[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46908-46909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18610]



[[Page 46908]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8702-8; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1145]


Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and 
Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; Second External Review Draft

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period on Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the availability of the second external review draft of a document 
titled, ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and 
Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; Second External Review Draft'' (EPA/
600/R-08/082).
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of 
seeking public comment and for review by the Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) (meeting date and location to be specified 
in a separate Federal Register notice). 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 August 11, 2008. 
Comments must be received on or before October 1, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen 
and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; Second 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. Ellen Lorang by 
phone (919-541-2771), fax (919-541-5078), or e-mail 
([email protected]) to request either of these, and please provide 
your name, your mailing address, and the document title, ``Integrated 
Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental 
Criteria; Second External Review Draft'' (EPA/600/R-08/082) to 
facilitate processing of your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information, contact Dr. 
Tara Greaver, NCEA; telephone: 919-541-2435; facsimile: 919-541-5078; 
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 ``cause or contribute to air 
pollution 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 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 
was 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'' was released for review on December 21, 
2007 (72 FR 72719). The CASAC reviewed the draft document at a public 
peer review meeting on April 2-3, 2008; comments from the CASAC and the 
public have been addressed in this second external review draft 
document. The draft ``Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of 
Nitrogen and Sulfur--Environmental Criteria; Second 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 Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-
1145, 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, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 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

[[Page 46909]]

should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit 
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-007-
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 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: 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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are 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: August 1, 2008.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E8-18610 Filed 8-11-08; 8:45 am]
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