[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13732-13733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05085]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0312; FRL-7887-02-OAR]


Release of Volumes 1 and 2 of the Integrated Review Plan for the 
Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On or about March 4, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) is making available to the public, Volumes 1 and 2 of the 
Integrated Review Plan for the Lead National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (IRP). The national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for 
lead (Pb) are set to protect the public health and the public welfare 
from Pb in ambient air. Volume 1 of the IRP contains contextual 
background material and the anticipated schedule for the current review 
of the air quality criteria and NAAQS for Pb. Volume 2 identifies 
policy-relevant issues in the review and describes key considerations 
in EPA's development of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA). The 
ISA provides the scientific basis for the EPA's decisions, in 
conjunction with additional technical and policy assessments, for the 
review of the NAAQS, as described in the Clean Air Act, section 108(a).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 4, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments on Volume 2 of the IRP, identified by 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0312, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Office of Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): 
EPA Start Printed Page 56264 Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 
3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket 
Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday 
(except Federal Holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this notice. Comments received may be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments, see the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. The two volumes 
described here will be available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/lead-pb-air-quality-standards. The documents 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

Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-
0312, at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the 
other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. The EPA may 
publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to 
EPA's docket at https://www.regulations.gov 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 (i.e., 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://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Due to public health concerns, the EPA Docket Center and Reading 
Room are open to the public by appointment only. Our Docket Center 
staff continues to provide remote customer service via email, phone, 
and webform. Hand deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled 
appointment only. For further information and updates on EPA Docket 
Center services, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

II. Information About the Documents

    Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) govern the

[[Page 13733]]

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 Pb.\1\ The documents announced in this notice have been developed 
as part of the integrated review plan (IRP) which is developed in the 
planning phase for the review. The documents have been prepared jointly 
by the EPA's Center for Public Health and 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. 
These documents will be available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/lead-pb-air-quality-standards, 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 
July 7, 2020 (85 FR 40641).
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    The IRP for the current review of the lead NAAQS will be comprised 
of three volumes. Volumes 1 and 2 are the subject of this notice. 
Volume 1 provides background information on the air quality criteria 
and standards for Pb and may serve as a reference by the public and the 
CASAC in their consideration of the subsequent two volumes. Volume 2 
addresses the general approach for the review and planning for the 
integrated science assessment (ISA). Comments are solicited from the 
public on Volume 2, which will also be the subject of a consultation 
with the CASAC, to be announced in a separate Federal Register notice. 
This volume identifies policy-relevant issues in the review and 
describes key considerations in EPA's development of the ISA. Volume 3, 
which is not yet completed, is the planning document for quantitative 
analyses to be considered in the policy assessment (PA), including 
exposure and risk analyses. In order that consideration of the 
availability of new evidence in the review can inform these plans, the 
development and public availability of Volume 3 will generally coincide 
with that of the draft ISA and it will be the subject of a consultation 
with the CASAC at that time.
    Comments on Volume 2 of the IRP should be submitted to the docket, 
as described above, by April 4, 2022. A separate Federal Register 
notice will provide details about the CASAC consultation meeting and 
the process for participation in the CASAC consultation on Volume 2. 
The EPA will consider the consultation comments from the CASAC and 
public comments on the IRP, Volume 2, in preparation of the Pb ISA. 
Volume 1 of the IRP, also being made available, provides background or 
contextual and historical material for this NAAQS review. These 
documents do not represent and should not be construed to represent any 
final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination.

Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2022-05085 Filed 3-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P