[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 187 (Thursday, September 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55508-55509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22537]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0604; FRL-8720-9]


Conference on Air Quality Modeling

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of conference.

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SUMMARY: We announce the Ninth Conference on Air Quality Modeling. Such 
a conference is required by Section 320 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to 
be held every 3 years. The purposes of the ninth conference are to 
provide an overview of the latest features of the new air quality 
models and to provide a forum for public review and comment on 
potential revisions to the way the Agency determines and applies the 
appropriate air quality models in the future.

DATES: 
    Comments: Comments on potential revisions to the way the Agency 
determines and applies the appropriate air quality models must be 
received on or before November 10, 2008.
    Conference: The conference will be held on October 9, 2008 from 
8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on October 10, 2008 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
Requests to speak at the conference should be submitted to the 
individual listed below by October 3, 2008.

ADDRESSES:
    Comments: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2008-0604 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments. This is EPA's preferred method 
for receiving comments.
     E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) 
to [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-
0604.
     Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket 
ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0604.
     Mail: Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0604.
     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-
2008-0604. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://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 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: All 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 material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy 
form. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air 
Docket in the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
Docket telephone number is (202) 566-1742; fax (202) 566-9744.
    Background Information: Additional information and a more detailed 
agenda are electronically available at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/scram/9thmodconf.htm.
    Conference: The conference will be held in the EPA Auditorium, Room 
C111, 109 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Eckhoff, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Air 
Quality Assessment Division, Mail Code C439-01, Research Triangle Park, 
NC 27711; telephone: (919) 541-5385; fax: (919) 541-0044; e-mail 
address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

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

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
http://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

[[Page 55509]]

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 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.

II. Background

    The Guideline on Air Quality Models (hereafter, called the 
Guideline, which is found in Appendix W to 40 CFR Part 51), is used by 
EPA, States, and industry to prepare and review new source permits and 
State Implementation Plan revisions. The Guideline serves as a means by 
which consistency is maintained in air quality analyses. We originally 
published the Guideline in April 1978 and it was incorporated by 
reference in the regulations for the Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD) of Air Quality in June 1978. We revised the 
Guideline in 1986, and updated it with supplement A in 1987, supplement 
B in July 1993, and supplement C in August 1995. We published the 
Guideline as appendix W to 40 CFR part 51 when we issued supplement B. 
We republished the Guideline in August 1996 (61 FR 41838) to adopt the 
CFR system for labeling paragraphs.
    To support the process of developing and revising the Guideline 
during the period 1977-1988, we held the First, Second and Third 
Conferences on Air Quality Modeling as required by Section 320 of the 
Clean Air Act to help standardize modeling procedures. These modeling 
conferences provided us with comments on the Guideline and associated 
revisions, thereby helping us introduce improved modeling techniques 
into the regulatory process.
    In October 1988, we held the Fourth Conference on Air Quality 
Modeling. Its purpose was to advise the public on new modeling 
techniques and to solicit comments to guide our consideration of any 
rulemaking needed to further revise the Guideline. We held the Fifth 
Conference on Air Quality Modeling in March 1991, which served as a 
public hearing for the proposed revisions to the Guideline. In August 
1995, we held the sixth conference as a forum to update our available 
modeling tools with state-of-the-science techniques for airing these 
issues and for the public to offer new ideas. The Seventh Conference 
was held in June 2000 and served as a public hearing for the proposed 
changes to the recommended air quality models in Appendix W including 
the CALPUFF modeling system and AERMOD.\1\
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    \1\ AMS/EPA Regulatory MODel; AERMOD was developed by AERMIC: 
AMS/EPA Regulatory Model Improvement Committee.
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    The last conference held was the Eighth Conference on Air Quality 
Modeling in September 22 and 23, 2005, which provided details on recent 
and impending changes to the recommended air quality models in Appendix 
W. Several presentations were made, including regulatory status and 
details on the AERMOD modeling system, the EPA's preferred model for 
near-field regulatory applications; the regulatory status and 
implementation issues with the CALPUFF modeling system, the EPA's 
preferred model for long-range transport of criteria pollutants and 
their impacts on Federal Class I areas; and on EPA's approach to 
updating the approved versions of regulatory models under Appendix W to 
address coding bugs or implementation issues. In addition, several 
presentations were provided on the current and available methods for 
model performance evaluation and a panel of experts discussed the use 
of state-of-the-science prognostic meteorological data for our new 
dispersion models. The proceedings are found in Docket No. OAR-2005-
0157.

III. Public Participation

    The Ninth Conference on Air Quality Modeling will be open to the 
public; no admission fee is charged and there is no formal 
registration. The conference will begin the first morning with 
introductory remarks by the presiding EPA official. The following 
topics will be presented:

I. Overview of Appendix W
II. AERMOD Status and Updates
III. CALPUFF Status and Updates
IV. Non-Guideline Applications of Dispersion Models
V. Update on Use of Assimilated Meteorological Data for Dispersion 
Models
VI. Review of Current and Available Model Evaluation Methods
VII. Review of New and Emerging Models/Techniques for Future 
Consideration Under Appendix W; and
VII. Other Presentations by the Public

    Those wishing to speak at the conference, whether to volunteer a 
presentation on a special topic or to offer general comment on any of 
the modeling techniques scheduled for presentation, should contact us 
at the address given in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 
(note the cutoff date). Such persons should identify the organization 
(if any) on whose behalf they are speaking and the length of the 
presentation. If a presentation of general comments is projected to be 
longer than 10 minutes, the presenter should also state why a longer 
period is needed. Persons failing to submit a written notice but 
desiring to speak at the conference should notify the presiding officer 
immediately before the conference, and they will be scheduled on a 
time-available basis.
    The conference will be conducted informally and chaired by an EPA 
official. There will be no sworn testimony or cross examination. A 
verbatim transcript of the conference proceedings will be produced and 
placed in the docket. Speakers should bring extra copies of their 
presentation for inclusion in the docket and for the convenience of the 
recorder. Speakers will also be permitted to enter written comments 
into the record. Additional written statements or comments should be 
sent to the OAR Regulatory Docket (see ADDRESSES section). A transcript 
of the proceedings and a copy of all written comments will be 
maintained in Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0604 which will remain open 
until November 10, 2008 for the purpose of receiving additional 
comments.

    Dated: September 18, 2008.
Jennifer Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-22537 Filed 9-24-08; 8:45 am]
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