[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4067-4069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1464]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492; FRL-9105-9]


Release of Draft Documents Related to the Review of the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Availability of draft documents for public comment.

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SUMMARY: On or about January 19, 2010, the Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available for public 
comment a draft assessment document titled, Particulate Matter Urban-
Focused Visibility Assessment--Second External Review Draft. On or 
about January 29, 2010, OAQPS is making available for public comment a 
second draft assessment document titled, Quantitative Health Risk 
Assessment for Particulate Matter--Second External Review Draft. These 
two draft assessment documents describe the quantitative analyses that 
are being conducted as part of the review of the national ambient air 
quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM). In addition, on 
or about February 26, 2010, OAQPS will make available for public 
comment a third draft document titled, Policy Assessment for the Review 
of the Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards--First 
External Review Draft.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before March 15, 2010, for 
the draft document titled, Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility 
Assessment--Second External Review Draft and Quantitative Health Risk 
Assessment for Particulate Matter--Second External Review Draft. 
Comments should be submitted on or before April 12, 2010, for the draft 
document titled, Policy Assessment for the Review of the Particulate 
Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards--First External Review 
Draft.

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: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) 
to [email protected], Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-
0492.
     Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket 
ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492.
     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-2007-0492.
     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-
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 
on-line 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

[[Page 4068]]

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.
    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. 
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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to the draft 
document titled, Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility 
Assessment--Second External Review Draft (EPA-452/P-10-002; January 
2010), please contact Ms. Vicki Sandiford, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
[email protected]; telephone: 919-541-2629; fax: 919-541-0237.
    For questions related to the draft document titled, Quantitative 
Health Risk Assessment for Particulate Matter--Second External Review 
Draft (EPA-452/P-10-001; January 2010), please contact Dr. Zachary 
Pekar, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (Mail code C504-
06), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 
27711; e-mail: [email protected]; telephone: 919-541-3704; fax: 
919-541-0237.
    For questions related to the draft document titled, Policy 
Assessment for the Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards: First External Review Draft (EPA-452/P-10-003; 
February 2010), please contact Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: [email protected]; telephone: 919-541-4605; fax: 919-541-0237.

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:
     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.
     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 these 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 primary (health-based) and secondary 
(welfare-based) NAAQS for pollutants for which air quality criteria are 
issued. 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, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS 
based on the revised air quality criteria.
    Air quality criteria have been established for PM and NAAQS have 
been established for PM2.5 and PM10 to provide 
protection from 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).\2\ 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.
    \2\ See http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebProjectsbyTopicCASAC!OpenView for more information on CASAC 
activities related to the current PM NAAQS review.

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[[Page 4069]]

    As part of EPA's review of the primary and secondary PM NAAQS,\3\ 
the Agency is conducting quantitative assessments characterizing (1) 
the health risks associated with exposure to ambient PM, and (2) urban 
visibility impairment associated with ambient PM. The EPA's plans for 
conducting these assessments, including the proposed scope and methods 
of the analyses, were presented in 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 (henceforth, Scope and Methods 
Plans).\4\ These documents were released for public comment in February 
2009 and were the subject of a consultation with the CASAC on April 2, 
2009 (74 FR 11580; March 18, 2009).
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    \3\ See http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/review.html for more 
information on the NAAQS review process.
    \4\ EPA-452/P-09-001 and -002; February 2009; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pd.html.
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    The draft assessment documents announced today convey the 
approaches taken to assess exposures to ambient PM and to characterize 
associated health risks or urban visibility impairment, as well as 
present the initial key results, observations, and related 
uncertainties associated with the quantitative analyses performed. 
Earlier drafts of these documents were released for CASAC review and 
public comment in September 2009 (74 FR 46589; September 10, 2009). The 
EPA extended the public comment period to provide stakeholders and the 
public with adequate time to conduct analyses and prepare meaningful 
comments (74 FR 51148; October 5, 2009). The first draft assessment 
documents were the subject of a CASAC review meeting on October 5 and 
6, 2009 (74 FR 46586; September 10, 2009).
    The second draft titled, Particulate Matter Urban-Focused 
Visibility Assessment will be available on or about January 19, 2010. 
The second draft Quantitative Health Risk Assessment for Particulate 
Matter will be available on or about January 29, 2010, through the 
Agency's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_risk.html.
    In addition, on or about February 26, 2010, EPA will make available 
a third draft document titled Policy Assessment for the Review of the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: First External Review Draft. 
This document will serve to ``bridge the gap'' between the scientific 
information and the judgments required of the Administrator in 
determining whether it is appropriate to retain or revise the 
standards. The Policy Assessment will build upon information presented 
in the Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (Final 
Report) \5\ and the two draft assessment documents described above. The 
first draft Policy Assessment may be accessed online through EPA's TTN 
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pa.html.
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    \5\ EPA/600/R-08/139F; December 2009; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_isa.html.
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    The EPA is soliciting advice and recommendations from the CASAC by 
means of a review of these three draft documents at upcoming public 
meetings of the CASAC that will be held in March 2010. Information 
about these public meetings, including the dates and locations, will be 
published as a separate notice in the Federal Register. Following the 
CASAC meetings, EPA will consider comments received from the CASAC and 
the public in preparing revisions to these documents.
    The draft documents briefly described above do not represent and 
should not be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, 
or determination. The EPA will consider any public comments submitted 
in response to this notice when revising the documents.

    Dated: January 15, 2010.
Jeffrey S. Clark,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2010-1464 Filed 1-25-10; 8:45 am]
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