[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 237 (Friday, December 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89097-89098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29438]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2013-0357; FRL-9956-24-ORD]
Second External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for
Sulfur Oxides--Health Criteria
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a
public comment period ending on March 20, 2017, for the draft document
titled, ``Second External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment
for Sulfur Oxides--Health Criteria'' (EPA/600/R-16/351). 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 sulfur dioxide (SO2). The
Integrated Science Assessment (ISA), in conjunction with additional
technical and policy assessments, provides the scientific basis for
EPA's decisions on the adequacy of the current NAAQS and the
appropriateness of possible alternative standards. EPA intends to
develop a separate ISA as part of an independent review for the
secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for oxides of nitrogen and sulfur.
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. When revising the
document, EPA will consider any public comments submitted during the
public comment period specified in this notice.
DATES: The public comment period begins on December 9, 2016, and ends
on March 20, 2017. Comments must be received on or before March 20,
2017.
ADDRESSES: The ``Second External Review Draft Integrated Science
Assessment for Sulfur Oxides--Health Criteria'' will be available
primarily via the internet on EPA's Integrated Science Assessment for
Sulfur Dioxide (Health Criteria) home page at http://www2.epa.gov/isa/integrated-science-assessment-isa-sulfur-dioxide-health-criteria or the
public docket at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-
2013-0357. 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:
[email protected] 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 Sulfur Oxides--Health
Criteria'' to facilitate processing of your request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters Docket Center;
phone: 202-566-1752; fax: 202-566-9744; or email: [email protected].
For technical information, contact Dr. Tom Long, NCEA; phone: 919-
541-1880; fax: 919-541-1818; or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Document
Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act directs the Administrator to
identify certain pollutants which, 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
[[Page 89098]]
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, 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).
Sulfur oxides 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's
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 the EPA's air quality criteria.
On May 10, 2013 (78 FR 27387), EPA formally initiated its current
review of the air quality criteria for the health effects of sulfur
oxides and the primary (health-based) SO2 NAAQS, requesting
the submission of recent scientific information on specified topics.
EPA held a workshop on June 12-13, 2013, to gather input from invited
scientific experts, both internal and external to EPA, as well as from
the public, regarding key science and policy issues relevant to the
review of the health effects of sulfur oxides and the primary
SO2 NAAQS (78 FR 27387). These science and policy issues
were incorporated in EPA's ``Integrated Review Plan for the Primary
National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Sulfur Dioxide'' (EPA-452/R-
14-007), which was finalized in October 2014 (79 FR 66721) with a prior
draft available for public comment (79 FR 14035) and discussion by the
CASAC via publicly accessible teleconference consultations (79 FR
16325, 79 FR 30137, 79 FR 34739). On June 23-24, 2014, EPA held a
workshop to discuss, with invited internal and external scientific
experts, initial draft materials prepared in the development of the ISA
(79 FR 33750). EPA considered comments on these draft materials in
preparing the first external review draft of the ISA, which was
released on November 24, 2015 (80 FR 73183). The first draft ISA was
discussed at a public CASAC meeting on January 27-28, 2016 (80 FR
79330). Subsequently, on April 15, 2016, the CASAC panel provided a
consensus letter to the EPA Administrator summarizing their review. The
second draft ISA has been developed with consideration of comments from
the CASAC and the public, and includes consideration of scientific
studies published through September 2016.
The ``Second External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment
for Sulfur Oxides--Health Criteria'' will be discussed by the 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 this second external review draft ISA to
the CASAC. A separate Federal Register notice will inform the public of
the exact date and time of the 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-
0357, by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions for
submitting comments.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-9744.
Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 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 the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20004.
The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The phone
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-
2013-0357. 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 the
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www2.epa.gov/dockets.
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
on www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the ORD Docket in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: November 22, 2016.
Mary A. Ross,
Deputy Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2016-29438 Filed 12-8-16; 8:45 am]
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