[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58509-58510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24280]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0108; FRL-9467-8]


Release of Risk and Exposure Assessment Planning Document for the 
Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: On June 28, 2011, the EPA made available for public review the 
Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead: Risk and 
Exposure Assessment Planning Document (REA Planning Document). This 
document considers the extent to which information and conclusions 
presented in the first external review draft of the Integrated Science 
Assessment (ISA) for this review (Lead Integrated Science Assessment 
(First External Review Draft) (First Draft ISA) provides support for 
the development of quantitative assessments of risk and exposure for 
health and/or welfare effects in this review of the national ambient 
air quality standards (NAAQS) for lead (Pb).

DATES: Comments should be received on or before October 21, 2011.

ADDRESSES: This document is available primarily via the Internet at the 
following Web site: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_index.html. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2010-0108, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 202-566-91741.
     Mail: EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0108, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail code 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460. Please include a total of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 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-
2010-0108. 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 website 
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: 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 and Radiation 
Docket and Information Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The 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, and the telephone number for the Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Zachary Pekar, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (Mail code C539-07), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 
919-541-3704; fax number: 919-541-5315; e-mail address: 
[email protected]. For further information on the ecological risk 
assessment chapter, contact Dr. Travis Smith, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards (Mail code C539-07), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 
919-541-2035; fax number: 919-541-5315; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. 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.

[[Page 58510]]

     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.

II. Information Specific to This Document

    Two sections of the Clean Air Act govern the establishment and 
revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 (42 U.S.C. 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), EPA establishes primary (health-based) and 
secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for pollutants for which air quality 
criteria are issued. Section 109(d) 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 revise the NAAQS, if appropriate, 
based on the revised 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).
    Presently, EPA is reviewing the NAAQS for Pb.\1\ The First Draft 
ISA was released in early May (76 FR 26284) and reviewed by CASAC at a 
public meeting announced in a separate notice (76 FR 36120). The 
document that is the subject of today's notice considers the extent to 
which information and conclusions presented in the First Draft ISA 
provide support for the development of quantitative assessments of risk 
and exposure for health and/or welfare effects. This document is 
available on the EPA's Technology Transfer Network Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_index.html. The document is 
accessible in the ``Documents from Current Review'' section under 
``Planning Documents.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The EPA's call for information for this review was issued on 
February 26, 2010 (75 FR 8934).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The REA Planning Document has been made available for consultation 
with CASAC and for public comment. Comments should be submitted to the 
docket, as described above. The CASAC consultation on this planning 
document occurred on July 21, 2011. A separate Federal Register notice 
published on June 21, 2011 (76 FR 36120) provided additional details 
about this meeting and the process for participation. The document that 
is the subject of today's notice does not represent and should not be 
construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or 
determination.

    Dated: September 15, 2011.
Mary Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2011-24280 Filed 9-20-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-60-P