[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 95 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27921-27922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-11113]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7662-7, Docket ID No. A-94-34]


Clean Air Act Advisory Committee: Notice Soliciting Interest in 
Participating on a Task Force on the Performance of the Title V 
Operating Permits Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2 
(Pub. L. 92-463), EPA announces the formation of a work group to be 
known as the Title V Task Force. This task force will seek input from 
the public including industry, State, and local air pollution control 
agencies, and environmental interest groups, on the performance of the 
title V operating permits programs. The ultimate goal of the title V 
task force will be to draft a report for consideration of the 
Permitting/Toxics Subcommittee to the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee 
(CAAAC) to document how the title V program is performing and what 
elements are working well and/or poorly. The draft report may include 
suggestions on how to improve the program.
    Through this notice, EPA solicits individuals to participate as 
members of the task force. We are looking for 12 to 24 individuals 
willing to attend at least three all-day meetings throughout the United 
States, participate in a number of conference calls, and participate in 
drafting the report to the subcommittee.
    In addition, we are announcing three all-day public meetings of the 
task force. The first meeting will be held in late June in the 
Washington, DC, area. The second meeting will probably be held in mid-
September in the Chicago area. The third meeting will likely be held in 
late January 2005 in a western location such as Phoenix, Arizona.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ray Vogel, Information Transfer 
and Program Implementation Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, Mail Code C304-04, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone (919) 541-3153; 
fax number: (919) 541-5509; and e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. What Is the Purpose of This Notice and Task Force?

    The purpose of this notice is to announce an EPA effort to gather 
information from stakeholders on the performance of the title V 
operating permits program. Specifically, this notice has two purposes: 
(1) To solicit interest in participation on an EPA-chaired task force 
formed to investigate this performance, and (2) to announce a series of 
all-day public meetings that will be held by this task force.
    When Congress amended the Clean Air Act (Act) in 1990, it 
established an operating permits program in title V of the Act. Title V 
mandates that EPA establish minimum standards for an operating permits 
program for major and certain other stationary sources of air 
pollution. In 1992 and 1996, EPA promulgated regulations setting forth 
minimum requirements for State, local, and Tribal operating permits 
programs (40 CFR part 70) and for the Federal operating permits program 
(40 CFR part 71).
    Almost 12 years have passed since EPA promulgated the initial 
regulations for this program. To better fulfill its oversight 
responsibilities, as envisioned by Congress, EPA now wants to assess 
the effectiveness of this program. The Permitting/Toxics Subcommittee 
of the

[[Page 27922]]

CAAAC, a group of stakeholders that advise EPA on air environmental 
issues, plans to convene a task force that will report to the 
subcommittee on the experiences of stakeholders who have been working 
in the title V permitting arena (i.e., a ``state of the title V 
programs'' report). The draft report should reflect the perspectives of 
all stakeholder groups and should reflect an effort to answer two 
questions: (1) How well is the title V program performing, and (2) what 
elements of the program are working well/poorly? To satisfy these 
goals, the subcommittee is setting up a task force for this purpose. 
The task force will be made up of EPA and title V stakeholders and will 
host at least three public meetings to obtain information from 
stakeholders about how the program has been implemented.

B. How Do I Become a Member of the Task Force and What Is Required of 
Members?

    The EPA is looking for a 12 to 24 member task force with balanced 
participation from industry, State/local agencies, and environmental 
groups. For industry, we are interested in plant personnel with direct 
title V experience and those who assist these personnel with title V 
permitting. For environmental groups, we are interested in 
organizations and members of the public with title V experience. The 
time commitment and duties for task force members will involve at least 
three all-day meetings to be held throughout the U.S. and include 
preparation and post-meeting duties. Duties will include preparing for 
and attending all meetings, sharing your own title V experiences, 
engaging with other meeting attendees, and assisting with drafting the 
report. Conference calls could be required in addition to the meetings.
    The best candidates for the task force will be those with direct 
experience in title V permits and their implementation, those able to 
represent views of others in your stakeholder group (for example, a 
State or local agency having membership in a regional planning 
organization such as Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use 
Management or Western States Air Resources Council) and those who can 
commit to traveling to all three meetings. The EPA does not have 
funding to pay for travel. Please note that if you cannot be on the 
task force, but you have title V permitting experiencies to share, we 
still encourage your participation in one of the three public meetings.
    If you are interested in being considered for this task force, 
please submit your name, organization, telphone number, e-mail address, 
a short statement of your interest and qualifications, and your ability 
to fulfill the duties of the task force to Ray Vogel (see For Further 
Information Contact section) within 2 weeks of the date of this notice.

C. How Do I Participate in the Public Meetings?

    We will post the day, time, and location of each meeting on the 
CAAAC Web site: www.epa.gov/oar/caaac/. We invite anyone with title V 
experience to share their perspectives with the task force at these 
meetings. The agenda will consist of hearing from each attendee and any 
questions the task force might have. Attendees will register when they 
arrive and be given a number. After some brief logistical remarks by 
the task force chair (no formal remarks will be made by the task 
force), we will call on the first registrant and proceed until we have 
heard from all attendees. Each attendee will be given 5 minutes to 
speak followed by time for the task force to ask questions or seek 
clarifications. People wishing to speak are encouraged to submit a 
brief summary of their title V experiences to Ray Vogel (see For 
Further Information CONTACT section) 2 weeks before the meeting, and 
you should bring a copy to submit at the public meeting. The meeting 
will be recorded and a transcript will be made and placed in the public 
docket. In your remarks, we ask that you focus on your experiencies of 
what is working well in the title V program, what you feel is not 
working well and, if you choose, what remedy you recommend and how it 
would correct the concern(s) you identified. We encourage participants 
to give actual examples of your experiencies with title V 
implementation including what is working well.

D. How Do I Find Out About These Public Meetings?

    The EPA plans for at least three public meetings. The first is 
being planned for late June in the Washington, DC, area; the second in 
mid-September in Chicago; and the third next winter, likely late 
January 2005, in Phoenix, Arizona. You are requested to access the 
CAAAC Web site at www.epa.gov/oar/caaac/ for the dates and logistics of 
all future meetings. You may also contact Ray Vogel at (919) 541-3153.

E. How Do I Get Copies of the Draft Report of the Task Force and Other 
Public Information Related to the Task Force's Work?

    The EPA has established a public docket for the CAAAC under docket 
ID No. A-94-34. The official public docket will consist of documents 
specifically related to the activities of the task force, including 
Federal Register notices, any written public comments received at the 
meetings, transcripts of public meetings, and the draft report of the 
task force. The public docket does not include confidential business 
information or any other information for which public disclosure is 
restricted by statute, and thus, you should not submit such information 
for the docket. The official public docket is a collection of materials 
available for public viewing at the Air Docket in the EPA Docket 
Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, 
and the telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742. A 
reasonable fee may be charged for copying.

    Dated: May 6, 2004.
Gregory A. Green,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 04-11113 Filed 5-14-04; 8:45 am]
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