[Federal Register: February 29, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 41)]
[Notices]
[Page 11113-11114]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29fe08-75]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8535-6]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office; EPA Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee (CASAC); Notification of Public Advisory Committee
Meeting (Teleconference) of the Ambient Air Monitoring & Methods (AAMM)
Subcommittee
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public teleconference of
the Ambient Air Monitoring & Methods (AAMM) Subcommittee of the Clean
Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) to conduct a consultation
concerning ambient air monitoring issues related to the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead, including issues
associated with alternative lead indicators.
DATES: The teleconference meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 25,
2008, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes to
obtain the teleconference call-in number and access code; submit a
written or brief oral statement (three minutes or less); or receive
further information concerning this teleconference meeting, must
contact Mr. Fred Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Mr.
Butterfield may be contacted at the EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; or via telephone/voice mail: (202) 343-9994; fax:
(202) 233-0643; or e-mail at: butterfield.fred@epa.gov. General
information concerning the CASAC or the EPA SAB can be found on the EPA
Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/casac or http://www.epa.gov/sab,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: The CASAC, which is comprised of seven members
appointed by the EPA Administrator, was established under section
109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) (42 U.S.C. 7409) as an
independent
[[Page 11114]]
scientific advisory committee. The CASAC provides advice, information
and recommendations on the scientific and technical aspects of issues
related to air quality criteria and NAAQS under sections 108 and 109 of
the Act. The CASAC is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. The SAB Staff Office established
the CASAC AAMM Subcommittee in 2004 as a standing subcommittee to
provide the EPA Administrator, through the CASAC, with advice and
recommendations, as necessary, on topical areas related to ambient air
monitoring, methods and networks. The Subcommittee complies with the
provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural
policies.
Section 109(d)(1) of the CAA requires that the Agency periodically
review and revise, as appropriate, the air quality criteria and the
NAAQS for the six ``criteria'' air pollutants, including lead. The
current review of the Lead NAAQS was initiated in early 2005. In
December 2007, the CASAC Lead Review Panel met to conduct a review of
the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on the NAAQS for Lead.
The Lead Panel also reviewed the Agency's Final Lead Staff Paper and
the Final Lead Risk Assessment Report. The CASAC's report to the EPA
Administrator concerning this review (EPA-CASAC-08-007, dated January
22, 2008) is posted on the CASAC Web page that can be accessed at the
URL address provided above.
In this report, the CASAC noted that Agency staff, in its Final
Lead Staff Paper, had recommended that the Administrator consider
retaining lead in total suspended particulates (Pb-TSP) as the
indicator for ambient lead. While, historically, the Lead NAAQS has
relied on TSP samples for quantifying ambient lead concentrations, the
CASAC recommended that EPA should transition to lead in PM10 (Pb-PM10)
sampling for quantifying ambient lead concentrations. In particular,
the CASAC observed that Pb-PM10 is a much more accurate and precisely
measured indicator and represents the fraction of lead that is more
relevant for human exposures. Furthermore, the CASAC noted that there
is a greater availability of Pb-PM10 samplers than Pb-TSP samplers
throughout the U.S. Additionally, the CASAC found the existing Pb-TSP
network inadequate in its ability to characterize population exposures,
conditions around large sources, and concentrations at typical ambient
concentrations in many parts of the country. CASAC also indicated in
the letter that its AAMM Subcommittee would be better-suited to provide
advice on lead monitoring and network design issues. Accordingly, the
purpose of this public teleconference meeting is for the Subcommittee
to conduct a consultation with Agency staff on several draft EPA
documents relating to the ambient air monitoring of Pb-PM10, including
options for the Lead NAAQS indicator, a draft Federal Reference Method
(FRM) for Pb-PM10, lead monitoring network design, and sampling
frequency. The SAB Staff Office has developed the consultation as a
mechanism to provide early input and advice to EPA on technical issues
that should be considered in the development of regulations,
guidelines, or technical guidance before the Agency has taken a
position.
Technical Contacts: Any technical questions concerning these Lead
NAAQS indicator and ambient air monitoring issues can be directed to
Mr. Kevin Cavender, OAQPS, at phone: (919) 541-2364, or e-mail:
cavender.kevin@epa.gov; or to Mr. Lewis Weinstock, OAQPS, at phone:
(919) 541-3661, or e-mail: weinstock.lewis@epa.gov.
Availability of Meeting Materials: On or about March 3, 2008, the
Agency will post the documents to be discussed during this consultation
on the EPA Technology Transfer Network (TTN) Web page for the Lead
NAAQS, ``Lead (Pb)--Documents from Current Review--Technical
Documents,'' found at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_
pb_cr_td.html. In addition, the Agency will announce the availability
of these materials, to include the process for submitting public
comments on these documents, by means of a separate Federal Register
notice to be published around the first week in March. Furthermore, a
copy of the draft agenda and other materials for this CASAC
teleconference will be posted on the SAB Web site at: http://
yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/WebCASAC/recentadditions prior to
the meeting.
Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the
public may submit relevant written or oral information for the CASAC
AAMM Subcommittee to consider on the topics included in this advisory
activity and/or the group conducting the activity. Oral Statements: In
general, individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at a
public teleconference will be limited to three minutes per speaker,
with no more than a total of 30 minutes for all speakers. Interested
parties should contact Mr. Butterfield, DFO, in writing (preferably via
e-mail), by March 18, 2008, at the contact information noted above, to
be placed on the list of public speakers for this meeting. Written
Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff
Office by March 21, 2008, so that the information may be made available
to the Subcommittee for its consideration prior to this teleconference.
Written statements should be supplied to the DFO electronically via e-
mail (acceptable file formats: Adobe PDF, MS Word, WordPerfect, MS
PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format).
Accessibility: For information on access or services for
individuals with disabilities, please contact Mr. Butterfield at the
phone number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten
days prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to
process your request.
Dated: February 25, 2008.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E8-3933 Filed 2-28-08; 8:45 am]
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