[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60363-60365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26664]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7577-3]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office: Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee (CASAC) Notification of Advisory Committee Meeting
of the CASAC Particulate Matter Review Panel
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office, announces a public
[[Page 60364]]
meeting of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee's (CASAC)
Particulate Matter (PM) Review Panel to: discuss follow-on matters
related to its ongoing peer review of the EPA Air Quality Criteria
Document for Particulate Matter (Fourth External Review Draft); and
conduct a peer review of the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment of Scientific and
Technical Information (OAQPS Staff Paper--First Draft) and a related
draft technical report, Particulate Matter Health Risk Assessment for
Selected Urban Areas (Draft Report).
DATES: The meeting will be held November 12 and 13, 2003, from 8:30
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) on both days.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place in Research Triangle Park (RTP),
North Carolina, or the immediate vicinity. Once the meeting location
has been determined, and in no case later than five business days prior
to the meeting, this information will be posted on the SAB Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/sab. A publicly-accessible teleconference line will
be available for the entire meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to
obtain the teleconference call-in numbers and access codes should
contact Ms. Delores Darden, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff, at
telephone/voice mail: (202) 564-2282, or e-mail:
[email protected], or Ms. Sandra Friedman, EPA Science Advisory
Board Staff, at telephone/voice mail: (202) 564-2526, or e-mail:
[email protected].
Any member of the public who wants further information concerning
this meeting, or who wishes to submit written or brief oral comments
(five minutes or less) must contact Mr. Fred Butterfield, Designated
Federal Officer, EPA Science Advisory Board (1400A), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone/voice mail: (202) 564-4561; fax: (202) 501-0582; or e-mail:
[email protected]. Requests to provide oral comments must be in
writing (e-mail, fax or mail) and received by Mr. Butterfield no later
than noon Eastern Time five business days prior to the meeting in order
to reserve time on the meeting agenda. Written comments (preferably via
e-mail) should be sent to Mr. Butterfield by the same deadline so that
the comments can be provided to the CASAC PM Review Panel prior to the
meeting. See additional instructions in the section below entitled,
``Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings.'' General
information concerning the CASAC or the EPA Science Advisory Board can
be found on the EPA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Summary: The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, which
comprises seven members appointed by the EPA Administrator, was
established under section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7409) as an independent scientific advisory committee, in part to
provide advice, information and recommendations on the scientific and
technical aspects of issues related to air quality criteria and
national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) under sections 108 and
109 of the Act. The CASAC is a Federal advisory committee chartered
under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C.,
App. The CASAC PM Review Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA
and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
The PM Review Panel is charged with: (1) Discussing follow-on
matters related to the Panel's ongoing peer review of the EPA Air
Quality Criteria Document for Particulate Matter (Fourth External
Review Draft); and (2) conducting a peer review of the Review of the
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy
Assessment of Scientific and Technical Information (OAQPS Staff Paper--
First Draft) and a related draft technical report, Particulate Matter
Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban Areas (Draft Report).
Background: EPA is in the process of updating, and revising where
appropriate, the Air Quality Criteria Document (AQCD) for PM as issued
in 1996. Section 109(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that EPA
carry out a periodic review and revision, where appropriate, of the air
quality criteria and the NAAQS for ``criteria'' air pollutants such as
PM. On June 30, 2003, the National Center for Environmental Assessment
(NCEA), within EPA's Office of Research and Development, made available
for public review and comment a Fourth External Review Draft of a
revised document, EPA Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter.
