[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 41 (Friday, February 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11110-11111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3935]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-2006-0735; FRL-8535-3]


Announcement of Data Availability for Lead National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard Review

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability.

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SUMMARY: On or about March 3, 2008, the Office of Air Quality Planning 
and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA will make available for public review and 
comment a number of technical documents that discuss monitoring issues 
being addressed in EPA's review of the national ambient air quality 
standards (NAAQS) for lead. These technical documents will be used as 
part of a consultation with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee 
(CASAC) Ambient Air Monitoring & Methods (AAMM) Subcommittee 
(Subcommittee).

DATES: Comments on the technical documents must be received on or 
before March 31, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2006-0735, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) 
to [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-
0735.
     Fax: Fax your comments to: 202-566-9744, Attention Docket 
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
     Mail: Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 2822T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: EPA 
Docket Center, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Room 3334, Washington, DC. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket(s normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2006-0735. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov including any personal information 
provided, unless the 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 hard copy at the Air Docket in the EPA 
Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC.
    The 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 and the telephone number for the 
Air Docket is (202) 566-1742; fax (202) 566-9744.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kevin Cavender, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (mail code C304-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
[email protected]; telephone: (919) 541-2364; fax: (919) 541-1903.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or 
CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying

[[Page 11111]]

information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
     Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

B. Background

    Under section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Administrator 
identifies and lists certain pollutants which ``cause or contribute to 
air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public 
health or welfare.'' The EPA then issues air quality criteria for 
listed pollutants, which are commonly referred to as ``criteria 
pollutants.'' The 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, in 
varying quantities.'' Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA establishes 
NAAQS for each listed pollutant, with the NAAQS based on the air 
quality criteria. Section 109(d) of the CAA requires periodic review 
and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria. The 
revised air quality criteria reflect advances in scientific knowledge 
on the effects of the pollutant on public health or welfare. The EPA is 
also required to periodically review and revise the NAAQS, if 
appropriate, based on the revised criteria.
    Lead is one of six criteria pollutants for which EPA has 
established air quality criteria and NAAQS. Presently, EPA is reviewing 
the air quality criteria and NAAQS for lead.
    As part of its review of the lead NAAQS, EPA is considering 
revising the associated monitoring requirements (contained in 40 CFR 
parts 50, 53, and 58). On December 12, 2007, an advanced notice of 
proposed rulemaking (ANPR) was published (72 FR 71488). The ANPR 
identified a number of potential revisions to the lead monitoring 
requirements. CASAC conducted a review of the ANPR in December 2007, 
and submitted a final letter on January 22, 2008 (EPA-CASAC-08-007) 
providing CASAC's advice and recommendations to the Agency on the 
policy options discussed in the ANPR. One of CASAC's recommendations 
was that a more detailed review of the monitoring issues should be 
conducted by the CASAC AAMM Subcommittee.
    In this notice, EPA is announcing the availability of technical 
documents that provide useful information regarding a number of issues 
pertinent to the monitoring requirements for the Pb NAAQS. 
Specifically, these documents discuss the Pb NAAQS indicator options 
being considered, specifications and rationale for a Federal Reference 
Method (FRM) and Federal Equivalency Method (FEM) criteria, potential 
network design requirements, and potential revisions to the monitoring 
sampling frequency. The technical documents will be available online 
at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_cr_td.html on or 
before March 3, 2008.
    The EPA is soliciting advice and recommendations from the CASAC 
AAMM Subcommittee by means of consultation at an upcoming public 
teleconference of the CASAC AAMM Subcommittee. A separate Federal 
Register notice will inform the public of the date and phone number for 
the public teleconference. Following the CASAC AAMM Subcommittee public 
teleconference, EPA will consider comments received from the CASAC AAMM 
Subcommittee and the public in formulating any decisions regarding 
proposed revisions to the lead monitoring requirements as part of the 
lead NAAQS rulemaking.

    Dated: February 22, 2008.
Jennifer N. Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-3935 Filed 2-28-08; 8:45 am]
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