[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 22864]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8789]



[[Page 22864]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7907-4]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science 
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of 
the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAS) Particulate Matter 
(PM) Review Panel (Panel) to review and approve the Panel's report from 
its April 6-7, 2005 meeting to conduct a peer review of the Agency's 
second draft PM Staff Paper and a related draft technical support 
document, the second draft PM Risk Assessment.

DATES: May 18, 2005. The teleconference meeting will be held on May 18, 
2005, from 1 to 4 p.m. (eastern time).

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; or wants further information 
concerning this teleconference 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 SAB can be found on 
the EPA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Summary: The CASAC, which is comprised of seven members appointed 
by the EPA Administrator, was established under section 109(d)(2) of 
the Clean Air Act (CAA or 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 complies with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB 
Staff Office procedural policies.
    This teleconference meeting is a continuation of the CASAC PM 
Review Panel's peer review of the Review of the National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment of 
Scientific and Technical Information (second draft PM Staff Paper, 
January 2005); and a related draft technical support document, 
Particulate Matter Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban Areas: 
Second Draft Report (second draft PM Risk Assessment, January 2005).
    Background: Under section 108 of the CAA, the Agency is required to 
establish NAAQS for each pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria, 
including PM. Section 109(d) of the Act subsequently requires periodic 
review and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria 
to reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the 
pollutant on public health and welfare. EPA is also to revise the 
NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised criteria. The purpose of 
the second draft PM Staff Paper is to evaluate the policy implications 
of the key scientific and technical information contained in a related 
document, EPA's revised Air Quality Criteria Document (AQCD) for PM 
(October 2004), and to identify critical elements that EPA staff 
believes should be considered in the review of the PM NAAQS. The Staff 
Paper for PM is intended to ``bridge the gap'' between the scientific 
review contained in the PM AQCD and the public health and welfare 
policy judgments required of the Administrator in reviewing the PM 
NAAQS. The Agency's second draft PM Staff Paper and the second draft PM 
Risk Assessment were made available for public review and comment on 
January 31, 2005 by EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 
(OAQPS), within the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). Detailed summary 
information on these documents is contained in a previous EPA Federal 
Register notice (70 FR 5443, February 2, 2005).
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The Panel's draft report from 
its review of the second draft PM Staff Paper and the second draft PM 
Risk Assessment will be posted on the SAB Web site at URL: http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/casacpmpanel.html prior to this teleconference. 
In addition, a copy of the draft meeting agenda will be posted at: 
http://www.epa.gov/sab/agendas.htm in advance of this teleconference. 
The second draft PM Staff Paper and the second draft PM Risk Assessment 
can be accessed via EPA's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web site 
at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html under 
``Staff Papers'' and ``Technical Documents,'' respectively. Any 
questions concerning the second draft Staff Paper and the second draft 
PM Risk Assessment should be directed to Dr. Mary Ross, OAQPS, at 
phone: (919) 541-5170, or e-mail: [email protected].
    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 face-
to-face meetings and teleconferences 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 
CASAC meeting or teleconference is limited to a total time of five 
minutes (unless otherwise indicated). However, no more than 30 minutes 
total will be allotted for oral public comments at this teleconference; 
therefore, the time allowed for each speaker's comments will be 
adjusted accordingly. In addition, for scheduling purposes, 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: 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, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files (in IBM-PC/
Windows 98/2000/XP format).

    Dated: April 25, 2005.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 05-8789 Filed 5-2-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M