Under CAA sections 108 and 109, the purpose of the revised document is
to provide an assessment of the latest scientific information on the
effects of airborne PM on the public health and welfare, for use in
EPA's current review of the NAAQS for PM. Detailed summary information
on the history of the current draft AQCD for PM is contained in a
previous EPA Federal Register notice (68 FR 36985, June 20, 2003). The
EPA Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter (Fourth External Review
Draft) can be viewed and downloaded from the NCEA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/ncea. Any questions concerning the draft AQCD for PM should
be directed to Dr. Robert Elias, NCEA-RTP, at telephone: (919) 541-
4167; or e-mail: [email protected]. The first element of the charge
to the CASAC PM Review Panel contained in the ``Summary'' section above
is a follow-on to the Panel's review of the EPA Air Quality Criteria
Document for Particulate Matter (Fourth External Review Draft). This
review first took place in a public meeting held in RTP on August 25-
26, 2003 (68 FR 47060, August 7, 2003) and was continued during a
public teleconference meeting held on October 3, 2003 (68 FR 53734,
September 12, 2003).
Furthermore, On August 29, 2003, the Office of Air Quality Planning
and Standards (OAQPS), within EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, made
available for public review and comment (68 FR 51774, August 28, 2003)
the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for
Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment of Scientific and Technical
Information (OAQPS Staff Paper--First Draft) (first draft PM Staff
Paper) and a related technical report, Particulate Matter Health Risk
Assessment for Selected Urban Areas (Draft Report) (draft PM Risk
Assessment). The purpose of the first draft Staff Paper is to evaluate
the policy implications of the key scientific and technical information
contained in the EPA's AQCD for PM, and to identify critical elements
that EPA believes should be considered in the review of the PM NAAQS.
In essence, the Staff Paper is intended to ``bridge the gap'' between
the scientific review contained in the AQCD for PM and the public
health and welfare policy judgments required of the EPA Administrator
in reviewing the PM NAAQS. The draft Risk Assessment describes and
presents the preliminary results from a PM health risk assessment for
fine particles (PM2.5), coarse fraction particles
(PM10-2.5), and PM10. The risk assessment
methodology and preliminary results also are summarized in the first
draft Staff Paper. Detailed summary information on the history of the
first draft Staff Paper and draft Risk Assessment is contained in a
previous EPA Federal Register notice (68 FR 51774). The Review of the
National
[[Page 60365]]
Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter: Policy Assessment
of Scientific and Technical Information (OAQPS Staff Paper--First
Draft) and Particulate Matter Health Risk Assessment for Selected Urban
Areas (Draft Report) can be viewed and downloaded from EPA's Technology
Transfer Network (TTN) Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/s_pm_index.html. Any questions concerning the first
draft Staff Paper and draft Risk Assessment for PM should be directed
to Dr. Mary Ross, OAQPS-RTP, at telephone: (919) 541-5170, or e-mail:
[email protected].
Availability of Additional Meeting Materials: A copy of the draft
agenda for the meeting that is described in this notice will be posted
on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab (under the ``Agendas''
subheading) in advance of the CASAC PM Review Panel meeting.
Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings: It is the
policy of the EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office to accept written
public comments of any length, and to accommodate oral public comments
whenever possible. The EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office expects
that public statements presented at its meetings will not be repetitive
of previously-submitted oral or written statements. Oral Comments: In
general, each individual or group requesting an oral presentation at a
face-to-face meeting will be limited to a total time of ten minutes
(unless otherwise indicated). Deadlines for getting on the public
speaker list for a meeting are provided above. Speakers should bring at
least 35 copies of their comments and presentation slides for
distribution to the reviewers and public at the meeting. Written
Comments: Although the SAB Staff Office accepts written comments until
the date of the meeting (unless otherwise stated), written comments
should be received in the SAB Staff Office at least one week prior to
the meeting date so that the comments may be made available to the
committee for their consideration. Comments should be supplied to Mr.
Butterfield at the address/contact information noted above in the
following formats: one hard copy with original signature, and one
electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF,
WordPerfect, Word, or Rich Text files (in IBM-PC/Windows 95/98
format)). Those providing written comments and who attend the meeting
are also asked to bring 35 copies of their comments for public
distribution.
Meeting Access: Individuals requiring special accommodation at this
meeting, including wheelchair access to the conference room, should
contact Mr. Butterfield at the phone number or e-mail address noted
above at least five business days prior to the meeting so that
appropriate arrangements can be made.
Dated: October 16, 2003.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 03-26664 Filed 10-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P