[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 188 (Friday, September 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55207-55208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19146]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8474-5; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0260]


Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health 
Criteria

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of public comment period on Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health Criteria.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Integrated 
Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health Criteria; First External 
Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-07/108). The draft document was prepared by 
the National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of 
Research and Development as part of the Agency's review of the air 
quality criteria for sulfur oxides and the primary (health-based) 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide 
(SO2).
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of 
seeking comment from the public and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory 
Committee (CASAC). It does not represent and should not be construed to 
represent any Agency policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will 
consider any public comments submitted in accordance with this notice 
when revising the document.

DATES: The public comment period begins on or about September 28, 2007. 
Comments must be received on or before November 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides 
Health Criteria; First External Review Draft'' is available primarily 
via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's 
home page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of CD-ROM or paper copies will be 
available. Contact Jee Young Kim by phone: 919-541-4157, fax 919-541-
1818, or e-mail ([email protected]) to request either of these, and 
please provide your name, your mailing address, and the draft document 
title, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health 
Criteria; First External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-07/108) to 
facilitate processing of your request. Comments may be submitted 
electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, 
or by hand delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed instructions 
provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jee Young Kim, NCEA; telephone: 919-
541-4157, facsimile: 919-541-1818, or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act 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 Act, EPA is then to establish national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for each pollutant for which EPA 
has issued criteria. 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 air quality criteria.
    Sulfur oxides are one of six principal (or ``criteria'') pollutants 
for which EPA has established air quality criteria and NAAQS. EPA 
periodically reviews the scientific basis for these standards by 
preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) (formerly called an 
Air Quality Criteria Document). The ISA and supplementary annexes, in 
conjunction with additional technical and policy assessments, provide 
the scientific basis for EPA decisions on the adequacy of a current 
NAAQS and the appropriateness of new or revised standards. The Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), an independent science 
advisory committee established pursuant to section 109 of the Clean Air 
Act and part of the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB), provides 
independent scientific advice on NAAQS matters, including advice on 
EPA's draft ISAs.

[[Page 55208]]

    On May 16, 2006 (71 FR 28023), EPA formally initiated its current 
review of the criteria for Sulfur Oxides, requesting the submission of 
recent scientific information on specified topics. A draft of EPA's 
``Integrated Plan for Review of the Primary National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard for Sulfur Dioxide'' was made available in February 
2007 for public comment and was discussed by the Clean Air Science 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) via a publicly accessible teleconference 
consultation on May 11, 2007 (72 FR 20336). The Plan is being finalized 
and will be made available on EPA's Web site (http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/so2/s_so2_cr_pd.html). In February 2007 (72 FR 
6238), a workshop was held to discuss, with invited scientific experts, 
initial draft materials prepared in the development of the ISA and 
supplementary annexes for sulfur oxides.
    The draft ``Integrated Science Assessment for Sulfur Oxides Health 
Criteria; First External Review Draft'' will be discussed by CASAC at a 
future public meeting; public comments that have been received prior to 
the public meeting will be provided to the CASAC review panel. A future 
Federal Register notice will inform the public of the exact date and 
time of that CASAC meeting.

II. How To Submit Information to the Docket

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-
0260 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-1753.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should 
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit one 
unbound original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of 
the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages 
consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original and 
three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2006-0260. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a 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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The http://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 http://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 http://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 http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: September 21, 2007.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E7-19146 Filed 9-27-07; 8:45 am]
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