[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 164 (Friday, August 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58264-58265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18335]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2023-0435; FRL-11277-01-ORD]


Call for Information on the Integrated Science Assessment for 
Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; call for information.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing an 
Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) as part of the review of the air 
quality criteria and the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-
based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Ozone 
(O3) and related photochemical oxidants. The ISA will be 
developed by the Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment 
(CPHEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development. When final, 
the ISA is intended to update the previous ISA for O3 and 
related photochemical oxidants (EPA/600/R-20/012), published in 2020. 
Interested parties are invited to assist EPA in developing and refining 
the scientific information base for the review of the O3 
NAAQS by submitting research studies and data that have been published 
or accepted for publication since January 1, 2018.

DATES: All communications and information should be received by EPA by 
October 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Information may be submitted electronically, by mail, by 
facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. Please follow the detailed 
instructions as provided in the section of this notice entitled 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters Docket Center; 
phone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-9744; or email: 
[email protected]. For technical information, contact Qingyu Meng; 
phone: 919-541-2563; or email: [email protected]; or Jeffrey Herrick; 
phone: 919-541-7745; or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act (the Act) directs the 
Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants which, among 
other things, ``cause or contribute to air pollution which may 
reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare;'' \1\ 
and then to issue air quality criteria for them. 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 
[the] pollutant in the ambient air . . . .''.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Under Clean Air Act section 302(h), welfare effects include, 
but are not limited to, ``effects on soils, water, crops, 
vegetation, manmade materials, animals, wildlife, weather, 
visibility, and climate, damage and deterioration of property, and 
hazards to transportation, as well as effects on economic values and 
on personal comfort and well-being.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under section 109 of the Act, EPA is then to establish NAAQS for 
each pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria. Section 109(d)(1) of 
the Act additionally 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 
and welfare. Under the same provision, EPA is also to periodically 
review and, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS, based on the revised air 
quality criteria. Documents and technical materials associated with 
NAAQS reviews are available at https://www.epa.gov/naaqs.
    Photochemical oxidants, including O3, are one of six 
``criteria'' pollutants for which EPA has established NAAQS, and 
O3 is the current indicator for that NAAQS. In its periodic 
review of the air quality criteria for these pollutants, EPA reviews 
the currently available science and prepares an ISA. The ISA provides 
the scientific foundation for EPA's NAAQS reviews, in conjunction with 
additional technical and policy assessments, and for the 
Administrator's decisions on the adequacy of the current NAAQS and the 
appropriateness of possible alternative standards. Early steps in this 
review process include announcing the initiation of the review of the 
air quality criteria and the NAAQS and the intention of the EPA to 
develop an ISA, and requesting that the public submit scientific 
literature that they want to bring to the attention of the Agency as it 
begins this process. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee 
(CASAC), whose review and advisory functions are mandated by section 
109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act, is charged, among other things, with 
the independent scientific review of the air quality criteria. In 
conjunction with the CASAC review, the public will have an opportunity 
to review and comment on the draft ISA. The ISA developed in this 
review of the air quality criteria and O3 NAAQS will build 
on the scientific assessment from the last review,\2\ focusing on 
assessing and integrating the information newly available since that 
considered in the 2020 ISA. With regard to development of the ISA, the 
public is encouraged to assist in identifying relevant scientific 
information for the review by submitting research studies that were

[[Page 58265]]

not part of the prior review, and that have been published or accepted 
for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The Agency is interested in 
obtaining newly available information, particularly concerning 
toxicological studies of effects of controlled exposure to 
O3 in laboratory animals, humans, and in vitro systems; 
epidemiologic (observational) studies of health effects associated with 
ambient O3 exposures in human populations; studies examining 
populations and life stages that may be at increased risk of 
O3-related health effects.. For studies examining 
effects on welfare or the environment, studies that address or provide 
new information on terrestrial biota are of particular interest, 
including effects of O3 on vegetation; communities and 
populations of plants and associated biota, as well as exposure-
response relationships between O3 in ambient air and 
specific welfare effects. The EPA also seeks recent information in 
other areas of O3 research such as atmospheric chemistry and 
physics, sources and emissions, analytical methodology, transport and 
transformation in the environment, and ambient concentrations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The scientific assessment for the last review is documented 
in the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for Ozone and Related 
Photochemical Oxidants (Final Report, April 2020). U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-20/012, 
2020; 85 FR 21849, April 20, 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Agency also seeks information regarding the design and scope of 
the review of the air quality criteria to ensure that it addresses key 
policy-relevant issues and considers the new science that is relevant 
to informing our understanding of these issues. The Agency seeks new 
scientific information that may address key uncertainties identified in 
the last O3 NAAQS review, which are provided in section 3.6 
of the 2020 Policy Assessment (EPA-452/R-20-001, May 2020).\3\ The 
Agency also seeks new scientific information or data that may address 
scientific and technical issues raised in two more recent letters from 
CASAC: one dated November 22, 2022 (EPA-CASAC-23-001) \4\ and the other 
dated June 9, 2023 (EPA-CASAC-23-002).\5\ Other opportunities for 
submission of new peer-reviewed, published (or in-press) papers will be 
possible as part of public comment on the draft ISA that will be 
reviewed by the CASAC.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The 2020 Policy Assessment for the Review of the Ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards is available at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/documents/o3-final_pa-05-29-20compressed.pdf.
    \4\ Letter from Elizabeth A. Sheppard, Chair, Clean Air 
Scientific Advisory Committee, to Administrator Michael S. Regan. 
Re: CASAC Review of the EPA's Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) 
for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (Final Report--April 
2020). November 22, 2022. EPA-CASAC-23-001. Available at: https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=105:18:8476900499267:::RP,18:P18_ID:2614.
    \5\ Letter from Elizabeth A. Sheppard, Chair, Clean Air 
Scientific Advisory Committee, to Administrator Michael S. Regan. 
Re: CASAC Review of the EPA's Policy Assessment (PA) for the 
Reconsideration of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
(External Review Draft Version 2) (June 9, 2023) (EPA-CASAC-23-002). 
Available at https://casac.epa.gov/ords/sab/f?p=113:18:7093179574667:::RP,18:P18_ID:2636#meeting.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    Submit your materials identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2023-
0435 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Office of Research and Development Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 
202-566-1752.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: EPA Docket Center, WJC West 
Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. 
The Docket Center's hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays). If you provide 
materials by mail or hand delivery, please submit three copies of these 
materials. For attachments, provide an index, number pages 
consecutively with the materials, and submit an unbound original and 
three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2023-0435. 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 materials it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the materials available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless materials include 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 www.regulations.gov or email. The 
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 email directly 
to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email address 
will be automatically captured and included as part of the materials 
that are placed in the public docket and made available on the 
internet. If you submit electronic materials, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
materials and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read 
your materials due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider the materials you 
submit. 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 EPA's Docket 
Center homepage at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the 
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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the ORD Docket in EPA's 
Headquarters Docket Center.

Wayne Cascio,
Director, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2023-18335 Filed 8-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P