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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20347-20349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8706]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0108; FRL-9292-8]

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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On or about March 31, 2011, the EPA is making available for 
public review the draft Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards for Lead (draft IRP). This document contains the 
plans for the review of the air quality criteria and national ambient 
air quality standards (NAAQS) for lead (Pb). The Pb NAAQS provide for 
the protection of public health and the environment from Pb in ambient 
air.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by April 28, 2011.

ADDRESSES: This document will be 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: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-9744.
     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

[[Page 20348]]

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 Web site 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. Deirdre 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: 919-541-0237; e-mail address: 
murphy.deirdre@epa.gov.

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.
     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 (CAA) govern the establishment 
and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 (42 U.S.C. section 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 draft document 
announced today is being developed as part of the planning phase for 
the review. This phase began with a science policy workshop to identify 
issues and questions to frame the review. Drawing from the workshop 
discussions, a draft integrated review plan (IRP) has been prepared 
jointly by EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment, within 
the Office of Research and Development, and EPA's Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, within the Office of Air and Radiation. This 
document will be available on the EPA's Technology Transfer Network 
(TTN) Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_index.html. The document will be accessible in the

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``Documents from Current Review'' section under ``Planning Documents.''
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    \1\ The EPA's call for information for this review was issued on 
February 26, 2010 (75 FR 8934).
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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 April 28, 2011. The CASAC consultation on this 
planning document is scheduled for May 5, 2011. 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 today presents 
the current plan and specifies the schedule for the entire review, the 
process for conducting the review, and the key policy-relevant science 
issues that will guide the review. This draft document does not 
represent and should not be construed to represent any final EPA 
policy, viewpoint, or determination.

    Dated: April 6, 2011.
Mary Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2011-8706 Filed 4-11-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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