[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 41 (Friday, February 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11113-11114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3933]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8535-6]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; EPA Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC); Notification of Public Advisory Committee 
Meeting (Teleconference) of the Ambient Air Monitoring & Methods (AAMM) 
Subcommittee

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 teleconference of 
the Ambient Air Monitoring & Methods (AAMM) Subcommittee of the Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) to conduct a consultation 
concerning ambient air monitoring issues related to the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead, including issues 
associated with alternative lead indicators.

DATES: The teleconference meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 25, 
2008, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes to 
obtain the teleconference call-in number and access code; submit a 
written or brief oral statement (three minutes or less); or receive 
further information concerning this teleconference meeting, 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/casac or http://www.epa.gov/sab, 
respectively.

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

[[Page 11114]]

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 SAB Staff Office established 
the CASAC AAMM Subcommittee in 2004 as a standing subcommittee to 
provide the EPA Administrator, through the CASAC, with advice and 
recommendations, as necessary, on topical areas related to ambient air 
monitoring, methods and networks. The Subcommittee 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 six ``criteria'' air pollutants, including lead. The 
current review of the Lead NAAQS was initiated in early 2005. In 
December 2007, the CASAC Lead Review Panel met to conduct a review of 
the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on the NAAQS for Lead. 
The Lead Panel also reviewed the Agency's Final Lead Staff Paper and 
the Final Lead Risk Assessment Report. The CASAC's report to the EPA 
Administrator concerning this review (EPA-CASAC-08-007, dated January 
22, 2008) is posted on the CASAC Web page that can be accessed at the 
URL address provided above.
    In this report, the CASAC noted that Agency staff, in its Final 
Lead Staff Paper, had recommended that the Administrator consider 
retaining lead in total suspended particulates (Pb-TSP) as the 
indicator for ambient lead. While, historically, the Lead NAAQS has 
relied on TSP samples for quantifying ambient lead concentrations, the 
CASAC recommended that EPA should transition to lead in PM10 (Pb-PM10) 
sampling for quantifying ambient lead concentrations. In particular, 
the CASAC observed that Pb-PM10 is a much more accurate and precisely 
measured indicator and represents the fraction of lead that is more 
relevant for human exposures. Furthermore, the CASAC noted that there 
is a greater availability of Pb-PM10 samplers than Pb-TSP samplers 
throughout the U.S. Additionally, the CASAC found the existing Pb-TSP 
network inadequate in its ability to characterize population exposures, 
conditions around large sources, and concentrations at typical ambient 
concentrations in many parts of the country. CASAC also indicated in 
the letter that its AAMM Subcommittee would be better-suited to provide 
advice on lead monitoring and network design issues. Accordingly, the 
purpose of this public teleconference meeting is for the Subcommittee 
to conduct a consultation with Agency staff on several draft EPA 
documents relating to the ambient air monitoring of Pb-PM10, including 
options for the Lead NAAQS indicator, a draft Federal Reference Method 
(FRM) for Pb-PM10, lead monitoring network design, and sampling 
frequency. The SAB Staff Office has developed the consultation as a 
mechanism to provide early input and advice to EPA on technical issues 
that should be considered in the development of regulations, 
guidelines, or technical guidance before the Agency has taken a 
position.
    Technical Contacts: Any technical questions concerning these Lead 
NAAQS indicator and ambient air monitoring issues can be directed to 
Mr. Kevin Cavender, OAQPS, at phone: (919) 541-2364, or e-mail: 
[email protected]; or to Mr. Lewis Weinstock, OAQPS, at phone: 
(919) 541-3661, or e-mail: [email protected].
    Availability of Meeting Materials: On or about March 3, 2008, the 
Agency will post the documents to be discussed during this consultation 
on the EPA Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web page for the Lead 
NAAQS, ``Lead (Pb)--Documents from Current Review--Technical 
Documents,'' found at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_cr_td.html. In addition, the Agency will announce the availability 
of these materials, to include the process for submitting public 
comments on these documents, by means of a separate Federal Register 
notice to be published around the first week in March. Furthermore, a 
copy of the draft agenda and other materials for this CASAC 
teleconference will be posted on the SAB Web site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebCASAC/recentadditions prior to 
the meeting.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the CASAC 
AAMM Subcommittee to consider on the topics included in this advisory 
activity and/or the group conducting the activity. Oral Statements: In 
general, individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a 
public teleconference will be limited to three minutes per speaker, 
with no more than a total of 30 minutes for all speakers. Interested 
parties should contact Mr. Butterfield, DFO, in writing (preferably via 
e-mail), by March 18, 2008, at the contact information noted above, to 
be placed on the list of public speakers for this meeting. Written 
Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff 
Office by March 21, 2008, so that the information may be made available 
to the Subcommittee for its consideration prior to this teleconference. 
Written statements should be supplied to the DFO electronically via e-
mail (acceptable file formats: Adobe PDF, MS Word, WordPerfect, 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 meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to 
process your request.

    Dated: February 25, 2008.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
 [FR Doc. E8-3933 Filed 2-28-08; 8:45 am]
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