[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34004-34005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11960]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8329-1]


Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur (NOX/SOX) Secondary National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Workshop

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of workshop.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing that a workshop entitled ``Oxides of 
Nitrogen and Sulfur (NOX/SOX) Secondary National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Workshop'' is being organized by 
EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), Office of 
Research and Development and EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards (OAQPS), Office of Air and Radiation. The workshop will be 
held on July 17, 18 and 19, 2007 in Research Triangle Park, North 
Carolina. The workshop will be open to attendance by interested public 
observers on a first-come, first-served basis up to the limits of 
available space.

DATES: The workshop entitled ``Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur 
(NOX/SOX) Secondary National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS) Workshop'' will be held on July 17, 18, and 19, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the Carolina Inn in Chapel 
Hill, North Carolina. An EPA contractor, SAIC, is providing logistical 
support for the workshop. For further information on the workshop, 
contact Ms. Kristen Wheeler, SAIC Conference Coordinator, 11251 Roger 
Bacon Drive, Reston, VA 20190, telephone: 703-318-4535; facsimile: 703-
318-4755; e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information, 
registration, and logistics for the workshops should be directed to the 
SAIC Conference Coordinator listed in ADDRESSES above.
    Additional questions regarding the secondary NOX/
SOX NAAQS workshop should be directed to Dr. Tara Greaver, 
U.S. EPA, NCEA, telephone: 919-541-2435; facsimile: 919-541-1818; e-
mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Summary of Information About the Workshops

    The U.S. Clean Air Act requires that EPA carry out periodic reviews 
of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for major 
``criteria'' air pollutants and to revise the NAAQS for a given 
pollutant, as appropriate. The Agency is in the process of reviewing 
the secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for Oxides of Nitrogen 
(NOX) and Sulfur Oxides (SOX). EPA has recognized 
the merit of integrating the science assessment for these two 
pollutants, particularly for ecological and welfare effects, based on 
the important interrelationships for NOX and SOX 
in both their atmospheric chemistry and their effects on the 
environment. Therefore, EPA is conducting a joint

[[Page 34005]]

assessment of the secondary NAAQS for NOX and 
SOX.
    As part of the NAAQS reviews, the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) 
will assess newly available scientific information in Integrated 
Science Assessment (ISA) documents (formerly known as Air Quality 
Criteria Documents) that will be supported by more detailed and 
comprehensive annexes. The assessments in these documents are intended 
to provide the scientific bases for the reviews of the NAAQS. EPA's 
Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) will prepare risk 
and exposure assessment analyses, as appropriate, drawing upon the 
scientific evidence summarized in the ISA. Subsequently, the EPA 
expects to prepare a policy assessment, to be published as an advance 
notice of proposed rulemaking, that will discuss, in part, the findings 
of the science and risk/exposure assessments related to the adequacy of 
the standards and describe a range of options for revising or retaining 
the NAAQS.
    EPA is holding this workshop to inform the Agency's assessment of 
the scientific evidence for the review of the secondary NAAQS for 
NOX and SOX. The workshop will address various 
issues involved in the preparation of the draft material for the ISA 
and annexes. This workshop is planned to help ensure that the ISA 
provides an up-to-date, state-of-the-art scientific basis for the 
review of the NAAQS. Workshop discussions will be focused on 
identifying and integrating scientific evidence that is relevant for 
future risk and exposure analyses to include in the ISA.
    This workshop is being held in conjunction with a workshop entitled 
``Workshop to Discuss Policy-Relevant Science to Inform EPA's 
Integrated Plan for the Review of the Secondary Particulate Matter (PM) 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)'' (see accompanying 
Notice of Workshop).

    Dated: June 14, 2007.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E7-11960 Filed 6-19-07; 8:45 am]
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