[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6215-6217]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01924]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 50

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0072; FRL-8635-05-OAR]
RIN 2060-AV52


Public Hearing for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 6216]]


ACTION: Notification of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that a 
virtual public hearing will be held for the proposed action titled, 
``Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 
Particulate Matter,'' which was signed on January 5, 2023. The hearing 
will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, and Wednesday, February 22, 
2023. Based on the EPA's reconsideration of the air quality criteria 
and the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate 
matter (PM), the EPA proposes to revise the primary annual 
PM2.5 standard by lowering the level. The Agency proposes to 
retain the current primary 24-hour PM2.5 standard and the 
primary 24-hour PM10 standard. The Agency also proposes not 
to change the secondary 24-hour PM2.5 standard, secondary 
annual PM2.5 standard, and secondary 24-hour PM10 
standard at this time. The EPA also proposes revisions to other key 
aspects related to the PM NAAQS, including revisions to the Air Quality 
Index (AQI) and monitoring requirements for the PM NAAQS.

DATES: Comments on the proposed action must be received on or before 
March 28, 2023. Public Hearing: The EPA will hold a virtual public 
hearing on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, and Wednesday, February 22, 
2023. If the EPA receives a high volume of registrations for the public 
hearing, we may continue the public hearing on February 23, 2023. 
(Please refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional 
information on the public hearings).

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2015-0072, by any of the following means:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include the Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0072 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): 
EPA 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 rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.
    Virtual Public Hearing: The public hearing will be held via virtual 
platform on February 21, 2023, and February 22, 2023, and will convene 
at 11 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) and conclude at 7 p.m. ET each day. On 
each hearing day, the EPA may close a session 15 minutes after the last 
pre-registered speaker has testified if there are no additional 
speakers. The EPA will announce further details at https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm. If the 
EPA receives a high volume of registrations for the public hearing, we 
may continue the public hearing on February 23, 2023. Refer to the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for additional information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information or questions about the 
public hearing, please contact the public hearing team at 919-541-0505 
or [email protected].
    For information or questions regarding the reconsideration of the 
PM NAAQS, please contact Dr. Lars Perlmutt, Health and Environmental 
Impacts Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code C539-04, Research Triangle 
Park, NC 27711; telephone: (919) 541-3037; fax: (919) 541-5315; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA is reconsidering the PM NAAQS 
because the available scientific evidence and technical information 
indicate that the current standards may not be adequate to protect 
public health and welfare, as required by section 109 (42 U.S.C. 7409) 
of the Clean Air Act. The proposed action for which the EPA is holding 
a public hearing was signed on January 5, 2023, and is available at 
https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/particulate-matter-pm-standards-federal-register-notices-current-review. The public hearing will provide 
interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or arguments 
concerning the EPA's proposed decisions in the reconsideration of the 
PM NAAQS. Written statements and supporting information submitted 
during the comment period will be considered with the same weight as 
any oral comments and supporting information presented at the public 
hearing.
    Written Comments: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2015-0072, 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 electronically any information that 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 submission. The written 
submission is considered the official submission and should include 
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not 
consider submissions or submission content 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.
    Participating in Virtual Public Hearings: The public hearing will 
be held via virtual platform on February 21, 2023, and February 22, 
2023, and will convene at 11 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) and conclude at 7 
p.m. ET each day. On each hearing day, the EPA may close a session 15 
minutes after the last pre-registered speaker has testified if there 
are no additional speakers. The EPA will announce further details at 
https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm. If the EPA receives a high volume of registrations 
for the public hearing, we may continue the public hearing on February 
23, 2023.
    The EPA will begin pre-registering speakers for the hearing upon 
publication of this document in the Federal Register. To register to 
speak at the virtual hearing, please follow the directions at https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm or contact the public hearing team at 919-541-0505 or by email at 
[email protected]. The last day to pre-register to speak at the 
hearing will be February 16, 2023. Prior to the hearing, the EPA will 
post a general agenda for the hearing that will list the pre-registered 
speakers in approximate order at: https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/
national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-

[[Page 6217]]

pm. The EPA will make every effort to follow the schedule as closely as 
possible on the day of the hearing; however, please plan for the 
hearings to run either ahead of schedule or behind schedule. Each 
commenter will have 5 minutes to provide oral testimony. The EPA 
encourages commenters to provide the EPA with a copy of their oral 
testimony by submitting the text of your oral testimony as written 
comments to the rulemaking docket. The EPA may ask clarifying questions 
during the oral presentations but will not respond to the presenters at 
that time. Written statements and supporting information during the 
comment period will be considered with the same weight as oral comments 
and supporting information presented at the public hearing. Please note 
that any updates made to any aspect of the hearing is posted online at 
https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/national-ambient-air-quality-standards-naaqs-pm. While the EPA expects the hearing to go forward as 
set forth above, please monitor our website or contact the public 
hearing team at 919-541-0505 or [email protected] to determine 
if there are any updates. The EPA does not intend to publish a document 
in the Federal Register announcing updates.
    If you require the services of a translator or special 
accommodations such as audio description, please pre-register for the 
hearing with the public hearing team and describe your needs by 
February 7, 2023. The EPA may not be able to arrange accommodations 
without advance notice.
    How can I get copies of the proposed action and other related 
information? The EPA has established a docket under Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2015-0072 (available at https://www.regulations.gov). The EPA 
has also made available information related to the proposed action on 
the following website: https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/particulate-matter-pm-air-quality-standards.

Panagiotis Tsirigotis,
Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2023-01924 Filed 1-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P