[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11580-11581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5843]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492; FRL-8779-1]


Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 
Particulate Matter

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of planning documents for public review and comment.

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SUMMARY: On or about February 27, 2009, the Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available for public 
review and comment two planning documents titled: Particulate Matter 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for 
Health Risk and Exposure Assessment; and Particulate Matter National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Urban 
Visibility Impact Assessment. These documents describe EPA's planned 
approach for developing quantitative analyses as part of the review of 
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate 
matter (PM). EPA is releasing these planning documents to seek 
consultation with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) 
and to solicit public comments.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before May 18, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0492, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-9744.
     Mail: EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail code 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460. Please include a total of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 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-
2007-0492. 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 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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, will be 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 Air 
and Radiation Docket and Information 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 and 
Radiation Docket and Information Center is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any questions concerning EPA's 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standard: Scope and 
Methods Plan for Health Risk and Exposure Assessment should be directed 
to Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple at [email protected] or telephone 
919-541-4605. Any questions concerning Particulate Matter National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Urban 
Visibility Impact Assessment should be directed to Ms. Vicki Sandiford 
at [email protected] or telephone 919-541-2629.

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 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:

[[Page 11581]]

     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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 form 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.
    Air quality criteria have been established for particulate matter 
(PM) and NAAQS have been established for PM2.5 and PM10, to provide 
protection for fine and coarse particles, respectively. Presently, EPA 
is reviewing the air quality criteria and NAAQS for PM. The EPA's 
overall plan and schedule for this review is presented in the 
Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
for Particulate Matter.\1\ A draft of the integrated review plan was 
released for public review and comment in October 2007 and was the 
subject of a consultation with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory 
Committee (CASAC) on November 30, 2007 (72 FR 63177; November 8, 2007). 
Comments received from that consultation and from the public were 
considered in finalizing the plan and in beginning the review of the 
air quality criteria.
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    \1\ EPA 452R-08-004; March 2008; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pd.html.
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    As part of the review of the air quality criteria for PM, EPA's 
Office of Research and Development (ORD) has completed a draft 
document, Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Particulate Matter 
(First External Review Draft, December 2008) and requested review by 
the CASAC and the public (73 FR 77686; December 19, 2008). In the 
future, EPA's OAQPS will prepare a Risk and Exposure Assessment (REA) 
focusing on: (1) Human health risk and exposure assessment, and (2) 
assessment of urban visibility impairment. The two planning documents 
announced today describe the planned approaches for conducting the 
quantitative assessments that will be presented in the REA as part of 
the review of the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) 
PM NAAQS. These documents are available on the Agency's Technology 
Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html. These documents may be accessed in the 
``Documents from Current Review'' section under ``Planning Documents.'' 
These planning documents are intended to provide enough specificity to 
facilitate consultation with CASAC, as well as for public review, in 
order to obtain advice on the overall scope, approaches and key issues 
in advance of the conduct of the quantitative analyses and presentation 
of results in the first draft REA. The CASAC consultation on these two 
planning documents coincides with its review of the first draft ISA. 
This CASAC meeting is scheduled for April 1 and 2, 2009. A separate 
Federal Register notice provides additional details about this meeting 
and the process for participation (74 FR 7688; February 19, 2009).

    Dated: February 27, 2009.
Jeffrey S. Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E9-5843 Filed 3-17-09; 8:45 am]
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