[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 88 (Friday, May 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26284-26286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11140]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9302-5; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-0051]


Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead (Pb)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 26285]]


ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the availability of a document titled, ``First External Review Draft 
Integrated Science Assessment for Lead'' (EPA/600/R-10/075A). This 
draft document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development as 
part of the review of the national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS) for lead (Pb).
    EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public (meeting date 
and location to be specified in a separate Federal Register Notice). 
The draft document does not represent and should not be construed to 
represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will 
consider any timely public comments submitted in response to this 
notice when revising the document.

DATES: The public comment period begins May 6, 2011, and ends July 5, 
2011. Comments must be received on or before July 5, 2011.

ADDRESSES: The ``First External Review Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Lead'' will be available primarily via the Internet on 
the National Center for Environmental Assessment's home page under the 
Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A 
limited number of CD-ROM or paper copies will be available. Contact Ms. 
Debbie Wales by phone (919-541-4731), fax (919-541-5078), or e-mail 
([email protected]) to request either of these, and please provide 
your name, your mailing address, and the document title, ``First 
External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Lead'' (EPA/
600/R-10/075A) to facilitate processing of your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information, contact Dr. 
Ellen Kirrane, NCEA; telephone: 919-541-1340; facsimile: 919-541-2985; 
or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA) govern the establishment 
and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 (42 U.S.C. section 7408) directs 
the Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then 
to issue air quality criteria for those pollutants. The Administrator 
is to list those air pollutants that in her ``judgment, cause or 
contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health or welfare;'' ``the presence of which in the 
ambient air results from numerous or diverse mobile or stationary 
sources;'' and ``for which * * * [the Administrator] plans to issue air 
quality criteria * * *.'' Air quality criteria are intended 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* * *.'' 42 U.S.C. 7408(b). Under section 
109 (42 U.S.C. 7409) the Administrator is to establish national ambient 
air quality standards (NAAQS) for each pollutant for which EPA has 
issued criteria. Section 109(d)(1) requires periodic review and, if 
appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria to reflect 
advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the pollutant on 
public health or welfare. EPA is also to revise the NAAQS, if 
appropriate, based on the revised air quality criteria. Section 
109(d)(2) requires that an independent scientific review committee 
``shall complete a review of the criteria * * * and the national 
primary and secondary ambient air quality standards * * * and shall 
recommend to the Administrator any new * * * standards and revisions of 
existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate . * * *'' Since 
the early 1980's, this independent review function has been performed 
by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
    Under the current NAAQS review process, EPA reviews the scientific 
basis for the NAAQS by preparing an Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) 
and supplementary materials (formerly called an Air Quality Criteria 
Document). On February 26, 2010 (75 FR 8934), EPA formally initiated 
its current review of the air quality criteria for Pb, requesting the 
submission of recent scientific information on specified topics. A 
workshop was held on May 10-11, 2010 (75 FR 20843) to discuss policy-
relevant science to inform EPA's planning for the Pb NAAQS review. 
Following the workshop, a draft of EPA's ``Integrated Review Plan for 
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead'' (EPA-452/D-11-
001) was made available in late March, 2011 for public comment and 
consultation with CASAC. It will be discussed by the CASAC via a 
publicly accessible teleconference consultation on May 5, 2011 (76 FR 
21346). In December 2010, EPA held a workshop (75 FR 69078) to discuss, 
with invited scientific experts, preliminary draft materials prepared 
during the ongoing development of the Pb ISA.
    The first external review draft ISA for Pb will be discussed at a 
public meeting for review by CASAC, and public comments received will 
be provided to the CASAC review panel. A future Federal Register notice 
will inform the public of the exact date and time of that CASAC 
meeting.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at 
www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-
0051, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-1753.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334, EPA West Building, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should 
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit 
three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number 
pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original 
and three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2011-0051. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is 
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail

[[Page 26286]]

that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. 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: 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. Publicly available docket 
materials are generally available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center; however, certain materials, such as 
copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.

    Dated: April 21, 2011.
Darrell A. Winner,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2011-11140 Filed 5-5-11; 8:45 am]
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