[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 213 (Friday, November 2, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55163-55164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24037]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0279; FRL-9986-01-OAR]


Release of Draft Integrated Review Plan for the Ozone National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On or about October 29, 2018, the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is making available for public review the draft Integrated 
Review Plan for the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (draft 
IRP). This document contains the draft plans and the anticipated 
schedule for the current review of the air quality criteria and 
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for photochemical 
oxidants including ozone (O3). The primary and secondary 
O3 NAAQS are set to protect the public health and the public 
welfare from O3 in ambient air.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 3, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments and related information, identified by 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0279 to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: 
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
withdrawn. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public 
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, 
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written 
comment is considered the official comment and should include 
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not 
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary 
submission (e.g., on the Web, Cloud, or other file sharing system). For 
additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, 
information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance 
on making effective comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    This document will be available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards. The document will be 
accessible under ``Planning Documents'' from the current review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Deirdre L. Murphy, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards, (Mail Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 
919-541-0729, fax number: 919-541-027; or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA 
through https://www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or 
all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on 
any digital storage media that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of 
the digital storage media as CBI and then identify electronically 
within the digital storage media 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. If you submit any digital storage media 
that does not contain CBI, mark the outside of the digital storage 
media clearly that it does not contain CBI. Information so marked will 
not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2. Send or deliver information 
identified as CBI only to the following address: OAQPS Document Control 
Officer (C404-02), OAQPS, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711, Attention Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0279.
    2. Tips for Preparing your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the notice 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 CFR part or 
section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternative and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumption 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.

[[Page 55164]]

II. Information About the Project

    Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) govern the 
establishment and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 directs the 
Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then 
issue ``air quality criteria'' for those 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 
such pollutant in the ambient air . . .'' (CAA section 108(a)(2)). 
Under section 109 of the Act, the EPA is then to establish primary 
(health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for each pollutant 
for which the EPA has issued air quality criteria. Section 109(d)(1) of 
the Act requires periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of 
existing air quality criteria. Revised air quality criteria are to 
reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the 
pollutant on public health and welfare. Under the same provision, the 
EPA is also to periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the 
NAAQS, based on the revised air quality criteria.
    The Act additionally requires appointment of an independent 
scientific review committee that is to periodically review the existing 
air quality criteria and NAAQS and to recommend any new standards and 
revisions of existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate (CAA 
section 109(d)(2)(A)-(B)). Since the early 1980s, the requirement for 
an independent scientific review committee has been fulfilled by the 
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
    Presently the EPA is reviewing the air quality criteria and NAAQS 
for photochemical oxidants and O3.\1\ The draft document 
announced in this notice is being developed as part of the planning 
phase for the review. The draft IRP has been prepared jointly by the 
EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment, within the Office 
of Research and Development, and the Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, within the Office of Air and Radiation. This document will 
be available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards. The document will be accessible under 
``Planning Documents'' from the current review.
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    \1\ The EPA's call for information for this review was issued on 
June 26, 2018 (83 FR 29785).
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    The draft IRP is being made available for consultation with CASAC 
and for public comment. Comments should be submitted to the docket, as 
described above, by December 3, 2018. A separate Federal Register 
notice will provide details about this meeting and the process for 
participation. The final IRP will be prepared in consideration of CASAC 
and public comments. The draft document announced in this notice 
presents the draft plan for this review, including the anticipated 
timeline for the review, the expected process for conducting the 
review, and the key policy-relevant science issues that are expected to 
guide the review. This draft document does not represent and should not 
be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or 
determination.

    Dated: October 29, 2018.
Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2018-24037 Filed 11-1-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P