[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65335-65336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22665]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8498-1]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office, EPA Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee; Notification of a Public Advisory Committee Meeting 
of the CASAC Lead Review Panel for the Review of the Lead National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards

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 meeting of the 
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Lead Review Panel 
(CASAC Panel) to review the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(ANPR) on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Lead.

DATES: The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. (Eastern Time) on 
Wednesday, December 12, 2007, through 1 p.m. (Eastern Time) on 
Thursday, December 13, 2007.
    Location: The meeting will take place at the Mandarin Oriental, 
1330 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20024, telephone: 202-554-
8588.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes to 
submit a written or brief oral statement (five minutes or less) or 
wants further information concerning these meetings must contact Mr. 
Fred Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Mr. Butterfield may 
be contacted at the EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; or 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: 
    Background: 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. The CASAC provides 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 Act. The CASAC is chartered under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. The CASAC Lead Review 
Panel consists of the seven members of the chartered CASAC supplemented 
by subject matter experts. The CASAC Lead Review Panel provides advice 
and recommendations to EPA concerning lead in ambient air. The Panel 
complies with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff 
Office procedural policies.
    Section 109(d)(1) of the CAA requires that the Agency periodically 
review and revise, as appropriate, the air quality criteria and the 
NAAQS for the ``criteria'' air pollutants, including lead. In February 
2007, the CASAC Panel met to conduct a peer-review of the Agency's 1st 
Draft Lead Staff Paper and the Draft Lead Exposure and Risk Assessments 
technical support document, developed by EPA's Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (OAQPS), within the Office of Air and Radiation 
(OAR). The 1st Draft Lead Staff Paper, which is based on key scientific 
and technical information contained in the Agency's Final Air Quality 
Criteria Document (AQCD) for Lead, included assessments and preliminary 
analyses related to air quality characterization, integration and 
evaluation of health information, human exposure analysis and health 
risk assessment, and evaluation and analysis of information on 
vegetation damage and other welfare effects. The Draft Lead Exposure 
and Risk Assessments technical support document described the 
methodology and presented the results of the pilot phase human exposure 
and health risk assessments and ecological risk assessments for a 
number of case studies. The CASAC's letter/report to the Administrator 
concerning this review (EPA-CASAC-07-003, dated March 27, 2007) is 
posted on the SAB Web site.
    In August 2007, the CASAC Panel held a public advisory meeting to 
review EPA's 2nd Draft Lead Human Exposure and Health Risk Assessments 
document, which was limited in focus to draft lead human exposure and 
health risk assessments for selected, full-scale case studies. The 
CASAC's letter/report to the Administrator concerning this review (EPA-
CASAC-07-007, dated September 27, 2007) is posted on the SAB Web site. 
In that letter, the CASAC indicated it would review the Agency's Final 
Lead Staff Paper and Final Lead Risk Assessment Report for the purpose 
of offering additional, unsolicited advice to the EPA Administrator as 
the Agency develops the proposed rule for the Lead NAAQS. On November 
1, 2007, EPA released the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards for Lead: Policy Assessment

[[Page 65336]]

of Scientific and Technical Information--OAQPS Staff Paper (Final Lead 
Staff Paper, November 2007), in accordance with a court-ordered 
schedule; and the related technical support document, Lead: Human 
Exposure and Health Risk Assessments for Selected Case Studies (Final 
Lead Risk Assessment Report, November 2007).
    The Agency is implementing its new and improved process for 
conducting NAAQS reviews (http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/) during the 
course of the Lead NAAQS review. As part of this revised NAAQS review 
process, the Agency intends to issue an ANPR on the NAAQS for Lead 
around the end of November 2007 for publication in the Federal 
Register. The ANPR, which draws heavily from EPA's Final Lead Staff 
Paper and the Final Lead Risk Assessment Report, presents the range of 
policy options that the Agency is considering with respect to the NAAQS 
for Lead. The purpose of this public advisory meeting is for the CASAC 
to provide independent advice and recommendations on these policy 
options under consideration by EPA.
    Technical Contacts: Any questions concerning the ANPR or the 
Agency's Final Lead Staff Paper or Final Lead Risk Assessment Report 
can be directed to Dr. Deirdre Murphy, OAQPS, at telephone: 919-541-
0729, or e-mail: [email protected].
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The Final Lead Staff Paper and 
the Final Lead Risk Assessment Report are posted on the Agency's 
Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at URL: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_index.html, in the ``Documents from 
Current Review'' section under ``Staff Papers'' and ``Technical 
Documents,'' respectively. Around the end of November 2007, the Agency 
will sign the ANPR for publication in the Federal Register, and will 
also post this on the same Web site at the URL above, in the 
``Documents from Current Review'' section under ``Federal Register 
Notices.'' A copy of the draft agenda and other materials for this 
CASAC meeting will be posted on the SAB Web site prior to the meeting.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the CASAC 
Lead Review Panel to consider during the advisory process. Oral 
Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an oral 
presentation at a public meeting will be limited to five minutes per 
speaker, with no more than a total of one hour for all speakers. 
Interested parties should contact Mr. Butterfield, DFO, in writing 
(preferably via e-mail), by Wednesday, December 5, 2007, at the contact 
information noted above, to be placed on the list of public speakers 
for these meetings. Written Statements: Written statements should be 
received in the SAB Staff Office by Friday, December 7, 2007, so that 
the information may be made available to the CASAC Panel for their 
consideration prior to these meetings. Written statements should be 
supplied to the DFO in the following formats: one hard copy with 
original signature (optional), 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).
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Butterfield at the 
phone number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten 
days prior to the first meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible 
to process your request.

    Dated: November 14, 2007.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E7-22665 Filed 11-19-07; 8:45 am]
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