information (OAQPS Staff Paper--First Draft) and a related 
draft technical report, Particulate Matter Health Risk Assessment for 
Selected Urban Areas (Draft Report).

DATES: The meeting will be held November 12 and 13, 2003, from 8:30 
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) on both days.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place in Research Triangle Park (RTP), 
North Carolina, or the immediate vicinity. Once the meeting location 
has been determined, and in no case later than five business days prior 
to the meeting, this information will be posted on the SAB Web site at: 
http://www.epa.gov/sab. 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], or Ms. Sandra Friedman, EPA Science Advisory 
Board Staff, at telephone/voice mail: (202) 564-2526, 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 
(five 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: (1) Discussing follow-on 
matters related to the Panel's ongoing peer review of the EPA Air 
Quality Criteria Document for Particulate Matter (Fourth External 
Review Draft); and (2) conducting a peer review of the Review of the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy 
Assessment of Scientific and Technical Information (OAQPS Staff Paper--
First Draft) and a related draft technical report, Particulate Matter 
Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban Areas (Draft Report).
    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 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 AQCD for PM should 
be directed to Dr. Robert Elias, NCEA-RTP, at telephone: (919) 541-
4167; or e-mail: [email protected]. The first element of the charge 
to the CASAC PM Review Panel contained in the ``Summary'' section above 
is a follow-on to the Panel's review of the EPA Air Quality Criteria 
Document for Particulate Matter (Fourth External Review Draft). This 
review first took place in a public meeting held in RTP on August 25-
26, 2003 (68 FR 47060, August 7, 2003) and was continued during a 
public teleconference meeting held on October 3, 2003 (68 FR 53734, 
September 12, 2003).
    Furthermore, On August 29, 2003, the Office of Air Quality Planning 
and Standards (OAQPS), within EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, made 
available for public review and comment (68 FR 51774, August 28, 2003) 
the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 
Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment of Scientific and Technical 
Information (OAQPS Staff Paper--First Draft) (first draft PM Staff 
Paper) and a related technical report, Particulate Matter Health Risk 
Assessment for Selected Urban Areas (Draft Report) (draft PM Risk 
Assessment). The purpose of the first draft Staff Paper is to evaluate 
the policy implications of the key scientific and technical information 
contained in the EPA's AQCD for PM, and to identify critical elements 
that EPA believes should be considered in the review of the PM NAAQS. 
In essence, the Staff Paper is intended to ``bridge the gap'' between 
the scientific review contained in the AQCD for PM and the public 
health and welfare policy judgments required of the EPA Administrator 
in reviewing the PM NAAQS. The draft Risk Assessment describes and 
presents the preliminary results from a PM health risk assessment for 
fine particles (PM2.5), coarse fraction particles 
(PM10-2.5), and PM10. The risk assessment 
methodology and preliminary results also are summarized in the first 
draft Staff Paper. Detailed summary information on the history of the 
first draft Staff Paper and draft Risk Assessment is contained in a 
previous EPA Federal Register notice (68 FR 51774). The Review of the 
National

[[Page 60365]]

Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment 
of Scientific and Technical Information (OAQPS Staff Paper--First 
Draft) and Particulate Matter Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban 
Areas (Draft Report) can be viewed and downloaded from EPA's Technology 
Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html. Any questions concerning the first 
draft Staff Paper and draft Risk Assessment for PM should be directed 
to Dr. Mary Ross, OAQPS-RTP, at telephone: (919) 541-5170, or e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Availability of Additional Meeting Materials: A copy of the draft 
agenda for the meeting that is 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.
    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). Deadlines for getting on the public 
speaker list for a meeting are provided 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 PDF, 
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: October 16, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-26664 Filed 10-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P