Document ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2018-0274-0017
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (External Review Draft)
Posted Date: 2019-09-26T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 187 (Thursday, September 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50836-50838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20925]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2018-0274; FRL-10000-35-ORD]

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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 
public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Integrated 
Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants 
(External Review Draft)'' (EPA/600/R-19/093). The draft document was 
prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) 
within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) as part of the 
review of the primary (health-based)

[[Page 50837]]

and secondary (welfare-based) ozone national ambient air quality 
standards (NAAQS). The Integrated Science Assessment (ISA), in 
conjunction with additional technical and policy assessments, provides 
the scientific basis for EPA's decisions on the adequacy of the current 
review of the ozone NAAQS and the appropriateness of possible 
alternative standards.
    EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public. In addition, 
the date and location of a public meeting for CASAC review of this 
document will be specified in a separate Federal Register document. 
This draft document is not final, and it does not represent, and should 
not be construed to represent, any final Agency policy or views. When 
revising the document, EPA will consider any public comments submitted 
during the public comment period specified in this document.

DATES: The public comment period begins on September 26, 2019 and ends 
December 2, 2019. Comments must be received on or before December 2, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: The ``Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related 
Photochemical Oxidants (External Review Draft)'' will be available 
primarily via the internet on EPA's Integrated Science Assessment for 
Ozone page at https://www.epa.gov/isa/integrated-science-assessment-isa-ozone-and-related-photochemical-oxidants or the public docket at 
https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2018-0274. A limited 
number of CD-ROM 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 a CD-ROM, and please provide your name, your mailing 
address, and the document title, ``Integrated Science Assessment for 
Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (External Review Draft)'' to 
facilitate processing of your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters Docket Center; 
phone: 202-566-1752; fax: 202-566-9744; or email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
    For technical information, contact Dr. Thomas Luben, NCEA; phone: 
919-541-5762; fax: 919-541-1818; or email: luben.tom@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to 
identify and list certain air pollutants and to issue air quality 
criteria for those pollutants. The Administrator is to list those 
pollutants ``emissions of which, in his 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 
he ``plans to issue air quality criteria. . . .'' (42 U.S.C. 
7408(a)(1)). 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. . . .'' 
(42 U.S.C. 7408(a)(2)). Under section 109 of the Act, EPA is then to 
establish NAAQS for each pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria. 
Section 109(d)(1) 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. Under the same provision, EPA is also 
required to periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS, 
based on the revised air quality criteria (for more information on the 
NAAQS review process, see https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants/process-reviewing-national-ambient-air-quality-standards).
    Ozone is one of six criteria pollutants for which EPA has 
established NAAQS and is the current indicator for related 
photochemical oxidants. Periodically, EPA reviews the scientific basis 
for these standards by preparing an ISA (formerly called an Air Quality 
Criteria Document). The ISA, in conjunction with additional technical 
and policy assessments, provides the scientific basis for EPA's reviews 
of these standards NAAQS. Section 109(d)(2) of the Act requires 
appointment of an independent scientific review committee that is, 
among other things, to review at five-year intervals the existing air 
quality criteria and to recommend any revisions of those criteria as 
may be appropriate. Since the early 1980s, the requirement for an 
independent scientific review committee has been fulfilled by the Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).
    On June 26, 2018 (83 FR 13716), EPA formally initiated its current 
review of the air quality criteria for the health and welfare effects 
of ozone and related photochemical oxidants and the primary (health-
based) and secondary (welfare-based) ozone NAAQS, requesting the 
submission of scientific and policy-relevant information on specified 
topics. This information was incorporated into EPA's ``Integrated 
Review Plan for the Review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (External Review Draft),'' which was available for public 
comment (83 FR 24037) and discussion by the CASAC via publicly 
accessible teleconference consultation (83 FR 24269). The final 
``Integrated Review Plan for the Review of the Ozone National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards'' was posted to the EPA website in August 2019 
(https://www.epa.gov/naaqs/ozone-o3-air-quality-standards).
    In the development of the draft ISA, webinar workshops were held on 
October 29 and 31, 2018, and November 1 and 5, 2018, to discuss initial 
draft materials with invited EPA and external scientific experts (83 FR 
23126). The input received during these webinar workshops aided in the 
development of the materials presented in the ``Integrated Science 
Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Oxidants (External 
Review Draft).''
    The ``Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related 
Photochemical Oxidants (External Review Draft)'' will be discussed at a 
public meeting for review by CASAC. In addition to the public comment 
period announced in this notice, the public will have an opportunity to 
address CASAC at this meeting. A separate Federal Register document 
will inform the public of the exact date and time of the CASAC meeting 
and of the procedures for public participation.

II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at https://www.regulations.gov

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2018-
0274, by one of the following methods:
     https://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-9744.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center (ORD Docket), Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-566-1752.
     Hand Delivery: The ORD Docket is located in the EPA 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004.
    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 phone

[[Page 50838]]

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-
2018-0274. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late.'' EPA will attempt to consider late comments to the 
extent it is practical to do so, but time constraints may not permit 
consideration of late comments. 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 https://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 https://www.regulations.gov or email that 
you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. The https://www.regulations.gov website 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 email comment 
directly to EPA without going through https://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 
homepage at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the https://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 
on https://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the ORD Docket in the 
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: September 10, 2019.
Tina Bahadori,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2019-20925 Filed 9-25-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P