[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 73 (Friday, April 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19971-19972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-8769]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9138-3]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference on May 7, 
2010 of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Particulate Matter Review 
Panel to discuss its draft letter on the review of EPA's Policy 
Assessment for the Review of Particulate Matter National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards--First External Review Draft (March 2010).

DATES: The teleconference will be held on May 7, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 1 
p.m., (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The May 7, 2010 teleconference 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 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 and policy assessments related to both primary (health-
based) and secondary (welfare-based) standards for each of these 
pollutants. As part of that process, the CASAC Particulate Matter 
Review Panel reviews a series of EPA's assessments that provide the 
basis for EPA rulemaking.
    The purpose of the May 7, 2010 teleconference is to discuss a draft 
CASAC letter on EPA's Policy Assessment for the Review of the 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards (March 2010). 
EPA's Office of Air and Radiation's Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards requested CASAC's review of the draft Policy Assessment for 
the Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (Policy Assessment, March 2010) as part of its review of the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter. 
The Policy Assessment serves 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 first draft Policy Assessment builds upon the key 
scientific and technical information contained in the Agency's 
Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter (Final Report) 
(ISA, December 2009) as well as the two draft assessment documents 
titled Particulate Matter Urban-Focused Visibility Assessment: Second 
External Review Draft (January 2010) and Quantitative Health Risk 
Assessment for Particulate Matter: Second External Review Draft (March 
2010).
    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 advice on Particulate Matter National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Health Risk and Exposure 
Assessment (February 2009) and Particulate Matter National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Urban Visibility Impact 
Assessment (February 2009). The April 1-2, 2009 meeting was announced 
February 19, 2009 in 74 FR 7688-7689. As announced in 74 FR 46586-
46587, on October 5-6, 2009, CASAC reviewed the Integrated Science 
Assessment for Particulate Matter--Second External Review Draft (July 
2009) and Particulate Matter Urban Focused Visibility Assessment-
External Review Draft (September 2009) and Risk Assessment to Support 
the Review of the PM Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards-
External Review Draft (September 2009). As announced in 75 FR 8062-
8063, the Panel reviewed second drafts of these two documents on March 
10-11, 2010. The Panel also held teleconferences (announced in 75 FR 
8062-8063) on April 8, 2010 and April 9, 2010 to discuss preliminary 
responses to charge questions on the Policy Assessment.
    Technical Contacts: Any questions concerning Policy Assessment for 
the Review of Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards--First External Review Draft (February 2010) should be 
directed to Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple, OAR, at [email protected] or 919-541-4605.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: All meeting materials (agenda, 
charge questions, preliminary comments and other materials) for the May 
7, 2010 teleconference will be placed on the CASAC Web site on the Web 
pages for

[[Page 19972]]

those public meetings, accessible through the calendar link on the blue 
navigational bar at http://www.epa.gov/casac. The Policy Assessment for 
the Review of Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards: First External Review Draft (February 2010) is available at 
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pa.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 May 7, 2010 
teleconference, interested parties should notify Dr. Holly Stallworth, 
DFO, by e-mail no later than May 1, 2010. Individuals making oral 
statements on the teleconference will be limited to three minutes per 
speaker. Written Statements: Written statements for the May 7, 2010 
meeting should be received in the SAB Staff Office by May 1, 2010, so 
that the information may be made available to the CASAC Panel for its 
consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements for the May 7, 
2010 teleconference should be received in the SAB Staff Office by May 
1, 2010. 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: April 9, 2010.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-8769 Filed 4-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P