Document ID: EPA-HQ-RCRA-2002-0033-0050
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance: Evaluating Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway from Contaminated Groundwater and Soils
Posted Date: 2011-03-17T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14660-14661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6217]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-RCRA-2002-0033; FRL-9281-1]

Public Comment on the Development of Final Guidance for 
Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway From Contaminated 
Groundwater and Soils (Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') is announcing an 
opportunity for public comment on the development of a final guidance 
entitled: Evaluating Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway from 
Contaminated Groundwater and Soil (Subsurface Vapor Intrusion 
Guidance). A draft of the Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance was 
released for public comment in November 2002. EPA is planning to issue 
the final guidance by November 30, 2012 and is seeking public comment 
for consideration during the development of this document. EPA also 
intends to make another draft of the guidance available for public 
comment in the spring of 2012.

DATES: Comments received by May 14, 2011 will be considered in the 
development of the final Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
RCRA-2002-0033, 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: rcra-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2002-0033.
     Fax: Comments may be faxed to 202-566-9744, Attention 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2002-0033.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; EPA Docket 
Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2002-0033. Please include 
two copies of your submission.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver two copies of your submission to 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2002-0033, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. 20460. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and 
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information.
     Listening Session: Oral and written comments will be 
accepted at an internet and telephone-accessible public listening 
session to be held on April 11, 2011 at EPA's First Floor Conference 
Center in the Potomac Yard South Building located at: 2777 Crystal 
Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. The listening session will begin at 9:00 
a.m. and end at approximately 5 p.m. Advanced registration is requested 
for those wishing to attend the listening session. Additional details, 
including instructions for registering and attending via the internet, 
is under Listening Session and available at: http://www.epa.gov/oswer/vaporintrusion. To participate by telephone only (and not internet) use 
1-866-299-3188, access code 7036039924.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-
2002-0033. EPA's policy is that all submissions 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 submission 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 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 comments. If you send an e-mail directly to EPA without going 
through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the submission that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic document, EPA recommends that you include your 
name and other contact information in the body of your submission and 
with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your submission 
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 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 RCRA Docket, EPA/
DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, 
20460. 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

[[Page 14661]]

the telephone number for the RCRA Docket is (202) 566-0270.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stiven Foster, Policy Analysis & 
Regulatory Management Staff, Office of Program Management, Office of 
Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Mail Code 5103T, Washington, DC. 
20460; telephone: (202) 566-1911; fax number; 202-566-1934; e-mail 
address: foster.stiven@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

    This notice is directed to the public in general, and may be of 
interest to a wide range of stakeholders, including private citizens, 
federal, tribal, state and local governments, environmental consulting 
firms, industry representatives, environmental organizations and other 
public interest groups. Since others may also be interested, the Agency 
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may have 
interest in this notice. If you have any questions regarding the 
applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the EPA 
personnel listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    EPA is inviting the public to provide comments on the development 
of final guidance for Evaluating Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway 
from Contaminated Groundwater and Soil (Subsurface Vapor Intrusion 
Guidance). A draft version of the Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance 
was released in November 2002 (67 FR 71169), and a docket was 
established for public comments: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2002-0033. 
The 2002 draft is available from the docket (http://www.regulations.gov) and at: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/correctiveaction/eis/vapor.htm.
    EPA is planning to issue the final Subsurface Vapor Intrusion 
Guidance by November 30, 2012 and has re-opened the docket for public 
comment. Comments previously provided to the docket on the 2002 draft 
of the Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance, and any comment provided to 
the docket before May 14, 2011, will be considered in the development 
of the final document. The public will also be given an opportunity to 
provide comments on a new draft of the guidance in the spring of 2012. 
Details on how to provide new comments to the docket are provided under 
ADDRESSES.
    EPA has prepared a document entitled Review of the Draft 2002 
Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance, which summarizes EPA's current 
understanding of the portions of the 2002 Draft Subsurface Vapor 
Intrusion Guidance that remain valid and those that may need to be 
updated. In addition to updating portions of the 2002 draft, EPA plans 
to incorporate the following information at the recommendation of its 
Inspector General (Report No. 10-P-042):
     Updated toxicity values;
     A recommendation(s) to use multiple lines of evidence in 
evaluating and making decisions about risk from vapor intrusion;
     How risk from petroleum hydrocarbons should be addressed;
     How the guidance applies to Superfund Five-Year reviews;
     When or whether preemptive mitigation is appropriate;
     Operations and maintenance of mitigation systems, the 
termination of the systems, and when institutional controls and deed 
restrictions are appropriate.

The public may want to provide comments on the 2002 draft Subsurface 
Vapor Intrusion Guidance, the information that the Inspector General 
has suggested incorporating into the final guidance, or other 
information that EPA should consider when developing the final version 
of the guidance.

II. Background

    Vapor intrusion can occur when there is migration of volatile 
chemicals from contaminated groundwater or soil into a building. 
Volatile chemicals may include volatile organic compounds, select semi-
volatile organic compounds, and under certain conditions some inorganic 
compounds, such as elemental mercury, radon, and hydrogen sulfide. 
Additional information about vapor intrusion can be found at http://www.epa.gov/oswer/vaporintrusion.

III. Listening Session

    In addition to seeking written comments, an internet and telephone-
accessible public listening session will be held on April 11, 2011. The 
listening session will be held at the conference center in EPA's 
Potomac Yard South Building located at: 2777 Crystal Drive, Arlington, 
VA 22202. The listening session will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 
approximately 5 p.m.
    The purpose of the listening session will be to allow all 
interested parties to provide comments on the development on the final 
Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance. Advanced registration is requested 
for those wishing to attend the listening session. Registration can be 
by internet at http://www.epa.gov/oswer/vaporintrusion, by e-mail at 
foster.stiven@epa.gov, by phone 202-566-1911, or by faxing a 
registration request to 202-566-1934. In your registration, please 
reference the ``Vapor Intrusion Guidance Listening Session,'' your 
name, title, affiliation, full address and contact information. When 
you register, please indicate if you would like to make oral comments 
at the session. In general, each oral comment should be no more than 15 
minutes in length. If, however, there are more requests for oral 
comments than the allotted time allows, the time limit for comments 
will be adjusted. Written comments will also be accepted at the 
listening sessions. A copy of the agenda for the listening session will 
be available at the meeting. If no speakers have registered by five 
calendar days prior to the listening session, it will be cancelled, and 
EPA will notify those registered of the cancellation. Additional 
details about the listening session, including instructions attending 
via the internet, are available at: http://www.epa.gov/oswer/vaporintrusion. To participate by telephone only (and not internet) use 
1-866-299-3188, access code 7036039924.

    Dated: March 11, 2011.
Renee P. Wynn,
Director, Office of Program Management, Office of Solid Waste and 
Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 2011-6217 Filed 3-16-11; 8:45 am]
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