[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69117-69118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20220]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-2006-0735; FRL-8249-5]


First Draft Staff Paper for Lead

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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

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SUMMARY: On or about December 4, 2006, the Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA will make available for public 
review and comment a first draft document, Review of the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead: Policy Assessment of Scientific 
and Technical Information (Draft Staff Paper). 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 Lead, 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 lead. On or about December 15, 2006, the 
OAQPS also will make available for public review and comment the 
related draft technical support document, Lead Human Exposure and 
Health Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessment for Selected 
Areas (Pilot Phase).

DATES: Comments on the draft Staff Paper and draft Risk Assessment must 
be received on or before January 26, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2006-0735, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) 
to [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-
0735.
     Fax: Fax your comments to: 202-566-1741, Attention Docket 
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
     Mail: Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 6102T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: EPA 
Docket Center, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Room 3334, 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-
2006-0735. 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 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 Air Docket in the EPA 
Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC. 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) 566-1744; fax (202) 566-1741.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Zachary Pekar, 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) 541-3704; fax: (919) 541-0237.

General Information

A. 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.

[[Page 69118]]

     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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. The EPA is also to revise the 
NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised criteria.
    Lead is one of six ``criteria'' pollutants for which EPA has 
established air quality criteria and NAAQS. Presently, EPA is reviewing 
the criteria and NAAQS for lead. This review includes preparation of 
two key documents, the Air Quality Criteria for Lead (``Criteria 
Document'') and a related ``Staff Paper''. The EPA completed its final 
Criteria Document for lead in October 2006 (71 FR 57508; September 29, 
2006).
    The purpose of the first draft Staff Paper is to evaluate the 
policy implications of the key scientific and technical information 
contained in the final Air Quality Criteria Document (AQCD) 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 AQCD and the 
public health and welfare policy judgments required of the 
Administrator in reviewing the NAAQS.
    Availability of the first external review draft of the Air Quality 
Criteria for Lead (EPA/600/R-05/144aA-bA), was announced in the Federal 
Register on December 2, 2005 (70 FR 72300). The Clean Air Science 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) Lead Review Panel reviewed the first 
external review draft at a public meeting on February 28 and March 1, 
2006.
    The EPA considered comments of the CASAC review panel and the 
public in revising the draft AQCD for lead. Availability of the second 
external review draft of the Air Quality Criteria for Lead (EPA/600/R-
05/144aB-bB), was announced in the Federal Register on May 19, 2006 (71 
FR 29152). The CASAC Lead Review Panel reviewed the second external 
review draft at a public meeting on June 28, 2006. The EPA provided 
revised Integrative Synthesis and Executive Summary chapters of the 
draft AQCD for Lead to the public and CASAC for review in July 2006. 
The CASAC Lead Review Panel met via a publicly accessible 
teleconference on August 15, 2006, to review these revised chapters (71 
FR 40516). The EPA has considered the comments of the CASAC Lead Review 
Panel and of the public in preparing the final Air Quality Criteria for 
Lead. The final AQCD for Lead was released in October, 2006 (71 FR 71 
57508; September 29, 2006).
    Based on the information contained in the AQCD, the 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 
first draft Staff Paper contains no staff conclusions and 
recommendations with respect to possible revisions to the current 
standards. A second draft of the Staff Paper will include staff 
conclusions and recommendations on potential revision or retention of 
the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) lead NAAQS.
    The draft technical support document Lead Human Exposure and Health 
Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessment for Selected Areas 
(Pilot Phase) describes and present the results from a lead exposure 
analysis and health risk assessment involving several case study 
locations. A draft plan, Analysis Plan for Human Health and Ecological 
Risk Assessment for the Review of the Pb National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards, was previously reviewed by CASAC and the public. Comments 
received on that plan have been considered in developing the Lead Human 
Exposure and Health Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessment for 
Selected Areas (Pilot Phase) technical support document being released 
at this time. The exposure analysis and risk assessment methodologies 
and results are also discussed in the draft Staff Paper.
    The EPA is soliciting early advice and recommendations from the 
CASAC by means of a consultation on the first draft Staff Paper and 
first draft Risk Assessment at an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC. 
A Federal Register notice will inform the public of the date and 
location of that meeting. Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will 
consider comments received from the CASAC and the public in preparing a 
second draft of the Staff Paper and the Lead Human Exposure and Health 
Risk Assessments and Ecological Risk Assessment for Selected Areas 
(Full-Scale Phase) technical support document. Preparation of this 
draft staff paper is consistent with the Agency meeting a court-ordered 
schedule for completion of the proposed rule (May 1, 2008) and final 
rule (September 1, 2008).

    Dated: November 21, 2006.
Jeffrey S. Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E6-20220 Filed 11-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P