[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32344-32345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13030]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL -7672-1]


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

DATES: The meeting will be held July 20, 2004, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 
p.m. (eastern time), and July 21, 2004, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. 
(eastern time).
    Location: The meeting will take place at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 
Raleigh-Durham-Research Triangle East, 201 Harrison Oaks Boulevard, 
Cary, North Carolina. A publicly-accessible teleconference line will be 
available for the entire meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes to 
obtain the teleconference call-in numbers and access codes; would like 
to submit written or brief oral comments (5 minutes or less); or wants 
further information concerning this meeting, must contact Mr. Fred 
Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory 
Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/voice mail: (202) 343-
9994; fax: (202) 233-0643; or e-mail at: [email protected]. 
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 CASAC, 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

[[Page 32345]]

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 meeting is a continuation of the PM Review Panel's peer review 
of the EPA Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter (Fourth External 
Review Draft). The CASAC PM Review Panel's reports, comments and 
recommendations from its last two reviews concerning this draft 
document can be found on the SAB Web site, as follows: (1) August 25-
26, 2003 meeting, http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/casacl04002.pdf; and (2) 
February 3, 2004 teleconference, http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/casac_04005.pdf. Specifically, this meeting will be held to discuss the 
revisions to Chapter 7 (Toxicology of Particulate Matter in Humans and 
Laboratory Animals); Chapter 8 (Epidemiology of Human Health Effects 
Associated with Ambient Particulate Matter); and Chapter 9 (Integrative 
Synthesis) of the Fourth External Review Draft of the Air Quality 
Criteria Document (AQCD) for PM.
    Background: EPA is in the process of updating, and revising where 
appropriate, the 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 Federal Register notice (68 FR 
36985, June 20, 2003). The EPA Air Quality Criteria for Particulate 
Matter (Fourth External Review Draft) and revised chapters of this 
draft document can be viewed and downloaded from the NCEA Web site at: 
http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/partmatt.cfm. Any questions concerning 
the draft document should be directed to Dr. Robert Elias, NCEA-RTP, 
via telephone: (919) 541-1818; or e-mail at: [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 SAB Staff Office to accept written public comments of any 
length, and to accommodate oral public comments whenever possible. The 
SAB 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 five minutes (unless otherwise indicated). 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. 
Speakers should bring at least 75 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 no later 
than noon Eastern Time five business days prior to the meeting so that 
the comments may be made available to the CASAC PM Review Panel for 
their consideration. Comments should be supplied to Mr. Butterfield 
(preferably via e-mail) at the address/contact information noted above, 
as follows: 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 75 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: June 20, 2004.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 04-13030 Filed 6-8-04; 8:45 am]
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