[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72719-72720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24906]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8509-8; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1145]


Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and 
Sulfur-Environmental Criteria

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period for draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing the public comment period for the draft 
document titled, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen 
and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; First External Review Draft'' (EPA/
600/R-07/145A). 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 secondary (welfare-
based) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for nitrogen 
dioxide (NO2) and 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). The document is being distributed solely for the purpose of 
pre-dissemination review under applicable information quality 
guidelines. 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 December 21, 2007. 
Comments must be received on or before February 21, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The draft, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of 
Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; First External Review 
Draft,'' will be 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 Ms. Emily Lee by phone: 919-541-4169, 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 Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--
Environmental Criteria; First External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-07/
145A) 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: Ms. Emily Lee, NCEA; telephone: 919-
541-4169, facsimile: 919-541-1818, or e-mail: [email protected]. For 
technical information, contact Tara Greaver, PhD, NCEA; telephone: 919-
541-2435; 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.
    Oxides of nitrogen and sulfur are two 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

[[Page 72720]]

independent scientific advice on NAAQS matters, including advice on 
EPA's draft ISAs.
    EPA formally initiated its current review of the criteria for 
oxides of nitrogen and sulfur in December 2005 (70 FR 73236) and May 
2006 (71 FR 28023) respectively, requesting the submission of recent 
scientific information on specified topics. In the initial stages of 
the criteria reviews, EPA recognized the merit of integrating the 
science assessment for these two pollutants due to their combined 
effects on atmospheric chemistry, deposition processes, and 
environment-related public welfare effects. In July 2007 (72 FR 34004), 
a workshop was held to discuss, with invited scientific experts, 
initial draft materials prepared in the development of the ISA and 
supplementary annexes for oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. EPA's ``Draft 
Plan for Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
for Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide'' was made available in 
September 2007 for public comment and was discussed by the Clean Air 
Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) via a publicly accessible 
teleconference consultation on October 30, 2007 (72 FR 57568). The Plan 
is being finalized and will be made available on EPA's Web site http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/no2so2sec/cr_pd.html.
    The draft, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen 
and Sulfur--Environmental 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. Docket ID EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-1145 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online 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-OAR-
2007-1145. 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 
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 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 hardcopy at the OEI Docket in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: December 17, 2007.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E7-24906 Filed 12-20-07; 8:45 am]
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