2018-24037. Release of Draft Integrated Review Plan for the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice of availability.

SUMMARY:

On or about October 29, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making available for public review the draft Integrated Review Plan for the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (draft IRP). This document contains the draft plans and the anticipated schedule for the current review of the air quality criteria and national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for photochemical oxidants including ozone (O₃). The primary and secondary O₃ NAAQS are set to protect the public health and the public welfare from O₃ in ambient air.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before December 3, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments and related information, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0279 to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission (e.g., on the Web, Cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/​dockets/​commenting-epa-dockets.

This document will be available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/​naaqs/​ozone-o3-air-quality-standards. The document will be accessible under “Planning Documents” from the current review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Deirdre L. Murphy, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, (Mail Code C504-06), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone number: 919-541-0729, fax number: 919-541-027; or email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA through https://www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information on any digital storage media that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the digital storage media as CBI and then identify electronically within the digital storage media 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. If you submit any digital storage media that does not contain CBI, mark the outside of the digital storage media clearly that it does not contain CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 2. Send or deliver information identified as CBI only to the following address: OAQPS Document Control Officer (C404-02), OAQPS, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2018-0279.

2. Tips for Preparing your Comments. When submitting comments, remember to:

• Identify the notice by docket number and other identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
• Follow directions. The agency may ask you to respond to specific questions or organize comments by referencing a CFR part or section number.
• Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternative and substitute language for your requested changes.
• Describe any assumption and provide any technical information and/or data that you used.
• If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be reproduced.
• Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and suggest alternatives.
• Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of profanity or personal threats.
• Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline identified.

II. Information About the Project

Two sections of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) govern the establishment and revision of the NAAQS. Section 108 directs the Administrator to identify and list certain air pollutants and then issue “air quality criteria” for those 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 such pollutant in the ambient air . . .” (CAA section 108(a)(2)). Under section 109 of the Act, the EPA is then to establish primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) NAAQS for each pollutant for which the EPA has issued air quality criteria. Section 109(d)(1) of the Act requires periodic review and, if appropriate, revision of existing air quality criteria. Revised air quality criteria are to reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the pollutant on public health and welfare. Under the same provision, the EPA is also to periodically review and, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS, based on the revised air quality criteria.

The Act additionally requires appointment of an independent scientific review committee that is to periodically review the existing air quality criteria and NAAQS and to recommend any new standards and revisions of existing criteria and standards as may be appropriate (CAA section 109(d)(2)(A)-(B)). Since the early 1980s, the requirement for an independent scientific review committee has been fulfilled by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC).

Presently the EPA is reviewing the air quality criteria and NAAQS for photochemical oxidants and O₃.^[1] The draft document announced in this notice is being developed as part of the planning phase for the review. The draft IRP has been prepared jointly by the EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment, within the Office of Research and Development, and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, within the Office of Air and Radiation. This document will be available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/​naaqs/​ozone-o3-air-quality-standards. The document will be accessible under “Planning Documents” from the current review.

The draft IRP is being made available for consultation with CASAC and for public comment. Comments should be submitted to the docket, as described above, by December 3, 2018. A separate Federal Register notice will provide details about this meeting and the process for participation. The final IRP will be prepared in consideration of CASAC and public comments. The draft document announced in this notice presents the draft plan for this review, including the anticipated timeline for the review, the expected process for conducting the review, and the key policy-relevant science issues that are expected to guide the review. This draft document does not represent and should not be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination.

Dated: October 29, 2018.

Panagiotis Tsirigotis,

Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

Footnotes

1.  The EPA's call for information for this review was issued on June 26, 2018 (83 FR 29785).