[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 168 (Thursday, August 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53452-53454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21025]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9900-42-ORD: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2013-0620]
Notice of Workshop and Call for Information on Integrated Science
Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Oxides of Sulfur
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice; call for information.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development's National
Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) is preparing an Integrated
Science Assessment (ISA) as part of the review of the secondary
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for oxides of nitrogen
(NOX) and oxides of sulfur (SOX). This ISA is
intended to update the scientific assessment presented in the
Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur--
Ecological Criteria (EPA 600/R-08/082F), published in December 2008.
Interested parties are invited to assist the EPA in developing and
refining the scientific information base for the review of the
secondary NOX and SOX NAAQS by submitting
research studies that have been published, accepted for publication, or
presented at a public scientific meeting.
The EPA is also announcing that a workshop entitled ``Workshop to
Discuss Policy-Relevant Science to Inform EPA's Review of the Secondary
NOX and SOX NAAQS'' is being organized by NCEA and the EPA Office of
Air and Radiation's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
(OAQPS). The workshop will be held October 1 to 3, 2013, in Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina. The workshop will be open to attendance
by interested public observers on a first-come, first-served basis up
to the limits of available space.
DATES: The workshop will be held October 1 to 3, 2013. All
communications and information submitted in response to notice of the
workshop should be received by EPA by September 27, 2013.
ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at U.S. EPA, 109 T.W. Alexander
Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. An EPA contractor, ICF
International, is providing logistical support for the workshop. Please
register by going to https://sites.google.com/site/soxnoxkickoffworkshop/. The pre-registration deadline is September 27,
2013. Please direct questions regarding workshop registration or
logistics to Courtney Skuce at [email protected] or by
phone at (919) 293-1660. For specific questions regarding technical
aspects of the workshop see the section of this notice entitled FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Information in response to the call for information may be
submitted electronically, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions as provided in the
section of this notice entitled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For details on the period for
submission of research information from the public, contact the Office
of Research and Development (ORD) Docket; telephone: 202-566-1752;
facsimile: 202-566-9744; or email: [email protected]. For technical
information, contact Tara Greaver, Ph.D., NCEA, telephone: (919) 541-
5762; facsimile: (919) 541-2435; or email: [email protected] or
Ginger Tennant, OAQPS, telephone: (919) 541-4072 or email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Project
Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to
issue ``air quality criteria'' for certain air pollutants. 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 such pollutant in the ambient air. . . .'' Under section
109 of the Act, EPA is then to establish NAAQS for each pollutant for
which EPA has issued criteria. Section 109(d) of the Act
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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 and welfare.
EPA is also to revise the NAAQS, if appropriate, based on the revised
air quality criteria.
NOX and SOX are two of six ``criteria''
pollutants for which EPA has established NAAQS. Periodically, EPA
reviews the scientific basis for these standards by preparing an ISA.
The ISA, along with additional technical and policy assessments
conducted by OAQPS, form the basis for EPA decisions on the adequacy of
existing NAAQS and the appropriateness of new or revised standards.
At the start of a NAAQS review, EPA issues an announcement of the
review and notes the initiation of the development of the ISA. At that
time, EPA also issues a request that the public submit scientific
literature that they want to bring to the attention of the Agency for
consideration in the review process. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory
Committee (CASAC), an independent scientific advisory committee
mandated by the Clean Air Act, conducts independent expert scientific
review of EPA's draft ISAs. As the process proceeds, the public will
have opportunities to review and comment on draft NOX and
SOX ISAs. These opportunities will also be announced in the
Federal Register.
For the review of the NOX and SOX NAAQS being
initiated by this notice, the Agency is interested in obtaining
additional new information on how gas-phase and deposition of these
pollutants affects all ecosystem types in the US. Studies of particular
interest are those evaluating the effects of exposure to gas-phase or
deposition of NOX and SOX on laboratory plants
and/or animals, field studies on ecosystem structure and/or function,
including but not limited to studies on biogeochemistry, biodiversity,
population and/or community structure. Deposition of NOX and
SOX contribute to deposition of total nitrogen (N) and total
sulfur (S) categories. General ecological effects due to deposition are
ecosystem acidification (N + S deposition), nutrient enrichment (N
deposition), eutrophication (N deposition) and sulfur induced mercury
methylation (S deposition). EPA also seeks recent information in other
areas of NOX and SOX research such as chemistry
and physics, sources and emissions, analytical methodology, transport
and transformation in the environment, and ambient concentrations in
addition to information on reduced N and organic N to understand how
NOX contributes to total N loading. This and other selected
literature relevant to a review of the NAAQS for NOX and
SOX will be assessed in the forthcoming NOX and
SOX ISA.
As part of this review of the NOX and SOX
NAAQS, EPA intends to sponsor a workshop on October 1 to 3, 2013, to
inform the planning for EPA's review of the secondary (welfare-based)
NAAQS for NOX and SOX. Consistent with the NAAQS
review process,\1\ the workshop will provide an opportunity to
highlight key policy-relevant science issues around which EPA would
structure the review. In workshop discussions, EPA and experts from
other organizations will be expected to highlight significant new and
emerging NOX and SOX research and make
recommendations to the Agency regarding the design and scope of this
review. The goal of the workshop is to ensure that this review focuses
on the key policy-relevant issues and considers the most meaningful new
science to inform our understanding of these issues. Workshop
discussions will provide important input as EPA considers the
appropriate design and scope of major elements of the review that will
inform the Agency's policy assessment. These elements include an
integrated review plan (IRP) highlighting the key policy-relevant
issues; an integrated science assessment; and a risk and exposure
assessment. We intend that workshop discussions will build upon three
prior assessments or events (please see http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/no2so2sec/cr.html to obtain a copy of these and other related
documents):
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\1\ More information on the NAAQS review process is provided at:
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/.
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1. Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Nitrogen
Dioxide; Final Rule (40 CFR Part 50 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1145], April 3,
2012). The preamble to the final rule included detailed discussions of
policy-relevant issues central to the last review.
2. Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and
Sulfur--Ecological Criteria (EPA 600/R-08/082F, December 2008).
3. Risk and Exposure Assessment to Support the Review of the NO2
Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standard (EPA 452/R-09/008a,
September 2009).
Based in large part on the input received during this workshop, EPA
will develop a draft IRP that will outline the schedule, process, and
approaches for evaluating the relevant scientific information,
assessing risks to the environment and addressing the key policy-
relevant issues. The CASAC will be asked to review the draft integrated
review plan, and the public will have the opportunity to comment on it
as well. The final integrated review plan will be used as a framework
to guide the review.
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-
0620 by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-9744.
Mail: Office of Research and Development (ORD) Docket
(Mail Code: 28221T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 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, Room 3334, EPA West Building, 1301
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding Federal 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-
2013-0620. 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 that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless
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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 the EPA 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 the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: August 21, 2013.
Debra B. Walsh,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2013-21025 Filed 8-28-13; 8:45 am]
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