[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40718-40720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11343]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0172; FRL-8198-8]


Draft Staff Paper for Ozone

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of a draft for public review and comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On or about July 18, 2006, the Office of Air Quality Planning 
and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA will make available for public review and 
comment a draft document, Review of the National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards for Ozone: Policy Assessment of Scientific and Technical 
Information (Draft Staff Paper) (Chapters 1-5 and 7-8). Chapter 6 
(Staff Conclusions on the Primary Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards) of the Draft Staff Paper will be made available on or about 
July 25, 2006. The purpose of the Staff Paper is to evaluate the policy 
implications of the key scientific and technical information contained 
in a related EPA document, Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Related 
Photochemical Oxidants, required under sections 108 and 109 of the 
Clean Air Act (CAA) for use in the periodic review of the national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone.
    The OAQPS also will make available for public review and comment 
related draft technical support documents, Ozone Population Exposure 
Analysis for Selected Urban Areas (draft Exposure Analysis), Ozone 
Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban Areas (draft Risk 
Assessment), and Technical Report on Ozone Exposure, Risk and Impact 
Assessments for Vegetation (draft Environmental Assessment).

Availability of Documents

    The following documents are available for review by the CASAC Ozone 
Panel in the form of printed copies and a CD-ROM containing these 
electronic files or by downloading the documents from the EPA Web site: 
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/ozone/s_o3_cr_sp.html for 
the Staff Paper and http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/ozone/s_o3_cr_td.html for the technical support documents and staff memos.

[[Page 40719]]


DATES: Comments on the Draft Staff Paper, draft Exposure Analysis, 
draft Risk Assessment, and draft Environmental Assessment should be 
submitted on or before September 18, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2005-0172 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-1741.
     Mail: Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0172, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Mailcode 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: Public Reading Room, Room B102, EPA West 
Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2005-0172. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov 
or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket 
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic 
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact 
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you 
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties 
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to 
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special 
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or 
viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the 
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the address listed above for 
hand delivery of comments. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
Docket telephone number is 202-566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. David McKee, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (Mail Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
[email protected]; telephone: (919) 541-5288; fax: (919) 541-0237.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

II. Background on the Ozone NAAQS Review

    Section 108(a) of the CAA directs the Administrator to identify 
certain pollutants which ``may reasonably be anticipated to endanger 
public health and welfare'' and to issue air quality criteria for them. 
These air quality criteria are to ``accurately reflect the latest 
scientific knowledge useful in indicating the kind and extent of all 
identifiable effects on public health or welfare which may be expected 
from the presence of [a] pollutant in the ambient air * * *'' Under 
section 109 of the CAA, EPA is then to establish NAAQS for each 
pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria. Section 109(d) of the CAA 
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. 
Also, EPA is to retain or, if appropriate revise, the NAAQS based on 
the revised criteria, which have undergone review by the Clean Air 
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
    The CASAC, which is comprised of seven members appointed by the EPA 
Administrator, was established under section 109(d)(2) of the CAA (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 
NAAQS under sections 108 and 109 of the CAA. The CASAC is a Federal 
advisory committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as 
amended, 5 U.S.C., App. The CASAC Ozone Review Panel consists of the 
members of the chartered CASAC, is supplemented by subject-matter 
experts, and complies with the provisions of FACA.
    Ozone is one of six ``criteria'' pollutants for which EPA has 
established air quality criteria and NAAQS. Presently, EPA is reviewing

[[Page 40720]]

the criteria and NAAQS for ozone. This review includes preparation of 
two key documents, the Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Related 
Photochemical Oxidants (``Criteria Document'') and a related ``Staff 
Paper.'' The purpose of the Staff Paper is to evaluate the policy 
implications of the key scientific and technical information contained 
in the Criteria Document and identify critical elements that EPA staff 
believe should be considered in reviewing the NAAQS. The Staff Paper is 
intended to ``bridge the gap'' between the scientific review contained 
in the Criteria Document and the public health and welfare policy 
judgments required of the Administrator in reviewing the NAAQS.
    In January 2005, a first external review draft of the Criteria 
Document was released by EPA for public review and comment and for 
review by the CASAC of EPA's Science Advisory Board (70 FR 4850, 
January 31, 2005) at a public meeting held in May 2005. Comments 
received from review of the first draft document were considered in 
preparing the second draft Criteria Document released for public review 
and comment in August 2005 (70 FR 51810, August 31, 2005). Based on 
this document, the first Draft Staff Paper was released in November 
2005 (70 FR 69761, November 17, 2005), and reviewed at a public meeting 
on December 8, 2005. Based on the information contained in the final 
Criteria Document, released in March 2006 (71 FR 10030, February 28, 
2006), the second Draft Staff Paper includes assessments and analyses 
related to: (1) Air quality characterization; (2) integration and 
evaluation of health information; (3) exposure analysis; (4) health 
risk assessment; and (5) evaluation of information on vegetation damage 
and other welfare effects. The second Draft Staff Paper contains staff 
conclusions and options with respect to possible retention or revision 
of the current primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) 
standards and identifies alternative standards for consideration by the 
Administrator.
    The draft Exposure Analysis, Risk Assessment and Environmental 
Assessment technical support documents describe and present the results 
from an ozone exposure analysis and health risk assessment in several 
urban areas, and the impact of ozone on the environment. Draft plans 
upon which these assessments are based, the Ozone Health Assessment 
Plan: Scope and Methods for Exposure Analysis and Risk Assessment and 
the Scope and Methods for Environmental Assessment Plan, were 
previously reviewed by CASAC and the public. Comments received on those 
plans have been considered in developing the draft Exposure Analysis, 
Risk Assessment and Environmental Assessment technical support 
documents being released at this time. The exposure analysis, risk 
assessment, and environmental assessment methodologies and results are 
also discussed in the second Draft Staff Paper.
    The EPA is soliciting advice and recommendations from the CASAC by 
means of a peer review of the second Draft Staff Paper and drafts of 
the Exposure Analysis, Risk Assessment, and Environmental Assessment at 
an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC scheduled for August 24 and 25, 
2006. A Federal Register notice will inform the public of the location 
of that meeting. Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will consider 
comments received from CASAC and the public in preparing a final Staff 
Paper and final Exposure Analysis, Risk Assessment, and Environmental 
Assessment technical support documents.

    Dated: July 13, 2006.
Mary E. Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
 [FR Doc. E6-11343 Filed 7-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P