[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 62 (Thursday, April 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16459-16461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7307]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492; FRL-9132-8]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Extension of Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing an extension of the public comment 
period for a draft assessment document titled, Policy Assessment for 
the Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards--First External Review Draft (75 FR 4067; January 26, 2010). 
The EPA is extending the comment period that originally was scheduled 
to end on April 12, 2010. The extended comment period will close on 
April 26, 2010. The EPA recognizes that this document was released for 
public comment nine days later than originally anticipated. As a 
result, the Agency is extending the comment period by two weeks to 
provide stakeholders and the public with adequate time to conduct 
appropriate analysis and prepare meaningful comments.

DATES: Comments on the above report must be received on or before April 
26, 2010.

[[Page 16460]]


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 
20004. 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.
    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 Policy 
Assessment for the Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards--First External Review Draft (March 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.
     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 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) national ambient air quality standards (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.
    As part of the ongoing review of the NAAQS for particulate matter 
(PM), EPA released a draft document titled Policy Assessment for the 
Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards--First External Review Draft (March 2010, EPA 452/P-10-003) 
for review by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and 
public comment (75 FR 4067; January 26, 2010). The first draft Policy

[[Page 16461]]

Assessment builds upon information presented in the Integrated Science 
Assessment for Particulate Matter (Final Report) \1\ and two draft 
assessment documents, Quantitative Health Risk Assessment for 
Particulate Matter--Second External Review Draft \2\ and Particulate 
Matter Urban-Focused Visibility Assessment--Second External Review 
Draft.\3\ 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. The EPA is soliciting advice and 
recommendations from the CASAC by means of a review of the first draft 
Policy Assessment at an upcoming public teleconference of the CASAC 
that will be held on April 8-9, 2010 (75 FR 8062; February 23, 2010). 
The EPA will consider comments received from the CASAC and the public 
in preparing revisions to this document. A second draft Policy 
Assessment document will be issued later this spring for CASAC and 
public review. The EPA will consider CASAC and public comments on the 
second draft Policy Assessment in preparing a final Policy Assessment. 
The final Policy Assessment 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 current PM NAAQS.
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    \1\ EPA/600/R-08/139F; December 2009; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_isa.html.
    \2\ EPA 452/P-10-001; February 2010; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_risk.html.
    \3\ EPA 452/P-10-002; January 2010; Available: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_risk.html.
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    The first draft Policy Assessment does 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 this document.

    Dated: March 25, 2010.
Jennifer Noonan Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2010-7307 Filed 3-31-10; 8:45 am]
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