Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735-5542
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Announcement of Availability for Lead National Ambient Air Quality Standard Review
Posted Date: 2008-06-17T04:00Z

[Federal Register: June 17, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 117)]
[Notices]               
[Page 34294-34295]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jn08-51]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-2006-0735; FRL-8580-6]

 
Announcement of Availability for Lead National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard Review

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: On or about June 17, 2008, the Office of Air Quality Planning 
and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA will make available for public review and 
comment a number of technical documents that discuss monitoring issues 
being addressed in EPA's review of the national ambient air quality 
standards (NAAQS) for lead. These technical documents will be used as 
part of a peer review and consultation with the Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) Ambient Air Monitoring & Methods (AAMM) 
Subcommittee (Subcommittee).

DATES: Comments on the technical documents must be received on or 
before July 17, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2006-0735, 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-2006-
0735.
     Fax: Fax your comments to: 202-566-9744, Attention Docket 
ID. No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
     Mail: Send your comments to: Air and Radiation Docket and 
Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 2822T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC, 20460, Attention Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0735.
     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-
2006-0735. 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/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC. 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)

[[Page 34295]]

566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-
1742; fax (202) 566-9744.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kevin Cavender, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards (mail code C304-06), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; e-mail: 
Cavender.kevin@epa.gov; telephone: (919) 541-2364; fax: (919) 541-1903.

SUPPLEMENTARY 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.

B. Background

    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 quantities.'' Under section 109 of the CAA, EPA establishes 
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.
    Lead is one of six criteria pollutants for which EPA has 
established air quality criteria and NAAQS. Presently, EPA is reviewing 
the air quality criteria and NAAQS for lead.
    As part of its review of the NAAQS, EPA is considering revising the 
associated monitoring requirements for lead (contained in 40 CFR parts 
50, 53, and 58). On December 12, 2007, an advanced notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPR) was published (72 FR 71488). The ANPR identified a 
number of potential revisions to the monitoring requirements. A review 
of the ANPR was conducted by CASAC in December 2007, and a final report 
was submitted January 22, 2008 (EPA-CASAC-08-007). A consultation with 
the CASAC AAMM Subcommittee was held on March 25, 2008, to discuss the 
associated monitoring issues (73 FR 11113). A proposed rule was 
published May 20, 2008 (73 FR 29184).
    The technical documents discuss the specifications and rationale 
for a lead in PM10 (Pb-PM10) Federal Reference 
Method (FRM) and criteria and testing procedures for either a lead in 
TSP (Pb-TSP) or Pb-PM10 Federal Equivalency Method (FEM). 
The technical documents will be available online at: http://
www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/casacinf.html.
    The EPA is soliciting advice and recommendations from the CASAC 
AAMM Subcommittee by means of a peer review and consultation at an 
upcoming public teleconference of the CASAC AAMM Subcommittee. A 
separate Federal Register notice will inform the public of the date and 
phone number for the public teleconference. Following the CASAC AAMM 
Subcommittee public teleconference, EPA will consider comments received 
from the CASAC AAMM Subcommittee and the public in preparing the final 
revisions to the lead monitoring requirements as part of the lead NAAQS 
rulemaking.

    Dated: June 11, 2008.
Mary E. Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
 [FR Doc. E8-13619 Filed 6-16-08; 8:45 am]

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