[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 174 (Thursday, September 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46586-46587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21821]



[[Page 46586]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8955-6]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public 
Meeting and Public Teleconference(s) of the Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) Particulate Matter Review Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting and 
teleconference(s) of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Particulate 
Matter Review Panel to peer review EPA's Integrated Science Assessment 
for Particulate Matter: Second External Review Draft (July 2009) and 
EPA's forthcoming Risk Assessment to Support the Review of the PM 
Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards: External Review Draft 
(September 2009) and Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility 
Assessment: External Review Draft (September 2009).

DATES: The public meeting will be held on October 5, 2009 from 8 a.m.-6 
p.m. (Eastern Time) and October 6, 2009 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (Eastern 
Time). An optional public teleconference may be held on October 7, 2009 
from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. (Eastern Time) if more time is needed after the 
face-to-face meeting of October 5-6, 2009. A teleconference will be 
held November 12, 2009 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss 
draft letters from CASAC.

ADDRESSES: The October 5-6, 2009 meeting will be held at the Carolina 
Inn, 211 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516. The public 
teleconference(s) will be conducted by telephone only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wants 
further information concerning the public meeting or public 
teleconference(s) may contact Dr. Holly Stallworth, Designated Federal 
Officer (DFO), EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
via telephone/voice mail (202) 343-9867; fax (202) 233-0643; or e-mail 
at [email protected]. General information concerning the CASAC 
can be found on the EPA Web site at http://www.epa.gov/casac.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) was established under section 109(d)(2) of 
the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) (42 U.S.C. 7409) as an independent 
scientific advisory committee. CASAC provides advice, information and 
recommendations on the scientific and technical aspects of air quality 
criteria and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) under 
sections 108 and 109 of the Act. The CASAC is a Federal advisory 
committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as 
amended, 5 U.S.C., App 2. The Panel will comply 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 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for the six ``criteria'' 
air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM). EPA conducts 
scientific assessments to determine both primary (health-based) and 
secondary (welfare-based) standards for each of these pollutants. As 
part of that process, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) 
has released the Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter 
(Second External Review Draft, July 2009) for review by CASAC at the 
October 5-6, 2009 meeting. EPA's Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) will 
release two additional documents for CASAC review and public comment 
entitled Risk Assessment to Support the Review of the PM Primary 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: External Review Draft 
(September 2009) and Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility 
Assessment: External Review Draft (September 2009) on or about 
September 4, 2009. The purpose of the October 5-6, 2009 meeting is to 
review these three documents. In addition, this meeting will also 
include a discussion with CASAC of an EPA/OAR document entitled Policy 
Assessment for the Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards: Preliminary Draft (September 2009) on the nature 
of the policy assessment document including the overall structure, 
areas of focus, and level of detail. The EPA plans to release this 
preliminary draft document on or about September 15, 2009. If 
additional time is needed to complete the agenda after the October 5-6, 
2009 face-to-face meeting, a public teleconference will be held on 
October 7, 2009 from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. (Eastern Time). To review and 
approve CASAC's draft letters on the three review documents, a public 
teleconference will be held on November 12, 2009 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. 
(Eastern Time).
    Background information about the formation of the CASAC Particulate 
Matter Review Panel was published in the Federal Register on March 8, 
2007 (72 FR 10527-10528). The Panel previously held a public 
teleconference on November 30, 2007 (announced in 72 FR 63177-63178) to 
provide consultative advice on EPA's draft Integrated Review Plan for 
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter 
(October 2007), the first document in this review of the PM NAAQS. On 
April 1-2, 2009, CASAC reviewed the Integrated Science Assessment for 
Particulate Matter (First External Review Draft, December 2008), and 
provided consultative advise on Particulate Matter National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Health Risk (February 
2009) and Exposure Assessment and Particulate Matter National Ambient
    Air Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Urban Visibility 
Impact Assessment (February 2009). The April 12, 2009 meeting was 
announced February 19, 2009 in 74 FR 7688-7689.
    Technical Contacts: Any questions concerning EPA's Integrated 
Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (July 2009) should be 
directed to Dr. Lindsay Stanek, ORD, at [email protected] or 919-
541-7792. Any questions concerning EPA's Risk Assessment to Support the 
Review of the PM Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards: 
External Review Draft (September 2009) should be directed to Dr. 
Zachary Pekar, OAR, at [email protected]; telephone: 919-541-3704. 
Any questions concerning Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility 
Assessment (September 2009) should be directed to Ms. Vicki Sandiford, 
OAR, at [email protected] or 919-541-2629. Any questions 
concerning Policy Assessment for the Review of Particulate Matter 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (September 2009) should be 
directed to Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple, OAR, at [email protected] or 919-541-4605.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: A meeting agenda, charge 
questions and other materials for the October 5-6, 2009 meeting will be 
placed on the CASAC Web site at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabpeople.nsf/WebCommitteesSubcommittees/CASAC%20Particulate%20Matter%20Review%20Panel (see links to ``Current 
Advisory Activities''). CASAC's draft letters on the three review 
documents will be at this same URL prior to the

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November 12, 2009 teleconference. The Integrated Science Assessment for 
Particulate Matter: Second External Review Draft (July 2009) is 
available at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_isa.html. The Risk Assessment to Support the Review of the PM Primary 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: External Review Draft 
(September 2009) and the Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility 
Assessment: External Review Draft (September 2009) will be available on 
or before September 4, 2009 and the Policy Assessment for the Review of 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Preliminary 
Draft (September 2009) will be available on or about September 15, 2009 
at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral information for 
consideration on the topics included in this advisory activity. Oral 
Statements: To be placed on the public speaker list for the October 5-
6, 2009 meeting, interested parties should notify Dr. Holly Stallworth, 
DFO, by e-mail no later than September 28, 2009. Individuals making 
oral statements will be limited to five minutes per speaker. To be 
placed on the public speaker list for the November 12, 2009 
teleconference, interested parties should notify Dr. Stallworth, DFO, 
by e-mail no later than November 9, 2009. Individuals making oral 
statements on the teleconference will be limited to three minutes per 
speaker. Written Statements: Written statements for the October 5-6, 
2009 meeting should be received in the SAB Staff Office by September 
28, 2009, so that the information may be made available to the CASAC 
Panel for its consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements 
for the November 12, 2009 meeting should be received in the SAB Staff 
Office by November 9, 2009. Written statements should be supplied to 
the DFO in the following formats: one hard copy with original signature 
and one electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe 
Acrobat PDF, MS Word, WordPerfect, MS PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in 
IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format). Submitters are asked to provide 
versions of each document submitted with and without signatures, 
because the SAB Staff Office does not publish documents with signatures 
on its Web sites.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Stallworth at the 
phone number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten 
days prior to the teleconference, to give EPA as much time as possible 
to process your request.

    Dated: September 2, 2009.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-21821 Filed 9-9-09; 8:45 am]
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