[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 141 (Monday, July 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42544-42545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14607]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7943-3]


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 (CASAC) Particulate Matter 
(PM) Review Panel (Panel) to review the EPA staff recommendations 
concerning a potential thoracic coarse PM standard in the final PM 
Staff Paper.

DATES: August 11, 2005. The teleconference meeting will be held on 
August 11, 2005, from 1 to 5 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, should 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 being held for the CASAC PM Review 
Panel to review EPA staff recommendations concerning a potential 
thoracic coarse PM standard found in the Review of the National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment of 
Scientific and Technical Information (OAQPS Staff Paper, EPA-452/R-05-
005, June 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 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 review by the CASAC PM Review Panel and the 
public 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

[[Page 42545]]

(70 FR 5443, February 2, 2005). The CASAC PM Review Panel's final 
report from its review of the second draft PM Staff Paper and the 
second draft PM Risk Assessment (EPA-SAB-CASAC-05-007, dated June 6, 
2005) is posted on the SAB Web site at URL: http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/casacpmpanel.html. Taking into account the advice and 
recommendations of the CASAC PM Review Panel and comments from the 
public, EPA released the final PM Staff Paper on June 30, 2005.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The final PM Staff Paper with 
its appendices, and related technical reports and memoranda, are posted 
on EPA's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html in the ``Documents 
from Current Review'' section, under ``Staff Papers'' and ``Technical 
Documents,'' respectively. 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. Any questions concerning the final PM Staff 
Paper and associated technical reports, etc. 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: The SAB Staff 
Office accepts written public comments of any length, and will 
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 repeat 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 will be allotted 
for all 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 or teleconference (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: July 12, 2005.
Anthony Maciorowski,
Acting Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 05-14607 Filed 7-22-05; 8:45 am]
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