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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36534-36536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14776]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9689-3; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-0050]

Third External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for 
Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing the availability of the third external 
review draft of a document titled, ``Third External Review Draft 
Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical 
Oxidants'' (EPA/600/R-10/076C). The document was prepared by the 
National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office 
of Research and Development as part of the review of the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone.
    EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public (meeting date 
and location to be specified in a separate Federal Register notice). 
The draft document does not represent and should not be construed to 
represent

[[Page 36535]]

any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will consider 
any public comments submitted in response to this notice when revising 
the document.

DATES: The public comment period begins, June 19, 2012, and ends August 
20, 2012. Comments must be received on or before August 20, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The ``Third External Review Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants'' will be 
available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for 
Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and 
Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of CD-
ROM or paper copies will be available. Contact Ms. Marieka Boyd by 
phone (919-541-0031), fax (919-541-5078), or email 
(boyd.marieka@epa.gov) to request either of these, and please provide 
your name, your mailing address, and the document title, ``Third 
External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and 
Related Photochemical Oxidants'' (EPA/600/R-10/076C) to facilitate 
processing of your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information, contact Dr. 
James Brown, NCEA; telephone: 919-541-0765; facsimile: 919-541-1818; or 
email: Brown.James@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    Section 108 (a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to 
identify certain pollutants which, among other things, ``cause or 
contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health or welfare'' and to issue air quality criteria 
for them. These 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 [a] pollutant in the ambient air. * * *'' 
Under section 109 of the Act, EPA is then to establish NAAQS for each 
pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria. Section 109 (d) of the Act 
subsequently 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 or welfare. 
EPA is also to periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the 
NAAQS, based on the revised air quality criteria.
    Ozone (O3) is one of six principal (or ``criteria'') 
pollutants for which EPA has established NAAQS. Periodically, EPA 
reviews the scientific basis for these standards by preparing an 
Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) (formerly called an Air Quality 
Criteria Document). The ISA, in conjunction with additional technical 
and policy assessments, provide the scientific basis for EPA decisions 
on the adequacy of the current NAAQS and the appropriateness of 
possible alternative standards. The CASAC, an independent science 
advisory committee whose existence and whose review and advisory 
functions are mandated by Section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act, is 
charged (among other things) with independent scientific review of 
EPA's air quality criteria.
    On September 29, 2008 (73 FR 56581), EPA formally initiated its 
current review of the air quality criteria for ozone, requesting the 
submission of recent scientific information on specified topics. A 
draft of EPA's ``Integrated Review Plan for the Ozone National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards Review'' (EPA/452/P-09/001) was made available in 
September 2009 for public comment and was discussed by the CASAC via a 
publicly accessible teleconference consultation on November 13, 2009 
(74 FR 54562). In August 2010, EPA held a workshop to discuss, with 
invited scientific experts, initial draft materials prepared in the 
development of the ISA (75 FR 42085). The first external review draft 
ISA for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants was released on March 
4, 2011 (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/isa/recordisplay.cfm?deid=217463). 
The CASAC panel met at a public meeting on May 19, 2011, to review the 
draft ISA (76 FR 23809). Subsequently, on August 10, 2011, the CASAC 
panel provided a consensus letter for their review to the Administrator 
of the EPA (http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/
4620a620d0120f93852572410080d786/45A59F1BC8912FEE852578E80066021C/
$File/EPA-CASAC-11-009-unsigned.pdf). The second external review draft 
ISA for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants was released on 
September 30, 2011 (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/isa/recordisplay.cfm?deid=226363). The CASAC panel met at a public meeting 
on January 9, 2012, to review the draft ISA (76 FR 76725). 
Subsequently, on March 13, 2012, the CASAC panel provided a consensus 
letter for their review to the Administrator of the EPA (http://
yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/4620a620d0120f93852572410080d786/
1336B2B88034AEB6852579C0007070CA/$File/EPA-CASAC-12-004-unsigned.pdf).
    The third external review draft ISA for Ozone and Related 
Photochemical Oxidants will be discussed at a public meeting for review 
by CASAC, and public comments received will be provided to the CASAC 
review panel. A future Federal Register notice will inform the public 
of the exact date and time of that CASAC meeting.

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

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-
0050 by one of the following methods:
    www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-9744.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket 
(Mail Code: 28221T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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. Such deliveries are only accepted during 
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should 
be made for deliveries of boxed information. If you provide comments by 
mail or hand delivery, please submit three copies of the comments. For 
attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively with the 
comments, and submit an unbound original and three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2011-0050. 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 comments it receives in the public docket 
without change and to make the comments available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information through 
www.regulations.gov or email that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access''

[[Page 36536]]

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 comment directly to EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov, your email 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 home page at www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    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 OEI Docket in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: June 7, 2012.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2012-14776 Filed 6-18-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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