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[Federal Register: March 12, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 48)]
[Notices]               
[Page 11877-11878]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12mr10-55]                         


[[Page 11877]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1145; FRL-9126-8]

 
Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
for Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft report.

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SUMMARY: On or about March 1, 2010, the Office of Air Quality Planning 
and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available a draft report, Policy 
Assessment for the Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur: First External 
Review Draft. The EPA is releasing this preliminary draft document to 
seek early consultation with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory 
Committee (CASAC) and to solicit public comment on the overall 
structure and framing of key issues and areas of focus that will be 
discussed in a future, complete draft policy assessment document.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before April 29, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-1145, by one of the following methods:
    www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail) 
to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-
1145.
     Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket 
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1145.
     Mail: Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1145.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: EPA 
Docket Center, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Room 3334, 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-
2007-1145. The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless 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 www.regulations.gov 
or e-mail. The 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 
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.
    Docket: All 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 material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air Docket in the EPA 
Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC. This Docket Facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket 
telephone number is 202-566-1742; fax 202-566-9744.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Bryan Hubbell, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (Mailcode C504-02), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
hubbell.bryan@epa.gov; telephone: 919-541-0621; fax: 919-541-0804.

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 
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.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.
    Under section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Administrator 
identifies and lists certain pollutants which ``cause or contribute to 
air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public 
health or welfare.'' The EPA then issues air quality criteria for 
listed pollutants, which are commonly referred to as ``criteria 
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 [a] pollutant in the ambient air, in 
varying

[[Page 11878]]

quantities.'' Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA establishes national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for each listed pollutant, with 
the NAAQS based on the air quality criteria. Section 109(d) of the CAA 
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.
    The EPA is currently conducting a joint review of the existing 
secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for oxides of nitrogen (NOX) 
and oxides of sulfur (SOX). Because NOX, 
SOX, and their associated transformation products are linked 
from an atmospheric chemistry perspective as well as from an 
environmental effects perspective, and because of the National Research 
Council's 2004 recommendations to consider multiple pollutants in 
forming the scientific basis for the NAAQS, EPA has decided to jointly 
assess the science, risks, and policies relevant to protecting the 
public welfare associated with NOX and SOX. This 
is the first time since NAAQS were established in 1971 that a joint 
review of these two pollutants has been conducted. Since both the CASAC 
and EPA have recognized these interactions historically, and the 
science related to these interactions has continued to evolve and grow 
to the present day, there is a strong basis for considering them 
together.
    As part of this review of the current secondary (welfare-based) 
NAAQS for NOX and SOX, EPA's OAQPS staff are 
preparing a first draft Policy Assessment. The objective of this 
assessment is to evaluate the policy implications of the key scientific 
information contained in the document Integrated Science Assessment for 
Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur-Ecological Criteria (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=201485), prepared by EPA's 
National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) and the results 
from the analyses contained in the Risk and Exposure Assessment for 
Review of the Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 
Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur (http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/no2so2sec/cr_rea.html). The first draft Policy Assessment 
will be available online at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/no2so2sec/index.html. This first draft Policy Assessment will be 
reviewed by the CASAC during a public meeting to be held April 1 and 2, 
2010. Information about this public meeting will be available at http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabpeople.nsf/WebCommittees/CASAC.

    Dated: March 9, 2010.
Mary E. Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2010-5576 Filed 3-11-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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