Federal Register: October 29, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 208)
DOCID: fr29oc09-81 FR Doc E9-26093
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Environmental Protection Agency
EPA ID: [EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0015; FRL-8973-1]
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr29oc09-81
ACTION: Clean Water Act Section 303(d):
DOCUMENT ACTION: Availability of draft document for public comment.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Release of Draft Document Related to the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Carbon Monoxide
DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before November 19, 2009.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
On or about October 20, 2009, the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) of EPA is making available for public comment a draft assessment document: Risk and Exposure Assessment to Support the Review of the Carbon Monoxide (CO) Primary National Ambient Air Quality StandardsFirst External Review Draft. This draft document describes the quantitative analyses that are being conducted as part of the review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for carbon monoxide (CO).
SUMMARY:
Draft Document Related to the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Carbon Monoxide
SUPPLEMENTAL 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 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 (healthbased) and secondary (welfarebased) 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.
Presently, EPA is reviewing the air quality criteria and NAAQS for
CO. 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 Carbon Monoxide.\1\ A draft of the integrated review plan
was released for public review and comment in March 2008 and was the
subject of a consultation with the Clean Air Scientific Advisory
Committee (CASAC) on April 8, 2008 (73 FR 12998). 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.
\1\ EPA 452R08005; August 2008; Available at: http:// www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/co/s_co_cr_pd.html.
As part of EPA's review of the primary (healthbased) CO NAAQS, the
Agency is conducting qualitative and quantitative assessments
characterizing the health risks associated with exposure to ambient CO.
The EPA's plans for conducting these assessments, including the
proposed scope and methods of the analyses, were presented in a planning document titled, Carbon
[[Page 55845]]
Monoxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Scope and Methods Plan
for Health Risk and Exposure Assessment (Scope and Methods Plan). This
document was released for public comment in April 2009 and was the
subject of a consultation with the CASAC on May 13, 2009 (74 FR 15265).
Comments received from the CASAC consultation (Brain and Samet, 2009)
\2\ as well as public comments on the Scope and Methods Plan have been
considered in developing the draft assessment document being released at this time.
\2\ See http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/
93C1DE17CB957211852575F30071B0BD/$File/EPACASAC09012unsigned.pdf
The draft document announced today conveys the approaches taken to assess exposures to ambient CO and to characterize associated health risks, as well as present the initial key results, observations, and related uncertainties associated with the quantitative analyses performed. This draft document will be available on or about October 20, 2009, through the Agency's Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/co/s_co_index.html. This document 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 document at an upcoming public meeting of the CASAC scheduled in Chapel Hill, NC. Information about this public meeting, including the date and location, has been published as a separate notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 48536) on September 23, 2009. Following the CASAC meeting, EPA will consider comments received from the CASAC and the public in preparing revisions to this assessment document.
The draft document briefly described above does 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: October 15, 2009.
Jennifer Noonan Edmonds,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. [FR Doc. E926093 Filed 102809; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 656050P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
For questions related to the draft
document titled, Risk and Exposure Assessment to Support the Review of
the Carbon Monoxide (CO) Primary National Ambient Air Quality
StandardsFirst External Review Draft (October 2009), please contact
Dr. Ines Pagan, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (Mail Code
C50406), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
NC 27711; email: pagan.ines@epa.gov; telephone: 9195415469; fax: 9195410237.
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 email. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CDROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CDROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CDROM 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: