Document ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2013-0232-0034
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Guidance: Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen - Health Criteria
Posted Date: 2015-01-30T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5110-5111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01606]

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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2013-0232; FRL-9922-21-ORD]

Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen--
Health Criteria

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 60-
day public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Second 
External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of 
Nitrogen--Health Criteria'' (EPA/600/R-13/005). 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) National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (NAAQS) for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The Integrated 
Science Assessment (ISA), in conjunction with additional technical and 
policy assessments, provide the scientific basis for EPA decisions on 
the adequacy of the current NAAQS and the appropriateness of possible 
alternative standards. EPA is developing a separate ISA and NAAQS 
review for the secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for NO2, in 
conjunction with a review of the secondary NAAQS for sulfur dioxide (78 
FR 53452).
    EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean 
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public (meeting date 
and location to be specified in a separate Federal Register notice). 
This draft document is not final as described in EPA's information 
quality guidelines, and it does not represent and should not be 
construed to represent Agency policy or views. EPA will consider any 
public comments submitted in response to this notice when revising the 
document.

DATES: The 60-day public comment period begins January 30, 2015, and 
ends March 31, 2015. Comments must be received on or before March 31, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: The ``Second External Review Draft Integrated Science 
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen--Health Criteria'' will be available 
primarily via the Internet on NCEA's home page under the Recent 
Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea or the 
public docket at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-
2013-0232. 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, ``Second External Review 
Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen--Health 
Criteria'' to facilitate processing of your request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment 
period, contact the ORD Docket at EPA's Headquarters Docket Center; 
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-9744; or email: 
Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
    For technical information, contact Dr. Molini Patel, NCEA; 
telephone: 919-541-1492; facsimile: 919-541-1818; or email: 
patel.molini@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to 
identify certain pollutants that, among other things, ``cause or 
contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to 
endanger public health or welfare'' and to issue air quality criteria 
for them. These 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. . . .'' 
Under section 109 of the Act, the EPA is then to establish NAAQS for 
each pollutant for which EPA has issued criteria. Section 109(d) 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. 
EPA is also required to review and, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS, 
based on the revised air quality criteria (for more information on the 
NAAQS review process, see http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/review.html).
    The oxides of nitrogen are one of six criteria pollutants for which 
EPA has established NAAQS. 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 
decisions on the adequacy of the current NAAQS and the appropriateness 
of possible alternative standards. The CASAC, an independent science 
advisory committee whose review and advisory functions are mandated by 
Section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act, is charged (among other things) 
with independent scientific review of EPA's air quality criteria.
    On February 10, 2012 (77 FR 7149), EPA formally initiated its 
current review of the air quality criteria for the health effects of 
oxides of nitrogen and the primary (health-based) NO2 NAAQS, 
requesting the submission of recent scientific information on specified 
topics. EPA held a workshop on February 29 to March 1, 2012, to gather 
input from scientific experts, both internal and external to EPA, as 
well as from the public regarding key science and policy issues that 
will frame the review of the health effects of the oxides of nitrogen 
and the primary NO2 NAAQS (77 FR 7149, February 10, 2012).
    The discussions at this workshop guided the development of EPA's 
``Draft Plan for Development of the Integrated Science Assessment for 
Nitrogen Oxides--Health Criteria,'' a draft ``Integrated Review Plan 
for the Primary NAAQS for Nitrogen Dioxide'' (EPA-452/R-14-003) (IRP), 
and initial draft materials for the development of the ISA. The draft 
plan for the development of the ISA was made available for public 
comment on May 3, 2013 (78 FR 26026), and was discussed by CASAC via a 
publicly accessible teleconference consultation on June 5, 2013 (78 FR 
27234, May 9, 2013). On June 11, 2013, EPA held a workshop to discuss, 
with invited scientific experts, initial draft materials prepared for 
the development of the ISA (78 FR 27374, May 10, 2013). The draft IRP 
was made available in February 2014 for public comment and CASAC review 
(79 FR 7184, February 6, 2014). The IRP was reviewed by CASAC at a 
public meeting on March 12, 2014 (79 FR 8701, February 13, 2014). The 
final IRP was released in June 2014 (79 FR 36801, June 30, 2014), and 
is available at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/nox/s_nox_2012_pd.html.
    Comments on the draft plan for the ISA and discussion at the June 
11, 2013, workshop guided development of the ``First External Review 
Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen--Health 
Criteria,'' which was released on November 22, 2013 (78 FR 70040), and 
is available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/isa/recordisplay.cfm?deid=259167. The CASAC

[[Page 5111]]

review panel for the oxides of nitrogen met at a public meeting on 
March 12-13, 2014, to review the draft ISA along with the draft IRP (79 
FR 8701, February 13, 2014). Subsequently, on June 10, 2014, the CASAC 
panel provided a consensus letter for their review to the Administrator 
of EPA (http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/
264cb1227d55e02c85257402007446a4/15E4619D3CD3409A85257CF30069387D/
$File/EPA-CASAC-14-002+unsigned.pdf). The second external review draft 
ISA was developed with consideration of comments received from CASAC 
and the public on the first external review draft ISA and includes 
consideration of scientific studies published through August 2014. The 
second external review draft ISA will be discussed by CASAC at a public 
meeting. In addition to the public comment period announced in this 
notice, the public will have an opportunity to submit written and/or 
oral comments related to the second external review draft ISA to CASAC. 
A separate Federal Register notice will inform the public of the exact 
date and time of that CASAC meeting and of the procedures for public 
participation.

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

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2013-
0232, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: Docket_ORD@epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-9744.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA's 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 EPA's 
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC. EPA's Docket Center 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. 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-
2013-0232. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will 
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. 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 
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 
www.regulations.gov or email that you consider to be CBI or otherwise 
protected. 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 email comment directly to EPA without going through 
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 
EPA's Docket Center homepage at www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: 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 materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the ORD Docket in EPA's 
Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: January 20, 2015.
Gina Perovich,
Acting Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2015-01606 Filed 1-29-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P