Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492-0043
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Draft Documents Related to the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter
Posted Date: 2009-10-05T04:00Z

[Federal Register: October 5, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 191)]
[Notices]               
[Page 51148-51150]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05oc09-46]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492; FRL-8965-5]

 
Draft Documents Related to the Review of the National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards for Particulate Matter

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing an extension of the public comment 
period for two draft assessment documents titled, Risk Assessment to 
Support the Review of the PM Primary National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards--External Review Draft and Particulate Matter Urban-Focused 
Visibility Assessment--External Review Draft (74 FR 46589; September 
10, 2009). The EPA is extending the comment period that originally was 
scheduled to end on October 15, 2009. The extended comment period will 
close on November 9, 2009. The EPA is extending the comment period to 
provide stakeholders and the public with adequate time to conduct 
appropriate analysis and prepare meaningful comments.

[[Page 51149]]

DATES: Comments on the above reports must be received on or before 
November 9, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2007-0492, by one of the following methods:
     http://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-
0492.
     Fax: Fax your comments to 202-566-9744, Attention Docket 
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0492.
     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-2007-0492.
     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-
2007-0492. 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 http://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 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 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: For questions related to the draft 
document titled, Risk Assessment to Support the Review of the PM 
Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards: External Review Draft 
(September 2009), please contact Dr. Zachary Pekar, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
pekar.zachary@epa.gov; telephone: 919-541-3704; fax: 919-541-0237.
    For questions related to the draft document titled, Particulate 
Matter Urban-Focused Visibility Assessment--External Review Draft 
(September 2009), please contact Ms. Vicki Sandiford, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
sandiford.vicki@epa.gov; telephone: 919-541-2629; fax: 919-541-0237.
    For questions related to the preliminary draft document, Policy 
Assessment for the Review of the Particulate Matter National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards: Preliminary Draft (September 2009), please 
contact Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple, Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards (Mail code C504-06), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: hassett-sipple.beth@epa.gov; 
telephone: 919-541-4605; fax: 919-541-0237.

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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 these 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

[[Page 51150]]

health or welfare which may be expected from the presence of [a] 
pollutant in the ambient air, in varying quantities.'' Under section 
109 of the CAA, EPA establishes primary (health-based) and secondary 
(welfare-based) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for 
pollutants for which air quality criteria are issued. 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.
    Air quality criteria have been established for particulate matter 
(PM) and NAAQS have been established for PM2.5 and 
PM10 to provide protection from fine and coarse particles, 
respectively. Presently, EPA is reviewing the air quality criteria and 
NAAQS for PM. The EPA's overall plan and schedule for this review is 
presented in the Integrated Review Plan for the National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards for Particulate Matter.\1\ A draft of the integrated 
review plan was released for public review and comment in October 2007 
and was the subject of a consultation with the Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) on November 30, 2007 (72 FR 63177; November 
8, 2007). Comments received from that consultation and from the public 
were considered in finalizing the plan and in beginning the review of 
the air quality criteria.
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    \1\ EPA 452R-08-004; March 2008; Available: http://www.epa.gov/
ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pd.html.
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    As part of EPA's review of the primary (health-based) and secondary 
(welfare-based) PM NAAQS, the Agency is conducting quantitative 
assessments characterizing (1) the health risks associated with 
exposure to ambient PM and (2) urban visibility impairment associated 
with PM. The EPA's plans for conducting these assessments, including 
the proposed scope and methods of the analyses, were presented in two 
planning documents titled, Particulate Matter National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Health Risk and Exposure 
Assessment and Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards: Scope and Methods Plan for Urban Visibility Impact 
Assessment (henceforth, Scope and Methods Plans).\2\ These documents 
were released for public comment in February 2009 and were the subject 
of a consultation with the CASAC on April 2, 2009 (74 FR 11580; March 
18, 2009). Comments received from the CASAC consultation (Samet, 2009) 
\3\ as well as public comments on the Scope and Methods Plans have been 
considered in developing the draft assessment documents being released 
at this time.
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    \2\ EPA-452/P-09-001 and -002; February 2009; Available: http://
www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_pd.html.
    \3\ See http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/SABPRODUCT.NSF/
81e39f4c09954fcb85256ead006be86e/
350899ec134552948525746600691de5!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.3#2.
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    The draft documents announced on September 10, 2009 (74 FR 46589) 
convey the approaches taken to assess exposures to ambient PM and to 
characterize associated health risks or urban visibility impairment, as 
well as present the initial key results, observations, and related 
uncertainties associated with the quantitative analyses performed. 
These draft documents were made available on September 8, 2009, through 
the Agency's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at http://
www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html. These documents 
may be accessed in the ``Documents from Current Review'' section under 
``Risk and Exposure Assessments.'' The EPA is soliciting advice and 
recommendations from the CASAC by means of a review of the draft 
documents at an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC scheduled in 
Chapel Hill, NC. Information about this public meeting was published as 
a separate notice in the Federal Register on September 10, 2009 (74 FR 
46586). Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will consider comments 
received from the CASAC and the public in preparing revisions to these 
assessment documents.
    In addition, on September 16, 2009, EPA made available a third 
draft document titled, Policy Assessment for the Review of the National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards: Preliminary Draft. The development of 
this document is a result of recent changes to the NAAQS review 
process. On May 21, 2009, Administrator Jackson called for key changes 
to the NAAQS review process including reinstating a policy assessment 
document that contains staff analyses of the scientific bases for 
alternative policy options for consideration by senior Agency 
management prior to rulemaking. This document, which builds upon the 
historical ``Staff Paper,'' will serve to ``bridge the gap'' between 
the scientific information and the judgments required of the 
Administrator in determining whether it is appropriate to retain or 
revise the standards. In conjunction with this change, EPA will no 
longer issue a policy assessment in the form of an Advance Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR).\4\
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    \4\ See http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/review.html for a copy of 
Administrator Jackson's May 21, 2009 memorandum and for additional 
information on the NAAQS review process.
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    The preliminary draft Policy Assessment (PA) builds upon 
information presented in the Integrated Science Assessment for 
Particulate Matter (Second External Review Draft) \5\ and the two draft 
assessment documents described above. This preliminary draft PA 
includes several chapters but is not intended to be a complete draft PA 
document in that it does not include staff conclusions on a range of 
policy options that could be appropriate for the Administrator to 
consider concerning whether, and if so how, to revise the primary and 
secondary PM NAAQS. It is instead being released for informational 
purposes to facilitate a discussion with CASAC on the overall 
structure, areas of focus, and level of detail to be included in an 
external review draft of the document, which EPA plans to release for 
CASAC review and public comment later this year.
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    \5\ EPA/600/R-08/139B; July 2009; Available: http://www.epa.gov/
ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_2007_isa.html.
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    The preliminary draft PA may be accessed online through EPA's TTN 
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_
index.html. This document may be accessed in the ``Documents from 
Current Review'' section under ``Policy Assessments.'' The discussion 
with CASAC on this preliminary draft PA will be held at the same 
meeting that CASAC will review the second draft Integrated Science 
Assessment (ISA) and the two draft assessment documents described 
above.
    The draft documents briefly described above do not represent and 
should not be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, 
or determination. The EPA will consider any public comments submitted 
in response to this notice when revising the documents.

    Dated: September 28, 2009.
Jennifer Noonan Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. E9-23940 Filed 10-2-09; 8:45 am]

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